LINKS: Georgetown Hoyas to Host Butler Bulldogs on Saturday

The Georgetown Hoyas (5-10, 3-7) will play the second game of their four-game homestand against the Butler Bulldogs (7-10, 6-8) on Saturday afternoon at McDonough Arena at 1:30 PM. The game will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network.

Hopefully the Hoyas have been resting since their rough outing against Creighton late on Tuesday night. Jamorko Pickett was the only one shooting decently and team turnovers were abundant. This game could be some scoring milestones for seniors Pickett and Jahvon Blair, but sharing the ball will be the priority.

Butler has held opposing teams to 67.1 points per game, the second-lowest figure among all Big East teams. When Georgetown visited Butler a month ago, the Hoyas shot 20-59 (34%) from the floor and 9-21 (43%) from three in the 55-63 loss. Butler shot 16-38 (42%) from the field and 7-22 (32%) from beyond the arc—almost identical to their season averages of 23.1-55.4 (41.7) FGs and 7.2-21.2 (33.8%) 3PT. No doubt the Hoyas will look to improve on their own two-point shots, especially in the lane and down low, while minimizing Butler’s good looks on the other end.

Georgetown generally has not shot their best when playing at home. While field goal percentage overall is about 42% for both home and away venues, the Hoyas shoot 32% from three in McDonough and 39% from beyond the arc when away. Interestingly, Georgetown’s opponents have shot 40% from the field and 29.7% from three at McDonough but shoot 45% for field goals and 40.6% for three on their respective home courts against GU. Perhaps the Hoyas (and their opponents) defend better on the Hilltop, but the evidence points to McDonough Arena not quite being a shooter’s paradise. Hopefully sharing the ball better leads to higher percentage shots.

Patrick Ewing should be familiar with most of Butler’s team from the January game, including up and coming freshman guard Chuck Harris, but the Bulldogs recently added their own energetic 6’5” transfer in Bo Hodges who has given their team a boost especially on the boards. Hoya faithful are anxious to see which side of the mercurial Chudier Bile shows up—hopefully it’s the one playing within himself, sharing the ball, and bringing his usual hustle.

Here are the links:

Butler vs. Georgetown - Game Preview - February 13, 2021 - ESPN | ESPN

PLENTY OF EXPERIENCE: Each team has relied heavily on their seniors this year. Jahvon Blair, Jamorko Pickett, Donald Carey and Chudier Bile have combined to account for 65 percent of Georgetown’s scoring this season. For Butler, Bryce Nze, Jair Bolden, Chuck Harris and Aaron Thompson have collectively accounted for 64 percent of all Butler scoring, including 71 percent of the team’s points over its last five games.

FUELING THE OFFENSE: Blair has accounted for 46 percent of all Georgetown field goals over the last five games. The senior guard has 24 field goals and 33 assists in those games.

... Butler: preview, TV info, game thread | RUMBLEINTHEGARDEN

Defense. Butler is aggressive, hustles, and makes sure to get the defensive rebound. The defense has been the third-best in the Big East, despite their near-worst scoring in league play. They won’t turn the ball over, they will slow the game down, and their defense can get enough stops to make an improbable chance at victory appear.

Butler has added East Tennessee State transfer Bo Hodges. The high-usage 6’5” wing is a very good rebounder, and has double digit rebounds in two of his three games in a Butler uniform since becoming eligible. He can guard the perimeter but has been a big threat inside; he can slash to the basket. His three-point shooting has never been great, and he is only shooting 39% inside the arc. Still, his energy and hustle could be a problem...

Chuck Harris, a freshman guard, scored 22 in the win over DePaul and 16 in the three-point loss to Marquette. He is shooting 44% beyond the arc on the season.

Butler vs. St. John’s: Beyond the box score | THEBUTLERCOLLEGIAN

The Butler men’s basketball team did not hold a lead over St. John’s until 30 minutes into the ballgame, but they gradually overcame a 16-point deficit to defeat St. John’s in overtime, 76-73. The Bulldogs move to 7-10 overall and 6-8 in the Big East, good for solo seventh in the league. Four different Bulldogs scored in double figures, with Bryce Nze and Aaron Thompson leading the way with 19 and 17 points, respectively.

Bo Hodges chipped in 12 points and eight rebounds, while Bryce Golden logged 11 points. Despite converting just six of 24 3-point attempts on the night, Butler shot 46% from the field. On the defensive end, Butler limited St. John’s star freshman Posh Alexander to just eight points off 4-of-10 shooting from the field and held the Johnnies to under 24% shooting from beyond the arc. Julian Champagnie poured in 19 points — his average for the season...

Butler Beats DePaul 68-58 | BIGEASTCOASTBIAS

The Butler Bulldogs fought back from an early deficit Saturday afternoon to beat DePaul 68-58. They’ve improved to 5-8 in BIG EAST play by completing the season sweep over the Blue Demons, who still have just one conference win. DePaul came out with energy and raced out to an early double-digit lead.

With 9:45 remaining in the first half, Butler’s Chuck Harris made a three-pointer to cut the lead to nine and it was the beginning of a Harris hot streak. Over the next eight and a half minutes, Harris added 12 more points, helping the Bulldogs climb back into it. Butler led 30-29 at the break. In the second half, Butler controlled the game, with Bryce Nze having his best half of the season and Harris continuing to contribute. Nze scored 14 of his 22 points (a Butler career high) in the second half; Harris also finished with 22.

Hoya For Life: Catching Up With George Muresan - Thompson’s Towel | THOMPSONSTOWEL

[John Thompson] was the man. He was a great man. He was a great leader. He touched so many peoples’ lives; an amount that no one will ever be able to touch, not in our generation. And he just provided that fatherly role and the leader and mentorship role to a lot, a lot, of people. He transformed a lot of lives- including my life- transformed a lot of lives that he may know, or he may not even know. I would see him around practice and stuff, and he had his little scooter or whatever.

He would give us some speeches sometimes, and even after we lost all those guys, he gave a speech, and it was long, but everyone took that heart and learned from it. I feel like everyone developed a mentality around that speech and that really got us going through the rest of the season.

@ButlerMBB Heads East to Meet Hoyas Saturday Afternoon | Butler Sports

INSTANT IMPACT: Bo Hodges had an appeal of a waiver for immediate eligibility approved by the NCAA prior to the Bulldogs’ Jan. 30 game with Xavier. In just his second game (and his first start) for Butler, Hodges set career-highs with 12 rebounds and eight assists to go along with 15 points, narrowly missing a triple-double Feb. 2 at Marquette.

‘BOARD’ OUT OF HIS MIND: Redshirt senior Bryce Nze is third in the BIG EAST in rebounding at 8.0 caroms per game. Nze pulled down 14 rebounds Jan. 19 at DePaul, his second time in three outings hitting that mark (also at St. John’s Jan. 12). It is his highest total in a Butler uniform (although he had 17 in a game while playing at Milwaukee). He has six games with 10 or more rebounds this season.

HANDLE WITH CARE: Butler is second in the BIG EAST and 36th nationally, averaging only 11.2 turnovers per game. Butler had only six turnovers against Xavier Jan. 30, one of the team’s seven single-digit turnover outputs this season. The six turnovers matched the team’s season-low. The Bulldogs turned the ball over only seven times in 45 minutes of play in the Jan. 16 win over Creighton.