Now The Real Fun Begins: Connecticut Huskies (14-6, 4-4) at #14 Georgetown Hoyas (16-4, 6-3)

Connecticut Huskies		Georgetown Hoyas
	vs.
NR (14-6, 4-4); RPI: 29		#14 (16-4, 6-3); RPI: 14

(Perspectives After The Jump)

View from the Student Section - A Perspective from Campus:

Well I've been out of commission for the last day and a half with a cold? Stomach bug? Who knows? All I know is that I feel better than last year when I went to the Louisville game with a fever and had to sit down during every media timeout. Hmmm UConn. I dislike them. I will be printing out a thick document with the title page "Jim Calhoun's NCAA Rulebook". Every subsequent page will be blank. If I'm JT3 I'm going to make this game very simple, I would dare anyone except Jeremy Lamb to beat me. We are due for a good shooting game and the only person who can keep up with that is Lamb. Boatright-gate is over, but all you have to do is expect him to be out of control, and not foul him when he attempts circus shots. I like the Hoya Blue email advertising Dickie V will be there, so you better get there early, but hey, I hate Dickie V. However, I'll be there early. Go Hoyas. We need this one boys.

View from the Court Side Seats - A Perspective from OldHoya:

OldHoya would first like to recognize the photo stylings of wadetandy. The computer is still a confusing and frightening thing at times but OldHoya's friends dutifully passed along the picture of his grandson in casual headband gear prior to the Rutgers game and that was well-appreciated.

And now turning to the game, there's something rotten in the State of Connecticut and it's been that way for some time. Jim Calhoun has always been a weasel and a whiner (nearly on par with Jim Boeheim) but he was usually able to keep his team together and focused on winning. That seems to have all fallen apart this season and a team with at least two lottery picks on it has fallen from the Top 25? Crazy talk.

UConn memories run deep and unfortunately, the clearest memory is one that the editors of Casual Hoya remember well - Ray Allen at MSG during the Big East Tournament. Used to be easy to spend an entire weekend in the Big Apple and enjoy a few days of high level hoop. Now, we've got five days spread over an entire week and there's no telling what will happen once SMU comes to town. Way back when, Allen Iverson was dominating the court and an outstanding Georgetown team had played its way to the Big East championship. This was a particularly dislikable UConn team with Travis Knight leading the way but Ray Allen was a standout and Georgetown played him well...for almost the entire game. This is neither the time nor place to re-live that game's final moments, but the Hoyas walked off the court Big East runner-up and were handed a 2-seed in the Dance as a result.

Thanks for bringing up the bad memories. Let's go make some good ones

View from the Enemy- A Perspective from our Sleeping With The Enemy Interview:

The way this year is gone in the Big East I'm hesitant to make a prediction before knowing if Jim Burr is working the game or not, but I think in Boatright's second game back UConn will start to click some more. I'll take the Huskies 68-66, with the caveat that the higher scoring the game is the better it bodes for UConn. If both teams are in the 70s, I'll have a lot more confidence in UConn. If Georgetown can slow down the game and limit the number of possessions, it bodes well for the Hoyas.

Saturday afternoon took A LOT out of me. The pink shoe revelation, the team not showing up, the price of A BUD LIGHT PITCHER and the outcome caused me to realize that I needed some time to myself to RELAX. I gathered the pieces of my broken phone, paid the manager of that nice place in Tribeca for the chairs that I smashed in the basement, apologized to everyone that was subjected to the mixture of profanity and spittle that spewed from my beet-red face, and walked to my favorite hotel bar. It was here, with a final Manhattan in my hand, that I realized that I had spent my entire account of nerves for the season. As a result, I am not nervous about this game. Hell, in all likelihood, I won't even see the first half due to a client dinner. I am ok with this fact.

We are facing another team that is fighting for it's conference life. They are as talented AND as perplexing as any team in the country. Who knows which team will show up on either bench? I am resolved to not think further about this game prior to the tip. I HOPE we win, but I will NOT be nervous...

Like a Hindu Cow.

View from the Sportsbook (via DonBest) - A Perspective from Vegas:

The Line: Georgetown -3.5. Over/under 126.5.

The Hoyas have been killing me against the spread of late, stumbling to a 1-7 record ATS in its last 8 games. Georgetown can and probably should win this game by a dozen points in what will be its first primetime game at the Verizon Center in front of what should be the largest crowd of the year. BUT IF THEY DO NOT THIS IS THE LAST TIME I WILL TAKE GEORGETOWN ALL SEASON. I need this win so I can start buying Teddy organic dog food again.

The pick is Georgetown -3.5. Final score Hoyas 68 - Huskies 63.

Casual Hoya is 10-9-1 ATS this season.
Last season: 18-14.
Overall 50-31-1.

www.CasualHoya.com: Where Your Money Stays And Plays.