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Game 19 - Georgetown (8-10) vs. Butler (12-7)
Nuts & Bolts
Date: January 23, 2024
Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
Venue: Capital One Arena - Washington, DC
How to Watch: FS1
Matchup History: Butler leads all-time series 12-11
Last Meeting: Butler def. Georgetown 74-64 on 12/19/23
Betting Lines: Via DraftKings
Spread: Georgetown +3
Over/Under: 149.5
Prediction: Georgetown 78, Butler 74
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Head Coach: Ed Cooley (1st season, 8-10 record at Georgetown)
Record: 8-10 (1-6, 10th in Big East)
Last Time Out: Lost @ Xavier 92-91 on 1/19/24
Player to Watch: Jayden Epps
The Georgetown Hoyas have lost three straight Big East games and are 1-6 in conference play, with the latest loss being an absolute heartbreaker on the road against Xavier.
The 92-91 defeat is the second game that Georgetown has lost by one this season (see the buzzer beater loss against TCU on December 2), but this one may have hurt even more.
The Hoyas led by as many as 14, shot nearly 48% from three and 95% from the free throw line while winning the rebounding battle, not to mention that the star point guard, Jayden Epps, had his fourth 30+ point performance of the season, pouring in 32 points and dishing out 11 assists in a spectacular performance.
And it still wasn’t enough.
“Today I saw a Georgetown team really grow up,” Hoyas Head Coach Ed Cooley said postgame. “I thought we competed at an elite level in an incredibly hostile atmosphere…we weren’t fortunate today but what I'm proud of is the growth and development of our young men.”
The loss sets Georgetown back to 1-6 in Big East play with the lone win coming against the only team lower in the standings, DePaul.
On Tuesday, the Hoyas welcome in the Butler Bulldogs to Capital One Arena. It’s the first time this year that Georgetown will play a conference foe for a second time, with the first meeting back on December 19 resulting in a 74-64 win for the Bulldogs.
There are no moral victories for the Hoyas, although they have inarguably been playing much better over the past couple of weeks, playing tightly contested games against Seton Hall, UConn, and Xavier entering Tuesday’s game against Butler.
They deserve a win, but that doesn't mean it’ll happen automatically. What Georgetown needs is another complete team performance where they finally come out on top.
Huge opportunity to get one Tuesday night against Butler.
Head Coach: Thad Matta (2nd season, 26-25 record at Butler - 2nd stint)
Record: 12-7 (3-5, 9th in Big East)
Last Time Out: Won vs. DePaul 74-60 on 1/20/24
Player to Watch: Pierre Brooks II
Early in the season, the Butler Bulldogs were the big surprise of the Big East Conference.
Last year, in the first season under Head Coach Thad Matta, Butler went 14-18 overall and 6-14 in the conference.
This year, Matta had his team off to a 10-2 start after winning the first Big East game of the season over Georgetown on December 19.
Since, the Bulldogs are 2-5, but enter Tuesday’s game in DC coming off a 74-60 win over DePaul this past weekend.
In the first meeting with Georgetown, Butler dominated in the paint, scoring 62 of their 74 points either in the paint or at the free throw line.
The Bulldogs shot an abysmal 22% from three (4/18), but it didn’t matter, leading nearly wire-to-wire in the 10 point win.
Butler had four players score in double figures, led by Posh Alexander and Pierre Brooks, who both finished with 13. Alexander had the best game of the bunch, finishing with 3 rebounds, 7 assists, and 5 steals to go along with his 13 points.
Since getting deeper into Big East play, the Bulldogs have been struggling while Georgetown has played some its best basketball over the past week.
If you’re Butler, you cannot afford to let the Hoyas get off to a hot start and need to right the ship with a season sweep of Georgetown.