Hoyas travel to The RAC

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No. 20 Georgetown Travels to Play at Rutgers on Saturday Afternoon

WASHINGTON - The Georgetown University men's basketball team hits the road on Friday morning - departing a bit earlier than expected because of an impending storm in the Northeast this weekend - for a matchup at Rutgers on Saturday, Feb. 9. Tipoff at the RAC in Piscataway, N.J. is slated for noon. The game will be shown live on MASN, with Anish Shroff and Bob Wenzel calling all of the action. Rich Chvotkin's radio call can be heard locally on ESPN 980 AM.

The Hoyas, 16-4 overall and 6-3 in the BIG EAST, moved back in to the national rankings this week, appearing at No. 20 in the Associated Press poll and No. 21 in the USA Today Coaches poll. Georgetown closed out a three-game homestand last Saturday, beating St. John's, 68-56, for its fourth-straight win and the sixth in the last seven games.

The seniors with Rutgers will be the 44th meeting all-time between the schools, with the Hoyas leading the head-to-head series, 27-16. The Scarlet Knights are 11-9 at home, but GU has a 4-1 record in New Jersey under Head Coach John Thompson III, including a74-65 win during the 2010-11 season.

Sophomore forward Otto Porter Jr. (Morley, Mo./Scott County Central), a candidate for the Wooden Award recognizing the top player in the country, scored 20 points in 23 minutes of action en route to a 74-52 win over Seton Hall on Jan. 30 and has been one of the leaders for the Blue & Gray.

Porter Jr. leads the team in scoring (14.8 points per game) and rebounding (7.6 rebounds per game) and is third on the team in assists (2.4) and leads the team in blocks (21) and steals (35). He ranks 12th in the BIG EAST in scoring, fifth in the league in rebounds, but also ranks among the league leaders in field goal percentage (eighth, 51.3%), three-point field goal percentage (third, 46.2%), steals (seventh, 1.84 spg), blocked shots (13th, 1.19 bpg) and defensive rebounds (2nd, 6.06 rpg). In BIG EAST games, Porter Jr. is sixth in the league in scoring, averaging 16.6 points per game, which is tied for fifth in the league.

In the win over St. John's last week, junior forward Nate Lubick (Southborough, Mass. / St. Mark's) recorded his first career double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead four players in double figures. Lubick is fourth on the team in scoring with 7.8 points and third with 5.4 rebounds.

Junior guard Markel Starks (Accokeek, Md./Georgetown Prep) is third on the team in scoring with 11.8 points per game and leads the team with 2.9 assists per game. Starks leads the team with 32 three-point field goals and ranks seventh in the BIG EAST in three-point percentage, connecting on 41.6 percent of his shots (32-of-77).

The Hoyas have received great contributions from the bench in the last seven games, averaging 14.9 points, 14.3 rebounds and 4.1 assists. During the team's first 13 games, the reserves were averaging 13.8 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists. Freshman guard D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera (Indianapolis, Ind./Oak Hill) is averaging 9.4 points and 5.6 rebounds in that span.

The Hoyas have been led by a stingy defensive effort this season, holding opponents to under 60 points in 14 of its 20 games. GU's opponents are averaging 55.3 points per game, which ranks second in the BIG EAST and No. 10 nationally. The Hoyas have limited opponents to 37.5 percent shooting from the field, which is third in the conference. GU has limited its last seven opponents to below 40 percent shooting from the field.