GAME THREAD: Northwestern at Georgetown

Game 3: Northwestern Wildcats (2-0) at Georgetown Hoyas (2-0)

When: Tonight at 6:30 PM

Where: Capital One Arena

Series: First meeting

TV: FS1 (Brandon Gaudin and Dickey Simpkins)

Radio: 99.1 FM, Sirius XM 384 - Rich Chvotkin (49th season)

KenPom Ranking: Northwestern 68, Georgetown 97

KenPom Projection: Northwestern 73-72 (51%)

Line: Northwestern -1.5, o/u 146.5

Georgetown is off to a 2-0 start after demolishing Green Bay in the second half over the weekend and now the Hoyas get their first real test with Chris Collins and Northwestern coming to town for the Gavitt Games.

It actually felt like the Hoyas picked up a major win on Monday despite not playing as they learned just after lunchtime that Arizona State transfer Jay Heath was granted immediate eligibility by the NCAA.

Why it took an extra week we will likely never know but it does mean that Georgetown is as close to full strength as possible at the moment. Dante Harris (personal reasons) remains unavailable although Bradley Ezewiro (wisdom teeth) is good to go according to coach Patrick Ewing.

It’s early. Like ridiculously early but Primo Spears is the leading scorer in the Big East (24.5 ppg). For his big week the transfer from Duquesne made his way on to the Big East Weekly Honor Roll.

And hey if you want to look even further for some good news look no further than the fact that Coppin State seems to have the potential to escape the dreaded 300-plus rankings in KenPom. The Eagles won again last night and maybe, just maybe that scare the Hoyas received in their opener wasn’t quite as bad as it seemed in real time. Maybe.

.

What to Look For:

1 - Jay Heath. The DC-native has been practicing so Ewing should be able to plug him in right away. Obviously the entire Hoyas team is still trying to gel given all the new parts but Heath figures to gobble up a ton of minutes. He has played over 30 minutes per game in his previous two stops. The question is how will Ewing divide up the time going forward and we get to see our first glimpse against a solid opponent.

2 - The Defense. With the addition of Heath, Georgetown has more depth to press at times. Heath is also known as a good one-on-one defender from his time at Boston College and most recently as a Sun Devil.

NORTHEWESTERN

Despite losing a transfer to both Duke and North Carolina, Collis has his guys 2-0 and trying to get to 3-0 for the second straight season and third time in four years. Power forward Robbie Beran leads the team in scoring at 17.5 ppg. Boo Buie goes for 14.5/6.5/6.5 as the Wildcats point guard and Ty Berry is averaging nearly a double-double of 12.5 ppg and 9 rpg despite measuring in at just 6-foot-3. Collins is the fourth longest tenured coach in the Big Ten in his 10th season. He guided Northwestern to their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 2017. That was also the last time they had a winning record.

Did you know?

Georgetown and Northwestern have never played but the Wildcats have a winning record at Capital One Arena. Collins guided Northwestern to the semis of the 2017 Big Tournament on the Hoyas home floor and actually beat Maryland in the process. Georgetown lost their only game in Capital One Arena to Maryland - also in the Gavitt Games.

Leave your witty and not-so-witty comments below.

HOYA SAXA