Hoyas hope to make it three at BET
March 12, 2015 - Tonight at 7p, the 2014-15 Georgetown Hoyas officially enter postseason play, their 20-9 overall record and 12-6, second place BIG EAST Conference mark a thing of the past. Winning the next game is the only thing that counts now.
Facing G'Town now ranked 23rd nationally, is the league's 10th slotted team, Creighton (13-8, 4-14), a squad the Hoyas thrashed twice this year by 15 and 27 points. It's coach, Greg McDermott hinted last night his Bluejays recognize this, and as such have something to prove this evening.
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FoxSports 1 will broadcast the contest, while Rich Chvotkin's radio call is on 980 AM. Supplement both with our real-time, in game chat.
We know Creighton will be fired up, but what will the Hoyas actually see from them?
"Their guards are really, really good" said freshman Hoya forward Isaac Copeland Tuesday, "(Austin) Chatman and I forget the other guy's name (Devin Brooks), they're very quick and aggressive...we have to contain both of their guards and close out on the shooters".
His teammate, junior point guard D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera felt similarly, noting Chatman, a senior lead man is a "smaller guard, fast, really quick. Hard to keep in front of you. That will be a big challenge for our team. You have to try and contain him in transition".
That stopping penetration and covering shooters is in G'Town's game plan is hinted at via stats; the Bluejays trail G'Town in virtually every statistical category with the exception of assists, where they lead 13.5 to 13.3 per game (fifth to sixth league wide). That's not a huge advantage, but coupled with CU's 419 dimes to 385 by the Hoyas and the standing of sixth and 14th by Chatman and Brooks regarding assists conference wide, the Bluejay's offensive attack predicated on point guards finding teammates starts to reveal itself.
What do the Hoyas think of themselves? For the answer, see Premium Court, where Smith-Rivera's status for tonight's game is also broached; he didn't play during last Saturday's Senior Day tilt with Seton Hall. There, Head Hoya John Thompson III also discusses the relationship between BIG EAST and NCAA Tournament play, Copeland and Smith-Rivera chat about the need for rest while we present schemes CU will likely deploy.
The biggest game of the year, one fraught with win-or-go-home reality, is tonight for Georgetown. As Smith-Rivera noted "It's hard to win three times in a row" against a team.
Can the Hoyas get it done?