.png)
Game 17 - Georgetown (8-8) @ #4 UConn (14-2)
Nuts & Bolts
Date: January 14, 2024
Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
Venue: XL Center - Storrs, CT
How to Watch: FOX
Matchup History: UConn leads all-time series 31-19
Last Meeting: UConn def. Georgetown 68-62 on 2/4/23
Betting Lines: Via DraftKings
Spread: Georgetown +21
Over/Under: 144
Prediction: Georgetown 59, UConn 76
Follow Along on Twitter
Road to the Garden: https://twitter.com/Road2TheGarden
Zach Penrice - DMV Sports: https://twitter.com/Zach_DMVSports
Head Coach: Ed Cooley (1st season, 8-8 record at Georgetown)
Record: 8-8 (1-4, 10th in Big East)
Last Time Out: Lost vs. Seton Hall 74-70 on 1/9/24
Player to Watch: Jayden Epps
Georgetown heads to Storrs, CT Sunday afternoon for its toughest test yet, a road battle with #4 UConn.
The Hoyas played UConn tough twice last season the year the Huskies won the national championship, losing on the road by 11 and at home by 6.
However, the Hoyas have lost to Connecticut six times in a row entering Sunday.
Georgetown enters the game coming off a brutal loss on Tuesday against Seton Hall.
The Hoyas started horribly, trailing by 16 in the early minutes of the first half, before clawing their way back into it to make it an 8 point game at the break.
In the second half, Georgetown continued to scratch and claw back into the game, mainly through the prolific shooting of Jayden Epps, who finished with a game-high 30 points, including five three pointers.
With just under four minutes to go, Georgetown took its first lead of the game and extended the lead to three just moments later.
After gaining the lead, however, the Hoyas turned the ball over on four consecutive possessions, allowing Seton Hall to reclaim the lead, which they would never relinquish, giving the Pirates a 74-70 win.
The loss sets Georgetown back to 8-8 overall and 1-4 in the Big East, only ahead of DePaul in the standings.
Sunday’s game at UConn is a monumental task for Ed Cooley’s team. However, there’s a sense that eventually they’ll get a signature win in one of these games they have no business winning.
Head Coach: Dan Hurley (4th season, 118-57 record at UConn)
Record: 14-2 (4-1, 2nd in Big East)
Last Time Out: Won @ Xavier 80-75 on 1/10/24
Player to Watch: Tristen Newton
The defending national champion UConn Huskies look like one of the best teams in the country and are positioned to be in position to make another title run come March.
Dan Hurley’s team is 14-2 and has not lost at home this season, with the lone losses coming on the road against Kansas by 4 and a 15 point drubbing at Seton Hall a few weeks ago.
Since that loss, the Huskies are 4-0, but have played three close games, winning those battles against Saint John’s, Butler, and Xavier by 4, 7, and 5, respectively.
The other win in that stretch came by 29 against DePaul, which I view as Georgetown’s measuring stick.
If the Hoyas want to close the gap from the bottom of the Big East to the rest of the league, they’ll need to show up in Storrs today.
Georgetown will have to defend the paint in this game, where UConn scores tons of points. In fact, the Huskies rank 7th in the nation in field goal percentage, thanks in large part to the amount of close looks they get.
Besides the offensive prowess, the Huskies rank 46th in scoring defense.
If the Huskies move inside on the smaller Hoyas and score at will in the paint, it should be a relatively easy day for Dan Hurley and company.
Comments