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The brackets for the 2013 Puerto Rico Tipoff have been revealed and your Georgetown Hoyas will play Charlotte Northeastern in the first round on November 21. Should the Hoyas advance, potential matchups against Kansas St., Michigan or VCU await in later rounds. Confusing-looking Bracket HERE
Georgetown's game against Northeastern will be played on Thursday, Nov. 21 at 12:30 p.m. (ET) on ESPNU. The winner of that game advances to play either Charlotte or Kansas State on Friday, Nov. 22 at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN2 or ESPNU.
All 12 games of the 2013 Puerto Rico Tip-Off will be televised on the ESPN Networks (ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3). San Juan is in the Atlantic time zone (one hour ahead of ET, two hours ahead of CT and four hours ahead of PT). Tipoff times and ESPN Networks are subject to change.
In addition to Georgetown, the other schools scheduled to compete in the seventh annual Puerto Rico Tip-Off are Charlotte (Atlantic 10, 21-12, NIT), Florida State (Atlantic Coast, 18-16, NIT), Northeastern (Colonial, 20-13, NIT), Kansas State (Big 12, 27-8, NCAA), Long Beach State (Big West, 19-14, NIT), Michigan (Big Ten, 31-8, NCAA) and VCU (Atlantic 10, 27-9, NCAA). The eight schools in the 2013 Puerto Rico Tip-Off, which will feature 12-games played over the course of three-days, November 21, 22 and 24, combined for a 188-87 record during the 2012-2013 season (68.4%).
Initial thoughts: The bracket seems to grant Georgetown an easy path to the title game. Northeastern lost its top two scorers -- Joel Smith and Jonathan Lee -- from last season (29.9 PPG combined). And Kansas State is recovering from a tumultuous offseason that included the loss of Angel Rodriguez and Rodney McGruder. Georgetown's opening-round opponent, Charlotte, had offensive issues last year (187th in adjusted offensive efficiency, per Ken Pomeroy) and now top scorer Chris Braswell is gone.
Title-game prediction: VCU over Georgetown.
The Hoyas should reach the title game, but I think they'll face a VCU squad that's equipped with a multitude of talent and depth. Smart has a rotation that could be 10-11 players deep. And even though he has lost a few veterans, he will gain the services of former top recruits Mo Alie-Cox and Jordan Burgess, two players who were academically ineligible for competition last season. And Shannon, the Florida State transfer, will be available, too. Smart's HAVOC attack demands talent and depth, and he has both. This is the most skilled squad that he has had at VCU. That's just too much for Georgetown to overcome, especially with VCU's interior advantage (see Shannon and 6-9 forward Juvonte Reddic). These Rams will be dangerous. They'll prove it in San Juan.