LINKS: Hoyas Dispatch DePaul, Will Host Xavier Tuesday

Your Georgetown Hoyas (8-11, 6-8) defeated the DePaul Blue Demons (4-12, 2-12), 68-60, on Saturday afternoon at Chicago’s Wintrust Arena. It was their sixth BIG EAST win of the season and GU is now potentially fighting for (gulp) .500 and a share of fifth place in the conference? Check my math.

The Hoyas return home to face the Xavier Musketeers (13-5, 6-5) on Tuesday evening. Tipoff at the world famous McDonough is set for 7PM on FS1. Xavier comes off a big home win over No. 131 Creighton on Saturday, 77-69, with tournament hopes still bubbling.

The last home game of the year is typically Senior Day—but it’s usually a weekend game. In all likelihood, this might be the last time we see Jahvon Blair and Jamorko Pickett wear a Hoyas jersey in D.C., albeit televised. I’ll leave the speculation as to bonus eligibility to others, but there’s some solid information out there about effects on the scholarship count.

Moreover, this Xavier game could be the last Georgetown game at McDonough for a long, long time. Here’s hoping the seniors are honored in a special way.

“Home Finale” is not quite the “Senior Night” many fans think these Hoyas deserve. Perhaps there’s more in the works, but the faithful around these lunch-blog parts will try our best to celebrate Pickett and Blair.

As for the game, Xavier could be desperate to keep their tournament hopes alive or caught in a trap game after their huge win against Creighton. Far from the epitome of consistency, predicting Georgetown’s mathcup seems about as fruitful as wearing pants to a Zoom call.

Patrick Ewing had previously said that Jahvon Blair will play on Tuesday night. However, with only two conference games (and one guaranteed BIG EAST Tournament game left), will Ewing continue to spread minutes out to guys like Jamari Sibley, Collin Holloway, and TJ Berger? Is Blair secretly injured, as the betting blog below suggests?

Was Ewing testing for BET battles or next season? When will he call his first timeout?

Will Chudier play more like Weekend Chudi Train or give more of a rough ride from prior trips on the Tuesday Night Bile Bus?

Here are the links:

Georgetown Rolls Past Blue Demons 68-60 | GUHoyas

“It shows a lot, guys were in foul trouble. Both bigs were in foul trouble. Malcom came in, I thought he did a solid job. I put Collin (Holloway) in there for a stretch; he got the job done when he was in there. T.J. (Berger) did a fantastic job then he was in there, and also Jamari (Sibley) did a good job. So, the guys––when they had their opportunities––I thought they took advantage of it, which is something they need to do, and they need to continue to do that going forward.”

- Head Coach Patrick Ewing on Georgetown rotation during the game.

Bile, Pickett carry Georgetown past DePaul 68-60 | WGN / AP

Chudier Bile scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to carry Georgetown to a 68-60 win over DePaul on Saturday.

Jamorko Pickett had 14 points for Georgetown (8-11, 6-8 Big East Conference). Dante Harris also scored 14 points and had five assists...

The Hoyas were 19 of 21 at the foul line. After a Moore 3-pointer to open the second half pulled DePaul to 30-29, Georgetown tore off on an 18-0 run to lead 48-29 with just over seven minutes gone in the period. Pickett buried three 3-pointers and was fouled trying fourth, making all three free throws to score 12 during the run.

Jamorko Pickett and Chudier Bile step up as Georgetown wins at DePaul without Jahvon Blair | Washington Post

Ewing said Blair would be available for Tuesday’s home finale against Xavier.

His absence and some interesting lineup combinations in the first half gave the Hoyas (8-11, 6-8) a much different look, but they still managed their fifth win in eight games since returning from a three-week break because of coronavirus issues. Donald Carey got the start in Blair’s place, and Jamari Sibley, T.J. Berger, Collin Holloway and Malcolm Wilson logged first-half minutes despite being sparsely used this season. Pickett, fellow starter Qudus Wahab and Timothy Ighoefe had two fouls apiece before halftime, forcing Ewing to look far down his bench.

https://guhoyas.com/news/2021/3/1/mens-basketball-hoyas-set-to-play-xavier-in-home-finale.aspx

Georgetown decks DePaul, 68-60 | Big East Coast Bias

[B]oth teams shot the ball particularly well from deep. DePaul made 38.9 percent of their 18 attempts, while Georgetown made 41.2 percent of their 17 attempts. We’d spoken about how this game could be decided from 3, but in the end it was a bit of a wash. Georgetown did best the adversary, but they each had the same amount of made threes (7).

One big difference in the game was free throws. Both teams shot at least 90 percent, but the visiting team got to the line much more. Georgetown had 21 attempts from the FT line, and made 19 of them. DePaul, on the other hand, went 9-of-10. 10 more attempts provided a pretty significant difference in the game as the scoreboard will tell you and Georgetown absolutely made those attempts count.

Xavier upsets Creighton in Cincinnati | Big East Coast Bias

Zach Freemantle notched his fifth straight double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds, but it was Paul Scruggs coming up big with a game-high 23 points to go along with seven rebounds and five assists as the senior guard truly did it all for the Musketeers.

The teams were tied at 33 going into the half, but the second half was dominated by Xavier, who bounced back nicely from this week’s loss to Providence. Scruggs recorded 12 points in the second half on a perfect 5-5 shooting from the field.

Men’s Basketball Opens Regular Season-Ending Two-Game Road Trip At Georgetown | GoXavier.com

• Xavier senior Paul Scruggs leads the BIG EAST and is 14th in the nation in assists at 6.1 apg., including a career-high 12 assists vs. UConn on Feb. 13. He is second on the team and tied for 11th in the BIG EAST in scoring (14.4 ppg.) and is third in the BIG EAST (49th in the nation) in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.29...

• Xavier sophomore Zach Freemantle has posted five straight double-doubles (a team-high seven for the season) [and] leads the team in scoring at 16.9 ppg. (fourth in the BIG EAST) and leads the entire BIG EAST Conference in rebounding (37th in the nation at 9.0 rpg.). He also leads XU in field goal percentage (seventh in the BIG EAST at .532).

Xavier faces must-win game against Creighton and wins: Three Takeaways | Banners on the Parkway

The defense was Xavier’s strength tonight ... As nice as it was to see Xavier taking the game to an opponent in the paint and on the drive tonight, the defensive turnaround was what serves as a harbinger that this team just might be turning the corner. After getting absolutely torched by Providence, Xavier held the 12th best offense in the nation to a point per possession and held them to 47% from inside the arc, a full 10% below their season average.

Notable in this were the efforts of Zach Freemantle (17/10/3) and Jason Carter (0/5/1) in keeping Christian Bishop quiet and holding Creighton to 7 offensive rebounds. Perhaps the most impressive was Dwon Odom who [] was sticking to Marcus Zegarowski like glue, keeping Creighton’s chief playmaker from operating in the half court and twice rejecting the Preseason Big East Player of the Year at the rim. While Zegarowski was able to collect 10 assists, he was not able to provide Creighton a consistent scoring option...

Xavier Musketeers’ trip to Georgetown on Tuesday is another game XU would be wise to win | Cincinnati.com

“It’s a dangerous game; we’ve told our guys that,” Xavier Head Coach Travis Steele said Monday in his pregame press conference. “Do not look at their record; it’s very misleading ... because they’re playing way better than that. But it’s a great opportunity to get a road win, and it’s a great opportunity for us to continue to get better. We need everybody to step up.”

If the Musketeers want to take another step toward securing an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament, then this is a game Xavier needs to win.

Prediction, Preview, and Odds #8361 Xavier vs. #8362 Georgetown | Winners and Whiners

Hoyas looking to play spoiler ... The Georgetown Hoyas have not had much to celebrate this season, but with two games remaining versus NCAA Tournament hopefuls, the Hoyas can still have an impact on the Field of 68. Georgetown has played much better over the last month of the season, as they have won five of their last eight games after winning just three of their first 11 games...

Jahvon Blair leads the team with an average of 15.8 points per game, however he missed the Hoyas’ last game and is questionable for Tuesday’s game with an undisclosed injury [???]. Pickett and Qudus Wahab are averaging 12.6 and 11.8 points per game, respectively.