PREVIEW
Exam week is usually a quiet one on the Georgetown basketball calendar, with a well deserved break during the week for players (and students) to focus on more important matters at hand.
For this season, Tuesday's game features a team that is anything but a mid-December walkover, as Monmouth University enters Verizon Center with a growing national reputation as the kind of team which could give Georgetown all sorts of trouble.
The Hawks (6-3) opened the season with eight straight road games and proceeded to upset the likes of UCLA, USC, and Notre Dame. In its home opener Saturday, it held Wagner to just 15 first half points and won by 22. Ranked #1 in the nation in free throw percentage, this is not a team Georgetown wants to struggle with late.
Seven juniors and seven freshman comprise the majority of the Monmouth roster. Leading the juniors is 5-8 Justin Robinson, who has scored 20 or more points in seven games this season with strong numbers across the board; 46 percent from the field, 41 percent from three, and a team-best 93 percent from the line, 10th overall nationally. Its top freshman, 6-5 Micah Seaborn, is no less effective: 49 percent from the field, 42 percent from three, 76 percent from the line.
Monmouth will go as many as ten deep in its rotation, with able support from 6-6 Deon Jones (8.3 ppg), Je'lon Hornbeak (8.1, ppg and a perfect 18-18 from the line), and 6-10, 250 lb. Chris Brady, who provides the size inside many MAAC teams traditionally lack. Monmouth doesn't win every game on the board but will kill opponents at the line. In its win over Notre Dame, for example, the Hawks were outrebounded 45-33, including allowing 16 offensive rebounds to the Irish, but were 18 for 22 from the line as ND could do no better than 8 for 17.
Georgetown's five game win streak has shown cracks of late, particularly in late game finishes. Even for a team like Georgetown, one early statistics is troubling: the Hoyas have been outscored in the second half this season, 350-337. The Hoyas gave up 54 points in 20 minutes to UNCW and were outscored 42-28 by Brown in its last two games. Ball control late in games is a concern: in the last two games, Georgetown has given up 11 turnovers in the final five minutes of the game compared to just three combined by opponents.
KEYS TO THE GAME:
Height: Georgetown owns a height advantage in every position and must use it to control the flow of the game.
Passing Lanes: Monmouth must be more effective in its passing to draw down a tighter Georgetown perimeter defense.
Tre Campbell: Largely ineffective since returning to the lineup, Campbell is just 1 for 8 from two point range in five games. The Hoyas need more sustained play from Campbell earlier in games, where D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera has been inconsistent in first half play.
Keep Off the Line: After nine games, Georgetown has attempted just two more free throws than its opponents. It cannot let Monmouth take up residence at the line, and foul calls will be key.
Exam week is usually a quiet one on the Georgetown basketball calendar, with a well deserved break during the week for players (and students) to focus on more important matters at hand.
For this season, Tuesday's game features a team that is anything but a mid-December walkover, as Monmouth University enters Verizon Center with a growing national reputation as the kind of team which could give Georgetown all sorts of trouble.
The Hawks (6-3) opened the season with eight straight road games and proceeded to upset the likes of UCLA, USC, and Notre Dame. In its home opener Saturday, it held Wagner to just 15 first half points and won by 22. Ranked #1 in the nation in free throw percentage, this is not a team Georgetown wants to struggle with late.
Seven juniors and seven freshman comprise the majority of the Monmouth roster. Leading the juniors is 5-8 Justin Robinson, who has scored 20 or more points in seven games this season with strong numbers across the board; 46 percent from the field, 41 percent from three, and a team-best 93 percent from the line, 10th overall nationally. Its top freshman, 6-5 Micah Seaborn, is no less effective: 49 percent from the field, 42 percent from three, 76 percent from the line.
Monmouth will go as many as ten deep in its rotation, with able support from 6-6 Deon Jones (8.3 ppg), Je'lon Hornbeak (8.1, ppg and a perfect 18-18 from the line), and 6-10, 250 lb. Chris Brady, who provides the size inside many MAAC teams traditionally lack. Monmouth doesn't win every game on the board but will kill opponents at the line. In its win over Notre Dame, for example, the Hawks were outrebounded 45-33, including allowing 16 offensive rebounds to the Irish, but were 18 for 22 from the line as ND could do no better than 8 for 17.
Georgetown's five game win streak has shown cracks of late, particularly in late game finishes. Even for a team like Georgetown, one early statistics is troubling: the Hoyas have been outscored in the second half this season, 350-337. The Hoyas gave up 54 points in 20 minutes to UNCW and were outscored 42-28 by Brown in its last two games. Ball control late in games is a concern: in the last two games, Georgetown has given up 11 turnovers in the final five minutes of the game compared to just three combined by opponents.
KEYS TO THE GAME:
Height: Georgetown owns a height advantage in every position and must use it to control the flow of the game.
Passing Lanes: Monmouth must be more effective in its passing to draw down a tighter Georgetown perimeter defense.
Tre Campbell: Largely ineffective since returning to the lineup, Campbell is just 1 for 8 from two point range in five games. The Hoyas need more sustained play from Campbell earlier in games, where D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera has been inconsistent in first half play.
Keep Off the Line: After nine games, Georgetown has attempted just two more free throws than its opponents. It cannot let Monmouth take up residence at the line, and foul calls will be key.
