Preview
It's not an exaggeration to call Tuesday's game a must-win for both Georgetown and for Seton Hall as the weeks wind down to the post-season.
Georgetown has lost three of four, with a lack of inside performance and a 24 percent three point shooting rate over the past two games. If Georgetown wants to stay above the fray that surrounds schools with a fading hope of an NCAA invitation, it needs to make a statement at the Prudential Center.
The same can also be said for Seton Hall. Starting the conference race 3-1, the Pirates have dropped five of seven, with a pair of tough losses this past week which has put its NCAA hopes in more than some doubt. With three games on the road facing them, the time may be now or never to take the step back into post-season discussions. Having swept the Hoyas in 2013-14, Seton Hall is looking for its first three game win streak against the Hoyas since the final days of the Craig Esherick era.
Seton Hall's strengths starts in the backcourt, where Sterling Gibbs and Jaren Sina chewed up the Hoyas in its two game series last season, combining for 47 points and 21 assists. Gibbs enters Tuesday's game averaging 22 points per game in Seton Hall's five Big East wins and 17 points overall. His 45 percent mark from three point range a pressing concern to a georgetown team which gave up 12 threes to Villanova and appears ill suited for the perimeter defense required against players like Gibbs. A similar effort will be required against Sina, who shoots from three as well as he does from two (32.5%), which is a cause for concern when Gibbs is not at the top of his game. With nine newcomers on the roster, the Hall looks to Sina for experience and consistency in the backcourt which has not been there of late.
A pair of freshmen forwards have struggled through the midpoint of the big East season. 6-3 Khadeen Cardington (9.0 ppg) has shot 7 for 26 over his last three games, while 6-9 Angel Delgado has been much more productive as a rebounder, averaging 10.1 rebounds a game in Big East play. The Pirates are awaiting for Big east freshman of the year candidate Isaiah Whitehead to fully recover from his early season injury but he has not yet put that game together. In his three games back, Whitehead is shooting 8 for 30, but if he can catch fire, Seton hall becomes a very dangerous team.
The Hall remains an average team in the middle, which is why Delgado's rebounding has been a big help. Brandon Mobley (9.9 ppg) has struggled in recent games with the Hoyas and the Pirates may go to a smaller lineup to compensate.
The margin among Big East teams is slight this season and Seton Hall's defense, particularly late, has cost them this season. It is last in the league in field goal defense at 45 percent despite a much better number from outside, where Big East opponents are just 24 percent from three point range. Inside, the Hall has simply not been able to contain stronger teams, which must lead Georgetown to get Josh Smith active down low. Smith has been particularly ineffective of late when getting the ball down low and seems only to struggle to develop spacing to get good shots. In his first game against the Pirates, Smith must be more assertive of getting position on Mobley and Delgado and be prepared for offensive rebounding.
The slow starts to D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera continue to weight down the Hoyas in mid-first half play. Each of its three freshmen in the rotation (Peak, Copeland, White) have shown signs of being able to be more of a scoring threat but none has truly stepped forward. Georgetown owns a height advantage across the board at forward and one (or more) of these three has to step up their game to take advantage.
The staff must also step up. Long and painful scoring droughts are hurting the Hoyas time and time again, and coach John Thompson III must exercise his bench to avoid seven and eight minute stretches of inaction in the scoring column. Seton Hall is not a comeback team if the hoyas can keep up the pressure as they did to Marquette and Creighton, but losses to Xavier and Providence were hard lessons in the ability for opponents to hang around at the end.
It's easy to say this will come down to DSR versus Gibbs. it may well do so, but one of the freshmen on either team has the opportunity to be the difference maker in this one.
Some other keys:
It's not an exaggeration to call Tuesday's game a must-win for both Georgetown and for Seton Hall as the weeks wind down to the post-season.
Georgetown has lost three of four, with a lack of inside performance and a 24 percent three point shooting rate over the past two games. If Georgetown wants to stay above the fray that surrounds schools with a fading hope of an NCAA invitation, it needs to make a statement at the Prudential Center.
The same can also be said for Seton Hall. Starting the conference race 3-1, the Pirates have dropped five of seven, with a pair of tough losses this past week which has put its NCAA hopes in more than some doubt. With three games on the road facing them, the time may be now or never to take the step back into post-season discussions. Having swept the Hoyas in 2013-14, Seton Hall is looking for its first three game win streak against the Hoyas since the final days of the Craig Esherick era.
Seton Hall's strengths starts in the backcourt, where Sterling Gibbs and Jaren Sina chewed up the Hoyas in its two game series last season, combining for 47 points and 21 assists. Gibbs enters Tuesday's game averaging 22 points per game in Seton Hall's five Big East wins and 17 points overall. His 45 percent mark from three point range a pressing concern to a georgetown team which gave up 12 threes to Villanova and appears ill suited for the perimeter defense required against players like Gibbs. A similar effort will be required against Sina, who shoots from three as well as he does from two (32.5%), which is a cause for concern when Gibbs is not at the top of his game. With nine newcomers on the roster, the Hall looks to Sina for experience and consistency in the backcourt which has not been there of late.
A pair of freshmen forwards have struggled through the midpoint of the big East season. 6-3 Khadeen Cardington (9.0 ppg) has shot 7 for 26 over his last three games, while 6-9 Angel Delgado has been much more productive as a rebounder, averaging 10.1 rebounds a game in Big East play. The Pirates are awaiting for Big east freshman of the year candidate Isaiah Whitehead to fully recover from his early season injury but he has not yet put that game together. In his three games back, Whitehead is shooting 8 for 30, but if he can catch fire, Seton hall becomes a very dangerous team.
The Hall remains an average team in the middle, which is why Delgado's rebounding has been a big help. Brandon Mobley (9.9 ppg) has struggled in recent games with the Hoyas and the Pirates may go to a smaller lineup to compensate.
The margin among Big East teams is slight this season and Seton Hall's defense, particularly late, has cost them this season. It is last in the league in field goal defense at 45 percent despite a much better number from outside, where Big East opponents are just 24 percent from three point range. Inside, the Hall has simply not been able to contain stronger teams, which must lead Georgetown to get Josh Smith active down low. Smith has been particularly ineffective of late when getting the ball down low and seems only to struggle to develop spacing to get good shots. In his first game against the Pirates, Smith must be more assertive of getting position on Mobley and Delgado and be prepared for offensive rebounding.
The slow starts to D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera continue to weight down the Hoyas in mid-first half play. Each of its three freshmen in the rotation (Peak, Copeland, White) have shown signs of being able to be more of a scoring threat but none has truly stepped forward. Georgetown owns a height advantage across the board at forward and one (or more) of these three has to step up their game to take advantage.
The staff must also step up. Long and painful scoring droughts are hurting the Hoyas time and time again, and coach John Thompson III must exercise his bench to avoid seven and eight minute stretches of inaction in the scoring column. Seton Hall is not a comeback team if the hoyas can keep up the pressure as they did to Marquette and Creighton, but losses to Xavier and Providence were hard lessons in the ability for opponents to hang around at the end.
It's easy to say this will come down to DSR versus Gibbs. it may well do so, but one of the freshmen on either team has the opportunity to be the difference maker in this one.
Some other keys:
- Lead At The Half: Neither team is prone to a comeback. Georgetown is 3-7 when trailing at the break, Seton Hall just 1-7.
- Turnovers: Georgetown is averaging 15 turnovers a game. Villanova was a +16 on points off turnovers and won the game by that same amount. Georgetown does not have the defensive chops to give up 24 points in a game without recourse.
- Free Throws: Seton Hall averages 22 free throw attempts per game in Big East play and was 23 of 26 in its loss to DePaul. Georgetown doesn't want this to be a game where the Pirates are taking over at the line In its last three games, the Hoyas have allowed 24 attempts per game.
- Tempo: Seton Hall is 9-1 when scoring 70 or more points, 6-7 below it, but expect Georgetown to push the tempo in either case.
- Of Georgetown's six remaining games, five are among teams below it in the Big East standings. For its NCAA future, it has to win the games like this one where its talent and skill st expect it to prevail. Two losses down the stretch put the hoyas on the fringe of the Wednesday play-in a game and a scenario just like last season where Georgetown stumbled off the NCAA list by their own doing. Games like Seton Hall are, as mid-February goes, must-wins.
