Georgetown Host Xavier Sunday

Game 29: Xavier Musketeers (18-10, 7-8) at Georgetown Hoyas (15-13, 5-10)

When: Sunday 2 PM

Where: Capital One Arena

Series: Xavier leads 15-5

Last Meeting: Xavier won 66-57 on Jan 22

TV: CBS (Andrew Catalon & Steve Lappas)

Radio: The Team 980 (Rich Chvotkin)

KenPom Rankings: Xavier 43, Georgetown 59

KenPom Score Prediction: Georgetown 72, Xavier 70 (56 percent)

NET Rankings: Xavier 42, Georgetown 58

Line: Xavier -1, o/u 142

In a season of constantly changing expectations for Georgetown, the Hoyas host Xavier on Sunday in their second to last home game.

Sure, we could focus on strategy (the hard hedge) or speculate on certain player’s health (who will sport a walking boot this time) but let’s go a different way shall we?

This is one of four guaranteed games left for the Hoyas before November so just enjoy the hoops. These are the last days for a group of players – particularly seniors Jagan Mosely and Terrell Allen – who have come oh so close to getting Georgetown over the finish line only to see depth ultimately do them in.

No matter how it ends, there will likely never be another season that follows this particular script. (That’s a good thing btw.)

That being said, Hoya history will no doubt look back fondly on how Mosey, Allen, and Jahvon Blair basically played every minute for the last few months of the season. Sure, they aren’t perfect but what’s not to like?

Here are some things to root for from Georgetown’s iron men with only a few games remaining:

Mosely hitting for a new career-high – Jagan has hit for 20 twice in his time at Georgetown and almost went over that amount last time out at Marquette. Be a little selfish Jagan. No one will mind.

Allen getting to 1,000 points – Right now Terrell is sitting at 951 for his career with prior stops at Drexel and UCF included. It’s doable but having some extra games in either the conference tournament and/or the NIT would be awfully helpful.

Blair to give a Dikembe finger wag to someone, anyone – In 1,704 minutes as a Hoya, Jahvon has exactly zero blocks. Seeing him swat a shot before Kenner League starts would certainly be something for the Hoyas long distance threat.

LAST MEETING

With a week off, Xavier got their season back on track in the first meeting by going big against the Hoyas. Despite all the talk about Georgetown’s short bench, Xavier Travis Steele used just seven players last time. Kyky Tandy set his season-high off the bench with 18 points. Jason Carter, Tyrique Jones, and Naji Marshall all hit for double-figures as Georgetown was down big at the half and never really threatened. Mac McClung scored 19 but needed 19 shots to do it.

MARCH OUTLOOK

Right now, the Big East probably has seven teams in the NCAA field.

Xavier is one of them while Georgetown is not.

Xavier could really use a season sweep of the Hoyas to solidify their spot in the NCAA Tournament after a one-year absence. Georgetown would need to finish the season 3-0 to get back into bubble conversations. The Hoyas most likely spot is in the NIT but they probably need another win.

It’s crazy to think that this could be the second time since the 2013 realignment where 70 percent of the conference make the Dance without Georgetown being involved. Who would have bet on that when the split with football happened?

BROADCAST WINNERS

For some reason Sunday’s game between Georgetown and Xavier is on CBS and that could be good news for the Hoyas. So far this season Georgetown is 3-0 on broadcast television. Georgetown has wins over Syracuse and at Butler on FOX as well as that huge comeback victory at St. John’s on CBS. Next week’s regular season finale is also on FOX against Villanova.

ONE-SIDED AFFAIR

Georgetown’s .250 winning percentage (5-15) against Xavier is easily the Hoyas worst against a conference foe. A quick glance through the media guide shows that this is their worst mark against any team that they’ve faced at least 20 times. Georgetown is 3-5 against the Musketeers at home. A baby step towards respectability in this series would be to get over .500 at home in the near future.

Prediction: Georgetown 66, Xavier 61 – Hoyas cement their spot in the NIT with a rare win over Xavier.