Georgetown Hoyas
Saturday, January 3, 3:30pm (Washington, DC)
Saturday, January 31, 1:00pm (Omaha)
Last Season: Georgetown went 18-15, were knocked out of the Big East tourney in first round by DePaul, and played in the NIT, where they lost in the second round to Florida State. That was a disappointing finish, both for them and for the conference, as G’Town was expected to compete for a Big East title. In the end, the losses of Josh Smith and Greg Whittington were just too much to overcome.
Last Meeting/All-Time Series: Creighton and Georgetown split two meetings a year ago, with CU winning in Omaha 76-63 and G’Town returning the favor in D.C. 75-63. The teams have met just one other time, an 80-79 Jays win on December 30, 1970 in the Gold Coast Classic.
Head Coach: John Thompson III has a well-deserved reputation as one of the top coaches in the country, averaging 22 wins in his ten seasons at the helm and advancing to the postseason all ten years. He has one Final Four berth on his resume, and his teams have won three Big East regular season titles and one tournament title.
Top Returners: Shooting guard D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera returns after leading the team in scoring with 17.6 points per game a year ago, which ranked third in the league. He also finished second on the team in rebounding (and 18th in the league), averaging 5.0 boards per game, and contributed 2.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He led the Big East in free throw percentage (87.3%) and connected on 39.3 percent of his three-point field goals (66-of-168), which ranked seventh in the league. Smith-Rivera was named the Big East Preseason Player of the Year at the conference’s media day in New York.
Back from academic suspension is Josh Smith, who averaged 11.5 ppg and 3.4 rpg in 13 games last season before being declared ineligible for the second semester. He’s back, but in what kind of shape is the question. He’s listed at 6’10”, 350 pounds, but is supposedly sporting a leaner physique this fall. He tried the old Shaq trick of playing himself into shape during the season last year, and was admittedly effective in the short bursts he was able to play — he scored in double figures in seven of his first nine games, including 25 against Oregon. The biggest indicator of his effect? The Hoyas were 10-3 in the games he played, and 8-12 without him.
Key Losses: All-Big East guard Markel Starks scored 38 points in two meetings against CU a year ago, including a ridiculous 17 point, 11 assist performance in their win in D.C. Leading rebounder Nate Lubick also graduated, which is great news for the Jays; he cleaned the glass to the tune of 10 rebounds in the game in Omaha a year ago.
Key Additions: As usual, JTIII’s recruiting class is among the best in America, with his incoming players ranked 11th in the country by 247sports. The centerpiece is forward Isaac Copeland, a five-star recruit who Hoyas fans can’t wait to see in action.
Top 100 recruit Paul White and three-star rated Trey Mourning (the son of former Hoya Alonzo Mourning) will solidify the frontcourt, while the backcourt features another Top 100 recruit in guard L.J. Peak and highly-sought after point guard Tre Campbell.