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Game 30 - Georgetown (7-22) vs. #20 Providence (20-8)
Nuts & Bolts
Date: February 26, 2023
Time: 12:30 p.m. ET
Venue: Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C.
How to Watch: FOX
Matchup History: Georgetown leads all-time series 47-33
Last Meeting: Providence def. Georgetown 74-62 on 2/8/23
Betting Lines: Via DraftKings
Spread: Georgetown +7
Over/Under: 148.5
Prediction: Georgetown 65, Providence 74
Official Game Notes: HERE
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Head Coach: Patrick Ewing (6th season, 75-106 record at Georgetown)
Record: 7-22 (2-16, 11th in Big East)
Last Time Out: Lost vs. St. John’s 79-70 on 2/22
Highlights N/A
Player to Watch: Brandon Murray
It’s senior day in D.C! On Sunday afternoon, Georgetown will honor seniors Akok Akok, Bryson Mozone, Malcolm Wilson and Qudus Wahab.
Given the current state of the Georgetown basketball program, it may be the final game at Capital One Arena for any number of Hoyas, but we won’t know on Sunday and it may be months before we know for sure.
That unfortunately includes the program’s most legendary player, Patrick Ewing, who is nearing the end of his sixth season in charge.
The Hoyas have lost 36 of the last 38 Big East games they have played, with wins coming over the teams that currently sit directly ahead of them in the standings, DePaul in tenth and Butler in ninth.
There’s a wide consensus among alumni and fans that there needs to be significant change before the beginning of next season, and all of the current evidence would back up that view.
However…
It was just two years ago that many folks were calling for Ewing’s head after a disappointing 7-9 conference campaign heading into the Big East Tournament.
Then Georgetown won four games in four days over Marquette, Villanova, Seton Hall and Creighton to advance to the NCAA Tournament.
That four day performance is likely the reason Ewing is still at the helm of Georgetown, and if he somehow pulls that off again, might he stay on as head coach?
I cannot stress this enough…if Georgetown wins the Big East Tournament, not only will it be significantly more improvable than the run two years ago, but it’ll likely go down as the most miraculous out-of-nowhere conference tournament run in college basketball history.
It won’t happen, but it needs to be said because it feels like that’s all the Hoyas can hope for at this point.
It’s senior day, but it could end up being so much more than just the final home game for four Georgetown seniors.
Head Coach: Ed Cooley (12th season, 241-149)
Record: 20-8 (12-5, T-3rd in Big East)
Last Time Out: Lost @ #18 UConn 87-69 on 2/22
Highlights HERE
Player to Watch: Bryce Hopkins
Providence is currently projected as one of five Big East Teams to make the NCAA Tournament. A projected 7 seed, the Friars are safely in the field of 68, along with Marquette, Xavier, Creighton and UConn.
The conference could get a sixth team if one of those five does not win the Big East Tournament, but that is unlikely (yes, Villanova, that is a challenge).
The Friars have fit the typical Big East trend of never losing at home while running into trouble on the road.
Providence is undefeated on its home court and is 4-5 on the road in Big East play. The issue for the Friars, and the rest of the conference, is that postseason basketball is not played at home. This is why the Big East Tournament is setting up to be perhaps the best it’s been since the conference realigned in 2014.
I think that this Providence team is built for March. The Friars have one of the best players in the conference in Bryce Hopkins and play a physical type of basketball that can easily propel the team into the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
Providence is top 30 in the country in blocks, rebounds and free throw attempts per game. This tells me they live in the paint, control the paint and get to the foul line while pouring in 78.5 points per game (37th nationally). Simple, yet effective.
So many games in New York and in the NCAA Tournament could easily be decided by flipping a coin, which makes the prospect so intriguing.
For now, Providence is playing to stay healthy and for seeding. They cannot afford a slipup in what is the final road game of the season against the last place team in the conference.
Lesson learned in that 18 point loss to UConn. All business for the Friars from here on out.
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