.png)
Game 16 - Georgetown (12-3) vs. #9 UConn (12-4)
Nuts & Bolts
Date: January 11, 2025
Time: 2:00 p.m. ET
Venue: Capital One Arena - Washington, D.C.
How to Watch: FOX
Matchup History: UConn leads all-time series 33-19
Last Meeting: UConn def. Georgetown 89-64 on 2/10/24
Prediction: Georgetown 67, UConn 73
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 (2nd season, 21-26 record at Georgetown)
Record: 12-3 (3-1, 5th in Big East)
Last Time Out: Lost @ #7 Marquette 74-66 on 1/7/25
Player to Watch: Thomas Sorber
Despite the tough loss on the road in Milwaukee on Tuesday night, Georgetown Head Coach Ed Cooley has to be walking away thinking he’s got a legitimate team this year.
The Hoyas led #7 Marquette by as many as 14 in the first half, taking a nine point lead into the halftime locker room.
In the opening minutes of the second half, the lead evaporated, as the Golden Eagles tied the game in less than six minutes.
The rest of the game was a dogfight. The game swung back and forth for the remaining 14 minutes and was tied at 64 with two minutes to go.
From there, Marquette ended the game on a 10-2 run, led by Chase Ross and Stevie Mitchell, who finished the game with 27 points, and 13 points, respectively, to lead MU to a narrow victory.
The killer for Georgetown, besides being without leading scorer Jayden Epps for the second straight game, was turnovers. The Hoyas turned the ball over 19 times in the loss, largely due to Marquette’s defense, as the Golden Eagles had 16 steals in the game.
Still, despite the 14 point first half lead and a chance to win at the end, it’s hard not to take away the myriad of positives from the loss in Milwaukee.
The Hoyas tightened up the rotation to just seven players, with only Jordan Burks and Curtis Williams coming off the bench, combining for 18 points in the game.
Meanwhile, point guard Malik Mack continued to shine, leading the Hoyas with 18 points to go along with 5 assists and 2 steals, but also 6 crucial turnovers.
Yes, there are positives to take away from the game, but there’s no time to rest on moral victories in the Big East, especially with the back-to-back national champion coming into your building off of a loss.
UConn has won the last two national titles, but has not been nearly as dominant this season. The Huskies are coming off a rough loss at Villanova on Wednesday night and will undoubtedly give Georgetown its best shot in what they’ll view as a very winnable game.
It’ll likely be a raucous crowd in DC on Saturday, with a heavy dose of UConn alums in the building and actual signs of encouragement from this Georgetown team.
Feels like both teams have to have it; makes for one heck of a matchup.
Head Coach: Dan Hurley (5th season, 153-62 record at UConn)
Record: 12-4 (4-1, T-2nd in Big East)
Last Time Out: Lost @ Villanova 68-66 on 1/8/25
Player to Watch: Alex Karaban
UConn suffered perhaps its most heartbreaking defeat of the season on Wednesday night at Villanova.
With 3 seconds to go and star player Alex Karaban was at the free throw line with a chance to tie or take the lead. Instead, he inexplicably missed both free throws and Villanova held on to win 68-66 in Philly.
It’s the first loss UConn has suffered in the Big East this year, and its first since the horrific trip to Maui in November where the Huskies lost three days in a row to Memphis, Colorado, and Dayton.
Since, Dan Hurley’s squad was looking like itself again, winning eight games in a row entering Wednesday, including wins over Baylor, at Texas, and Gonzaga.
Now, UConn heads to DC to take on Georgetown fresh off its first loss in the continental U.S. this season. Expect a heavily motivated Huskies team at Capital One Arena with a lot of its fans in attendance to push them forward.
It seems clear that this is not the same level of dominance we saw from UConn the past two seasons, when the program celebrated back-to-back national championships. However, it’s still the juggernaut of the Big East until someone unseats them.
For the Huskies, Saturday is an opportunity to send Georgetown back to the middle of the Big East pack and catapult itself to the top of the standings alongside Marquette as the clear conference powers.
For Georgetown, fresh off nothing but moral victories in Tuesday's loss at Marquette, the matchup with UConn presents an opportunity like they have not seen in years.
It feels like the Hoyas have a real chance to win. If they play like they did on Tuesday in Milwaukee, minus the turnovers, they probably will.
Comments