Previewing Georgetown: Hall up against Hoya buzzsaw
Earlier in the season, tomorrow's matinee with Georgetown on Fox looked like it was going to be a regular season finale packed full of NCAA implications, but that won't be the case.
A win for Seton Hall (16-13, 6-11) would definitely boost their NIT chances and give them some momentum heading into the Big East Tournament while additionally giving them a shot at the 7-seed at the Garden if coupled with a DePaul loss at Marquette. Regardless of the result tomorrow, an opening round win at MSG is essential for an NIT at-large.
Big East Tournament seeding scenarios
If Seton Hall wins tomorrow:
· Will be #7 seed if DePaul loses at Marquette
· Will be #8 seed if DePaul wins at Marquette
If Seton Hall loses:
· Will be #8 seed regardless of any other outcome
As for the Hoyas (19-9, 11-6), they won't be short on motivation for a trio of reasons and have won 4 of their last 5. They need a win tomorrow plus a Providence loss to Butler to lock up the 2-seed in the Big East Tournament as they hold the tiebreaker with Butler (all 3 schools are 11-6). If Providence and Georgetown both win, the Friars take the 2-seed since they swept the Hoyas this season.
Along with the usual boost received from Senior Day, Georgetown will see a special return from senior Tyler Adams, whose career was cut short due to a heart complication. Adams was granted a special waiver from the NCAA and will start tomorrow. Regulars Josh Smith, Aaron Bowen, Mikael Hopkins and Jabril Trawickwill also be honored.
Three things to watch:
1 - More consistency. It's a tough environment to do so, but Seton Hall has to find a way to prevent the major lapses in their play that have been an Achilles heel for some time now, notably over their last 3 games. The last 10+ minutes against St. John's, the first half against Creighton, and the middle 8 minutes against Providence were a cover-your-eyes style of basketball on Seton Hall's behalf. That can't happen on the road against a Hoya team that steamrolled them at Prudential Center.
2 - Improved play from Sterling Gibbs. He played fairly well considering he was coming off a two-week layoff that included a concussion that allowed him to only practice once prior to Providence, but it wasn't the Gibbs we've seen for most of the season. Gibbs and Isaiah Whitehead both had 4 assists at the half on Wednesday but failed to register another after it; Seton Hall tallied just 4 assists in the second half (compared to 10 in the first) during meaningful minutes.
3 - Yet again, the defensive glass. Georgetown is just as effective as Providence at attacking their missed shots and pulled down 10 offensive rebounds in the first meeting (32.3%). As you know, the Friars won the second chance point battle 20-0 on Wednesday night and must be something that is stressed in practice this week as it should have been most of this season.
Kevin Willard's teams have only finished in the top-100 in protecting the defensive glass twice during his 8-year career, indicating that this isn't something he has stressed, but I don't think this team is that talented at it either. Angel Delgado is obviously their top rebounder, but Brandon Mobley isn't a natural and only Desi Rodriguez and Isaiah Whitehead contribute significantly on the glass from the 1 through 3 spots.
Last 10 meetings (Hoyas 6-4):
Feb. 10, 2015, Georgetown 86, SETON HALL 67, Newark, N.J.
Feb. 20, 2014, SETON HALL 82, Georgetown 67, Newark, N.J.
Jan. 18, 2014, SETON HALL 67, Georgetown 57, Washington, D.C.
Jan. 30, 2013, Georgetown 74, SETON HALL 52, Washington, D.C.
Feb. 21, 2012, SETON HALL 73, Georgetown 55, Newark, N.J.
Jan. 18, 2011, Georgetown 80, Seton Hall 75, Newark, N.J.
Jan. 14, 2010, Georgetown 85, Seton Hall 73, Washington, D.C.
Jan. 25, 2009, SETON HALL 65, Georgetown 60, Newark, N.J.
Feb. 2, 2008, Georgetown 73, SETON HALL 61, Washington, D.C.
Jan. 19, 2007, Georgetown 74, SETON HALL 58, East Rutherford, N.J.
KenPom says: No. 19 Georgetown 73, No. 88 Seton Hall 62 (13%)
Projected Georgetown starters:
G - Jabril Trawick
F - Mikael Hopkins
F - Tyler Adams*
C - Joshua Smith
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