Tonight’s latest installment of the rivalry that built the Big East qualifies as a classic … mismatch.
When No. 5 Georgetown (14-2, 4-1 Big East) plays host to Syracuse (13-6, 3-3) at Verizon Center, the college hoops world will get a look at the league’s ultimate study in contrasts.
The Orange are young. Injuries and defections have forced coach Jim Boeheim to put five first-year starters on the floor, including three true freshmen, a sophomore and a redshirt sophomore. Collectively, the Syracuse active roster can claim a total of 96 starts, 22 fewer than Georgetown senior point guard Jonathan Wallace, the most seasoned member of the league’s most seasoned team.
Georgetown’s first five, four of whom took the floor in last season’s Final Four, boasts a Big East-most 329 starts.
“They are one of the best teams in the country, and it is going to be a tremendous challenge for us,” Boeheim said after the Orange dropped an 81-71 decision to Villanova in the Carrier Dome on Saturday. “We have one day to get ready for them.”
The Hoyas know the feeling after last week’s quick road turnaround, which yielded a fatigue-addled 69-60 loss at Pittsburgh last Monday. Road teams are 0-4 in two-day turnaround league games this season.
It was precisely such a setup that stung the Hoyas against Syracuse last season, when Georgetown clinched the Big East regular-season crown with an emotional 61-53 victory over Pittsburgh in Verizon Center on Feb. 24 and then traveled to Syracuse the next day for a Big Monday meeting with the Orange. Celebrating its senior night against the weary Hoyas, Syracuse snapped Georgetown’s 11-game winning streak by strapping a season-worst 72-58 beating on the Hoyas.
The Hoyas have not forgotten that night as they prepare to welcome a weary, vulnerable Orange squad to the arena where they have won 14 straight games.
“We remember that,” said Georgetown senior center Roy Hibbert, who is averaging 17.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists in Georgetown’s last four games. “We’re going to try not to let that affect us, but obviously that’s in our memory. This is a new bunch of guys this year. We’ve got to stay focused and not try to make a 20-point play or whatever to get revenge.”
From a style-of-play standpoint, several key items are worth noting entering tonight’s matchup — and they aren’t all in the Hoyas’ favor.
First, Syracuse is normally synonymous with its 2-3 zone defense, but the Orange’s defense is likely to have less bearing on tonight’s outcome than in any recent meeting between the teams for two primary reasons: Not only has Georgetown played a preponderance of 2-3 zone itself under fourth-year coach John Thompson III, making the Hoyas exceedingly familiar with the scheme, but it’s impossible to maximize the defense with five first-year, underclassmen starters.
Given its youth and defensive liabilities, Syracuse runs whenever possible and leads the Big East in scoring behind the dynamic freshman pairing of Donte Greene (18.5 points and 7.7 rebounds a game) and Jonny Flynn (14.9 points and 5.4 assists a game). Both pose matchup problems for the Hoyas.
Georgetown’s backcourt has struggled at times over the last two seasons with quicksilver guards like Flynn. Greene’s combination of size (6-foot-11, 226 pounds) and quality perimeter skills (.358 from 3-point range) make him a tough check. And the Hoyas have had issues with transition defense this season.
Expect sophomore forward DaJuan Summers to draw fellow Baltimore area product Greene. The 6-foot-8 Summers has a similar skill set, is coming off an impressive performance against Notre Dame with 17 points and 11 rebounds and is familiar with Greene’s game after many high school duels between the pair.
“When I was in high school, [Greene] was in our AAU league,” Summers said when asked who got the best of their prep matchups. “Win-wise? Probably me, I would say.”
Finally, expect the Hoyas to counter the Orange with a sagging zone defense of their own. Predominantly a dribble-drive team, Syracuse lost its two best 3-point shooters when guards Eric Devendorf and Andy Rautins went down with season-ending ACL injuries. Unlike Georgetown, which showed signs of emerging from its mini-shooting slump against Notre Dame, Syracuse is a limited 3-point shooting team.
Today’s game
SYRACUSE (13-6, 3-3 Big East) AT NO. 5 GEORGETOWN (14-2, 4-1)
Where: Verizon Center
When: 7 p.m.
TV/radio: ESPN, AM-980
Outlook: In a matchup pitting the Big East’s most seasoned group against its least experienced, the Hoyas welcome a young Orange team to Verizon Center after losing at Syracuse 72-58 last season. Because of knee injuries to Eric Devendorf and Andy Rautins and the defection of senior guard Josh Wright, the Orange have an all-freshman backcourt of Jonny Flynn (14.9 points a game, 5.4 assists a game) and Scoop Jardine and no real perimeter shooting threat outside of freshman forward Donte Greene (18.5 ppg).
— Barker Davis
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