PREVIEW & GAME THREAD: Georgetown at Seton Hall

Welcome to Christmas Eve, Eve and what better way to celebrate than to settle in for an old BIG EAST Rivalry as Georgetown visits Seton Hall in the Hoyas penultimate game of 2020!

Game 8: Georgetown Hoyas (3-4, 1-2) at Seton Hall (5-4, 2-1)

When: Wednesday, 5 PM

Where: Prudential Center (Newark, NJ)

Series: Georgetown leads 59-51 all time

Last meeting: Georgetown lost to Seton Hall 78-71 on Feb. 5, 2020. Hoyas were led by Omer Yurtseven (19 points) and Jahvon Blair (18) as Ewing played just six players. Georgetown shot 4-21 from 3-point range while Seton Hall blocked 11 shots.

TV: FS1 (Joe Davis and Jim Jackson)

Radio: The Team 980, Sirisuxm 384, Radio.com (Rich Chvotkin, 47th season)

KenPom Ranking: Seton Hall 51, Georgetown 104

KenPom Projection: Seton Hall 78, Georgetown 69 (79 percent)

Line: Seton Hall -9, o/u 147

PREVIEW

Myles Powell is gone.

That sentence should be music to the ears of Georgetown supporters. Seton Hall’s all-American guard has exhausted his eligibility and can no longer torment Hoya fans. Powell, who averaged better than 20 points per game his final two seasons, dropped 30 or more four times against the Hoyas.

So that’s the good news. The bad news is that Seton Hall has been dominating this series of late. Pirates coach Kevin Willard is 12-6 against Georgetown

Like most positive stats for the Hoyas one must go back to 2015 to find the last Georgetown win at Seton Hall. Since then Georgetown has dropped five straight with the last three coming by double-digits. Patrick Ewing is 2-5 against Seton Hall including the loss in the 2019 Big East Tournament.

There’s probably only one big question in tonight’s match-up and that’s: Who on Georgetown is guarding Sandro Mamukelashvili?

The 6-foot-11 senior is averaging 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game while playing some point forward for Willard. Mamu has 13 assists in his last two games against Big East competition. It seems like a match-up for Pickett to start as Qudus Wahab is a far better interior defender.

Here’s what Ewing had to say about Mamu on Tuesday’s call with the media:

“He is a very talented kid,” Ewing said about the Georgia native. “He can shoot the ball, he can handle it, he does a lot of different things. He’s now the focal point of their team, probably the best player on their team so we have to do a great job of guarding him or limiting him the best we can, and then also limit others.”

Ewing also gave his thoughts on Mamu’s future at the next level.

“Oh definitely, he probably will be an NBA player. He can shoot it, he can handle it, he’s tall, he’s athletic so all the things that NBA teams are looking for, he definitely fits that mold.”

And here’s one final quote from Ewing on comparing this year’s Seton Hall team to last year’s now that Powell is gone.

“They’re a very good team, I’m not going to say they’re better than last year but they’re not just a one-man show. Everyone can beat you. Everyone is doing their part, and we gotta be up for the challenge.”

QUEST FOR 1,000

Things have really heated up as both Jamorko Pickett and Jahvon Blair close in on 1,000 career points. Pickett came into the season with a decent lead but Blair has closed the gap with a strong start to the season. Right now the senior classmates are 63rd and 64th all-time in Georgetown history. Pickett has 872 while Blair has 875. The Canadian guard passed three notable Hoyas last game in Jabril Trawick, Hollis Thompson, and Boubacar Aw.

Prediction: Seton Hall 85, Georgetown 72. Newark has been a house of horrors recently for the Hoyas and that doesn’t change tonight.

Leave your witty (and non-witty) in-game comments here!

HOYA SAXA!