LINKS: Hot Hoyas Bury Syracuse, Host UMBC

The Georgetown Hoyas will host the UMBC Retrievers on Tuesday night at 6:30 PM, as featured on FS1.

Your Fightin’ Hoyas of Georgetown received 3 votes in the AP Poll (from Sam Blum’s vote as #23), which places the Hoyas at a ranking of #42, after beating the Syracuse Orange on Saturday, 89-79.

Here are the links:

Georgetown’s McClung, Villanova’s Moore Repeat #BIGEASTmbb Weekly Honors | BIGEAST

BIG EAST Player of the Week Mac McClung, Georgetown, G, So. – McClung scored a game-high 26 points in an 89-79 victory against Syracuse. He also had four rebounds, two assists and did not commit a turnover in 36 minutes. McClung had 21 of his points in the first half when the Hoyas established a 48-36 lead. In his last three outings, McClung has averaged 26.0 points and has shot 46.2 percent from 3-point range.

College Basketball Is Wide Open, and Could Stay That Way | NYTIMES (Jon Rothstein)

Georgetown guard Mac McClung is on an offensive tear, averaging 25 points over his last three games in wins over Oklahoma State, Southern Methodist and Syracuse. McClung shot 48 percent from 3-point range in those games. “I’ve just tried to stay aggressive,” McClung said. Georgetown’s roster has had serious upheaval lately with four players transferring...

Mac McClung is here to save Georgetown’s season when the Hoyas need it most | NBCSports Washington (Tyler Byrum)

The buzz around the 6-foot-2 guard is different too. Every time the ball hits his hands the crowd draws their breath in anticipation of what’s about to occur. It’s as if a change in the air would cause one to miss his greatness.

There’s no missing what is in store for McClung in his Georgetown career. There are two and a half years remaining in his eligibility. Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim gave him a glowing endorsement and believes he will flourish with a new point guard who’ll allow McClung to play the two spot in the line-up.

But for now, it is McClung saving Georgetown’s season. The Hoyas are at 7-3 and ranked No. 44 in KenPom as of this writing. No one saw this three-game run coming for the Hoyas. It doesn’t sound like it’s going to stop any time soon.

‘Heim Time: Jim Boeheim throws jab at former Georgetown point guard James Akinjo | NUNESMAGICIAN

Following Syracuse’s loss to Georgetown, Boeheim suggested that the Hoyas are a better team without its former starting point guard, James Akinjo. “They got rid of a guy that wouldn’t pass the ball to anybody and just shot it every time and that’s why they’re good now,” Boeheim said post-game...

Boeheim went on to say that two of the players Patrick Ewing lost weren’t contributing much, but the remaining seven Georgetown players are good. “They’ve got seven guys that are as good as anybody’s,” Boeheim said. “Two guys weren’t really contributing at all and that other guy was throwing the ball up all the time. I know Patrick [Ewing] can’t say that but I can. I watched him play three games. He lost two games for them by himself.” [OUCH!]

Hoop Thoughts: The wild and crazy Big Ten, Nico Mannion’s... | THEATHLETIC

After Georgetown beat Syracuse, 89-79, on Saturday, Jim Boeheim said the reason the Hoyas have won three in a row is because Georgetown “got rid of a guy that wouldn’t pass the ball to anybody and just shot it every time.” He was talking about former point guard James Akinjo, and while I don’t think it’s cool for a coach to call out a player from another program like that, it’s hard to argue Boeheim’s point. During Akinjo’s seven games with the team, he averaged a team-best 4.4 assists, but he also led the team in field-goal attempts (12.7) and shot 33.7 percent from the floor, including 24.2 percent from 3. That’s a bad look for a point guard and, not coincidentally, the Hoyas lost three of those games.

Monday’s Overreactions: Kansas is better than Gonzaga, Memphis is real, UNC is not - CollegeBasketballTalk | COLLEGEBASKETBALL.NBCSPORTS

THE EWING THEORY SHOULD BE RENAMED THE AKINJO THEORY Has there been anything more surprising than seeing a Georgetown resurgence come with the departure of James Akinjo, Josh LeBlanc, Myron Gardner and Galen Alexander? ...

In the three games that have elapsed since then, the Hoyas are 3-0 on the season with wins at Oklahoma State, at SMU and over Syracuse at home. Mac McClung is averaging 26.3 points during that stretch and Jim Boeheim is telling everyone that the Hoyas are better now that they got rid of the kid that never passed. I think there’s a lot of truth to that statement. Akinjo was ball-dominant. From what I’ve been told by sources and people around that program is that Akinjo did not get along all that well with Patrick Ewing or with McClung, and that getting those four out of the locker room has improved the culture and the team environment.

Georgetown Hosts UMBC Tuesday at Capital One Arena - Georgetown University Athletics | GUHOYAS

UMBC enters the game with a 6-6 overall record after an 86-77 victory over Coppin State on Sunday that snapped a three-game losing streak. As a team, the Retrievers are averaging 72.3 ppg while allowing opponents 66.3 ppg. Darnell Rogers is averaging 14.0 ppg in seven games to lead UMBC, while K.J. Jackson (13.4 ppg) and L.J. Owens (10.3 ppg) are also in double figures. Rogers and Jackson each pace the offense with 4.3 apg and Brandon Horvath averages a team-high 5.7 rpg. ABOUT THE MATCHUP Tuesday will be the third meeting all-time between the two teams, with Georgetown having won both previous matchups.

The Hoyas and Retrievers last met in the 2008 NCAA Tournament First Round, with Georgetown coming away with a 66-47 victory in Raleigh, North Carolina. Roy Hibbert and Jonathan Wallace led the Hoyas with 13 points apiece, while Patrick Ewing Jr. came off the bench with 10 points.

UMBC fills stat sheet in 9-point win over Coppin St. | FOXBALTIMORE

Brandon Horvath scored 16 points to lead UMBC past Coppin State 86-77 on Sunday... Horvath was one of six Retrievers players score in double digits. K.J. Jackson scored 14 points with seven assists, and five rebounds. R.J. Eytle-Rock scored 12 with seven rebounds and six assists, Keondre Kennedy scored 11 and Daniel Akin and L.J. Owens each scored 10. UMBC distributed 21 assists on 29-made baskets. The win ends a two-game skid for UMBC (6-6) and marked just its second win in its last eight games after winning four straight to start the season.

UMBC Retrievers at Georgetown Hoyas Betting Pick & Preview 12/17/19 - ATS.io | ATS.IO

In the Retrievers’ last game, they defeated the Coppin State Eagles, 86-77. The Retrievers had a turnover percentage of 13.0 (better than their season average of 17.7) and had an effective field goal percentage of 0.550 (above their season average of 0.516). UMBC received a boost from K.J. Jackson, who had 14 points, seven assists and five rebounds.

The Hoyas were victorious over the Syracuse Orange in their last game, 89-79. The Hoyas knocked down 24 of their 31 free throws (77.4 percent) and held the Orange to an offensive rebounding percentage of 15.6 (below their season average of 29.2). Mac McClung was the game’s leading scorer with 26 points on 7-for-16 shooting from the field.

Georgetown Hoyas vs. UMBC Retrievers - 12/17/19 College Basketball Pick, Odds, and Prediction | SPORTSCHATPLACE

Georgetown boasts one of the best offenses in the nation, averaging 80.4 points per game which ranks 31st in the nation. The Hoyas shoot 38.2% from beyond the arc which ranks 35th in the NCAA. UMBC averages 72.3 points per game which ranks 181st in the nation.

The Retrievers are led in scoring by junior point guard Darnell Rodgers who averages 14 points and adds a team high in assists with 4.3 per game. Rodgers measures at just 5 foot 2 inches tall and the length and athleticism of Mac McClung will look to contest his shots and force the ball away from him. Rodgers shoots an impressive 42.2% from the three points line and has been able to navigate his way through the paint, shooting 44.6% from the field this season.