First-place Friars come to town this weekend
After a monster rollercoaster first week of Big East Conference play — toppling No. 2 Connecticut on the road, then losing two in a row to No. 3 Pittsburgh and No. 7 Notre Dame — Georgetown actually isn’t very far from where it was predicted to be at the beginning of the season: right in the middle of the league pack. Big East coaches’ preseason prognostications had the Hoyas (10-3, 1-2 Big East) picked to finish seventh.
“Clearly, this stretch was incredibly difficult,” said Hoyas head coach John Thompson III. “Three very good teams. Two games on the road. One on a quick turnaround. Sure, it was tough. But so what?”
Things don’t get any easier, with first-place tied Providence (11-4, 3-0) on tap this weekend before Syracuse’s annual visit and a trip to Duke next week.
None of the Friars’ conference victories — over Cincinnati, DePaul and St. John’s — stand out, and despite its record in league play, Georgetown is by no means out of the race for a conference title. But serious questions remain, including a persistent lack of depth and shooting woes from the line and in the backcourt.
Freshman Greg Monroe is certainly skilled enough for a double-double every night — he picked up the first of his career against Notre Dame — a pace it appears he’ll need to sustain through March.
Providence at No. 9 GeorgetownWhere » Verizon CenterWhen » Saturday, 1TV » ESPNURadio » 980 AM, 92.7 FM, 94.3 FM
But the normally stingy Hoyas defense, which held opponents to a NCAA-best 36.4 percent shooting last year, allowed the Panthers and Fighting Irish each to shoot better than 44 percent from the field, surrendering a combined 84 points in the paint.
At the other end, Georgetown’s 13 of 22 free throw attempts at Notre Dame were surprising for a team that came into the game hitting 75 percent at the line.
But more troubling is Jessie Sapp, who is just 6-for-29 (21 percent) from the field over the last four games. His slump may mean more playing time for freshman Jason Clark, who had five points, four rebounds, three assists and two blocks in 24 minutes off the bench against Notre Dame.
