[sportsfan2006]

By Randy Rosetta
Inspin.com/WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

Georgetown opened Big East Conference play looking like one of the teams to beat last week when the Hoyas rolled past Notre Dame 66-48 – their seventh win in a row, all by 15 points or more.

GU’s next league test is against a Villanova team desperate to get back on track after an 0-2 start in league games.

The Hoyas are shooting 55 percent from the field (180 of 327) during their win streak and are connecting at a 43.4 percent clip (63 of 145) from 3-point range. The current streak is the program’s longest since GU began the 2003-04 season with nine straight victories.

Georgetown’s win over the 17th-ranked Fighting Irish was the first Hoya win against a ranked foe this season and the fifth in 18 tries in Coach John Thompson III’s three-year tenure. Three came last season when GU knocked off No. 1 Duke and ninth-ranked Pittsburgh during the regular season and Ohio State in the NCAA Tournament.

Roy Hibbert is third in the Big East in field-goal shooting at 68 percent (68-of-100) and is the anchor of a starting five that includes four players shooting 50 percent or better from the floor (Jeff Green at 53.7, Jonathan Wallace at 50.5, DaJuan Summers at 50). Georgetown ranks seventh nationally in shooting at 51.6 percent (349-of-677).

The Hoyas’ defense also ranks among the Big East’s best – second in the league in field-goal defense (37.7 percent) and scoring defense (54.5 points per game).

Green is averaging 11.9 points a game this season and needs 167 more points to reach 1,000 for his career. In 79 career games, he is averaging 12.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists.

Villanova dipped to 0-2 in league play with a 73-65 home loss to DePaul on Saturday, and a stagnant offense has been the major problem. The Wildcats have averaged only 60.5 points a game in two Big East losses after blazing to 81 points per game in the first 12 outings. ’Nova is 8-1 this season when scoring 70 points or more.

When the Wildcats play in Washington D.C. tonight, it will be their 10th game either on the road or at neutral sites this season. Villanova and Georgetown will play in the Verizon Center, where the ’Cats have won five games in a row against the Hoyas. However, GU is a 5.5-point favorite on WagerWeb.com.

Villanova freshman guard Scottie Reynolds is coming off a career-best 25-point effort, anchored by 7-for-11 shooting from 3-point territory.

Fifth-year senior Curtis Sumpter is leading Villanova with 19.4 points and 6.8 rebounds a game, but he struggled against DePaul with only 15 points on 6-of-18 shooting from the floor. Sumpter is shooting 80 percent (64-of-80) from the free-throw line this season. When he shoots five foul shots or more in a game, the Wildcats are 8-1 this season. When he doesn’t, VU is 2-3. He has attempted only free throws in the Wildcats’ four losses this year.

WEST VIRGINIA at NOTRE DAME (7 p.m. EST Tuesday): The Irish lost their 12-game winning streak at Georgetown and will try to get back on track against Big East co-leader West Virginia on Tuesday. Despite the setback to the Hoyas, Notre Dame still leads the Big East with 85.3 points a game and ranks second with 18.7 assists a contest. Irish senior guard Russell Carter is the league’s third-highest scorer with 17.5 points a game and is one of the most prolific 3-point shooters in the Big East at 46.9 percent (45-of-96). The Mountaineers are 3-0 in the league for the second straight year but now hit a stretch where they play six of their next eight games on the road. WVU has trailed for just 2:24 in 120 minutes of Big East play and is holding opponents to less than 50 points per game. The Mountaineers top the league in scoring defense (51.1 points per game) and have surrendered fewer 3-pointers (61) than any other Big East team. Junior guard Darris Nichols recorded a career-high 20 points in WVU’s 73-46 victory against St. John’s on Saturday after scoring only 29 points in the previous six games. All three of the Mountaineers’ Big East wins have come by double digits and by an average of 16 points.

MARQUETTE at CONNECTICUT (7:30 p.m. EST Wednesday): This loomed as potential matchup of teams that might be in the battle for the Big East championship before the season. Now it’s a showdown of two teams that need a spark to get back on the right track. The Golden Eagles tumbled to 0-2 in league play with a 70-58 loss at home to Syracuse on Sunday and are averaging only 58.5 points a game in those two setbacks. UConn got manhandled by LSU on Saturday, losing 66-49 in Baton Rouge after leading 24-16 midway through the first half. The Huskies’ point total was their lowest in any game since a 46-40 victory against Villanova in 2002 and their worst effort in a non-conference game since 1986. Connecticut’s struggles were across the board as Jerome Dyson was the only player in double digits vs. LSU with 12 points. Jeff Adrien was 3-for-12 from the floor and wound up with only 8 points, while A.J. Price missed eight of nine floor shots. Marquette suffered through a similar struggle against Syracuse as starters Dominic James, Jerel McNeal and Wesley Matthews combined to knock down only 16 of 47 field goals among them. That trio also had 14 of the Eagles’ 23 turnovers.




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