Preview: No. 4 Xavier at Georgetown

Game 26: No. 4 Xavier Musketeers (24-4, 12-3) at Georgetown Hoyas (15-10, 5-9)

When & Where: Wednesday 630pm, Capital One Arena

Series: Xavier leads 12-4

Last Meeting: Feb 3, 2018, No. 6 Xavier 96, Georgetown 91 (OT)

TV: FS1 (Kevin Kugler, Donny Marshall)

KenPom: Xavier 84, Georgetown 78 (70 percent)

Line: Xavier -6.5, o/u 161

After a week long break, Georgetown returns to Capital One Arena for its final three home games of the season. The last time coach Patrick Ewing and the Hoyas had a week off in between BIG EAST games they nearly upset then No. 6 Xavier in Cincinnati earlier this month but were undone by a late Trevon Bluiett four point play that forced overtime. The Musketeers ultimately prevailed despite not hitting a field goal in the extra period.

Jessie Govan, Jamorko Pickett, Marcus Derrickson, and Jahvon Blair combined to score 83 of the Hoyas 91 points in the loss at Xavier in a game that featured 20 ties and 21 lead changes as neither team led by more than five points.

Georgetown hurt Xavier in the post, outscoring the Musketeers 38 to 22 in the paint. Bluiett led Xavier with 31 points while the Musketeers outscored Georgetown by 17 points from the free throw line thanks to 41 attempts.

While the only path to the NCAA Tournament for Georgetown would have to come with the league’s automatic bid, the Hoyas have been improving over the last few weeks and have put themselves back in the conversation for the NIT. A win over Xavier would both improve those chances while mathematically keeping alive the Hoyas shot at finishing .500 in the BIG EAST.

Georgetown is 2-7 against Xavier in BIG EAST regular season play, with their lone home win coming in 2014. Xavier has won three straight over the Hoyas in D.C.

BIG EAST Stat Stuffer: Marcus Derrickson earned his first ever BIG EAST Honor Roll this week after scoring 27 points on a near perfect 11 for 13 shooting performance in the Hoyas victory at Butler. With four regular season games left, Derrickson is having quite an impressive season - particularly within the conference where he leads the Hoyas with 18.4 points and 8.9 rebounds per game.

Derrickson’s averages are the highest in those categories since the 2009-10 season when Austin Freeman averaged 19.5 points per game while Greg Monroe tallied 9.3 rebounds per game in BIG EAST games. The last Georgetown player to lead the team in both scoring and rebounding in BIG EAST games was Otto Porter, who did so in 2012-13.

Late Bloomer: Grad transfer Trey Dickerson has been a key player in the Hoyas current two game winning streak. Dickerson matched a season high with nine points against Seton Hall and then doubled that total by scoring 18 points in 21 minutes at Hinkle Fieldhouse. It was the first time this season Dickerson had registered 20 or more minutes in back-to-back games. In those games Dickerson is a combined 10 for 14 from the field. The former South Dakota and Iowa player has made three of his eight 3-pointers on the season over the last two games.

Top 25 Streak: As the season winds down, Georgetown is still searching for its first win over a ranked opponent. The Hoyas come into Wednesday night’s game against No. 4 Xavier with an 0-3 record against Top 25 foes this season. The Hoyas have knocked off at least one ranked team in 13 consecutive seasons. The last time Georgetown failed to defeat at least one Top 25 team in a season came in 2003-04 when coach Craig Esherick’s final squad went 0-4 including two losses to teams ranked No. 1 (Duke, UConn).

Prediction: Xavier 81, Georgetown 75