Game #55. RTC Live returns to the nation’s capital for a possible trap game for the streaking Hoyas.
While KenPom may be telling you that Washington State over Kansas State is the upset to watch out for, Utah State and Georgetown will absolutely be a game you need to keep an eye on while Kentucky invades Chapel Hill. Stew Morrill runs one of the most consistently underrated programs in the country. Generally, he avoids playing road games against power conference teams without a return game, but after living on the bubble for much of his tenure, Morrill made the decision to schedule the Hoyas. They are an experienced group with some good perimeter defenders. Tai Wesley is a better post player than Ricardo Ratliffe of Missouri, who had 22 points against the Hoyas. And Nate Bendall is back in the lineup, although he is still battling the foot injury that has plagued him this year. Throw in a potential hangover from Georgetown’s thrilling win over Mizzou, and the Aggies seemed primed for an upset. That said, Georgetown may have the best baskcourt in the country with Austin Freeman, Chris Wright, and Jason Clark. Utah State better make sure they close out long, because those three are all hitting well above 40% from deep.
Recap
Georgetown was impressive in their 68-51 win over Utah State on Saturday afternoon, but not just because of the final score. The 17 point difference was a much a result of USU’s Tai Wesley and Brockeith Pane spending the afternoon in foul trouble as it was a result of great play by the Hoyas. Chris Wright had 21 points, but neither Austin Freeman nor Jason Clark found any kind of offensive rhythm. That was due to the Aggie’s defense, as USU held Georgetown to just 2-9 of shooting from deep. So what did the Hoyas do? They threw on a press, forced a couple turnovers, got a couple easy baskets, and used a 17-2 run to open the second half and put the game away. For the second time this week, the Hoyas beat a tournament team despite that team being able to execute their game plan. Watch out for this team.