Game Preview - Georgetown vs. Villanova

Game 30 - Georgetown (16-13) vs. Villanova (18-12)

Nuts & Bolts 

• Date: March 4, 2025

• Time: 8:00 p.m. ET 

• Venue: Capital One Arena - Washington, D.C.

• How to Watch: Peacock

• Matchup History: Villanova leads all-time series 51-45

• Last Meeting: Georgetown def. Villanova 64-63 on 1/20/25

• Prediction: Georgetown 67, Villanova 65

• Follow Along on Twitter 

  • Road to the Garden: https://twitter.com/Road2TheGarden 

  • Zach Penrice - DMV Sports: https://twitter.com/Zach_DMVSports 

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Georgetown Hoyas

• Head Coach: Ed Cooley (2nd season, 25-36 record at Georgetown) 

• Record: 16-13 (7-11, 7th in Big East)

• Last Time Out: Lost vs. #21 Marquette 76-61 on 3/1/25

• Player to Watch: Micah Peavy

It’s been a slog for Georgetown since losing star freshman Thomas Sorber for the remainder of the season. 

The Hoyas have lost three in a row, all by double digits; an 11 point loss at Creighton, a 14 point loss at UConn, and a 15 point home loss to Marquette this past Saturday night in D.C. 

Granted, that is about as tough of a three game stretch as you can find in the Big East. Now, Georgetown turns the page to Villanova for the final home game of the season. It wasn’t too long ago that Georgetown erased a 13 point deficit against the Wildcats, holding them scoreless over the final 4:50 of the game to steal a win on the road 64-63 on January 20. 

Villanova comes to D.C. with revenge on the mind with a head coach in Kyle Neptune who is looking to make his seat a little less hot going into the Big East Tournament next week. 

For Georgetown, it already feels like Ed Cooley’s team is playing with house money. The Hoyas had won just two conference games over the past two seasons combined entering 2024-25, and have tallied seven Big East victories in year two under Cooley. 

Looking ahead, sure, Georgetown could get hot in New York and make a run at the tournament title, but in all likelihood the season will be over in the next ten days. 

From there, the sole focus becomes attraction and retention; can Georgetown keep the core of Thomas Sorber, Jayden Epps, and Malik Mack together? 

If those three come back, and Cooley retains key pieces such as Drew Fielder and Jordan Burks while snagging one or two big transfers, the Hoyas will be set up to make a massive leap in year three under Cooley. 

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Villanova Wildcats

• Head Coach: Kyle Neptune (3rd season, 53-45 record at Villanova)

• Record: 18-12 (11-8, 6th in Big East)

• Last Time Out: Won vs. Butler 80-70 on 3/1/25

• Player to Watch: Eric Dixon

A month ago today, Villanova was 12-10 and sub.500 in the Big East at 5-6. Today, the Wildcats come into Capital One Arena having won three straight and six of its last eight games, vaulting up the conference standings at 11-8 in the league and 18-12 overall. 

Patience is running thin for Head Coach Kyle Neptune in his third season. Since taking over at Villanova for the legendary Jay Wright, Neptune is just eight games over .500 and has yet to make the NCAA Tournament; they’ll likely have to win the conference tournament next week at MSG to change that and avoid a streak of missing three straight tournament’s for the first time since 2001-04. 

This is all despite Neptune having the nation’s leading scorer at his disposal. Senior Eric Dixon enters Tuesday night’s game in DC having dropped 30+ points in back-to-back games for the first time all season; he’s averaging 23.6 PPG and has scored 30+ five times this year. 

It’s been a frustrating season for the Wildcats to say the least, who may be finally hitting their stride just a little too late. 

Back in November, Nova lost to two local rivals in Columbia and Saint Joseph’s while dropping a brutal game to Maryland on a neutral floor, 76-75 which would be one of the Wildcats signature wins today had they pulled it out. 

In conference play, of Villanova’s eight losses, five were by seven points or less, including a one point loss to the team they play on Tuesday in Georgetown. 

Since there are 11 Big East teams, Villanova’s regular season ends on Tuesday night against Georgetown while the other ten conference teams will wrap up the season this weekend. 

For the Wildcats, this could be just the advantage they need; Neptune’s team has the opportunity to take a week off while riding a potential four game winning streak into Madison Square Garden. 

If nothing else, the one thing that’s clear is that this is the biggest two week stretch of Kyle Neptune’s career at Villanova.