Don’t panic! Or do, I would understand. Get ready for a game that is sure to be a solid barometer for how good this Georgetown team really is. Thus far, you could say every game has gone according to preseason expectations with the exception of the Naval Academy (respect the troops), so the Red Storm will be a true test of the Hoyas’ talent. Take solace in the fact this isn’t a Big East Tournament game and pray that Ewing watched some YouTube tutorials on how to give a halftime speech since Friday. The board is plentiful today, so let’s begin…

THE BOARD

Georgetown PK

St. John’s PK

O/U 154

First Half O/U 71.5

Georgetown O/U 76.5

St. John’s O/U 76.5

Georgetown First Half O/U 34.5

St. John’s First Half O/U 35.5

Georgetown First to 10 points -115

St. John’s First to 10 points -125

Georgetown First to 20 points -125

St. John’s First to 20 points -115

Highest scoring half 1st Half +160

Highest scoring half 2nd Half + OT -220

BEST BETS 

Bobby

Under 154 1u

Time to crunch the numbers. Per KenPom, the Hoyas and Johnnies are the 64th and 12th fastest tempo teams in the country, so this is set up to be a track meet. We should be worried that the Johnnies have the 20th best Turnover % and 6th best Steal %, while the Hoyas have a weak 268th-ranked turnover offense. This would imply that we could be in for a gross night of turnovers. On the other hand, I feel that our kryptonite of defense has been giving up so many wide open threes as we allow a dreadful 45.1% for our opponents. This may not be a serious issue because the Red Storm shoots an abysmal 29.8% from beyond-the-arc, and only 20.8% of their points come from the three. I worry a little bit about Julian Champagnie running up the score on us because he has made a habit of averaging a mean 22.4 pts per game, and we seem to struggle exceptionally against superstars like Cam Davis (28 points for Navy) and Collin Gillespie (5-7 from three for Nova).

Given that there is so much working against both teams, I don’t leave a particular way on the PK and think this game largely comes down to a combination of whether we can contain Champagnie and how Qudus matches up against Isaiah Moore. That being said, the Hoyas have yet to play a game that totalled over 154, and the Johnnies have only played three games to hit that high. The tempo has me concerned that the Red Storm will force a lot of turnovers and score a ton in transition, but we seem to thrive in high tempo games (Coppin St has the 4th highest tempo in the country). The under seems to be the reasonable play here. Hope the Johnnies don’t magically start sinking threes and Qudus out comes ready to protect the paint. This game should end somewhere more in the 75-75 range.  

Jake

Georgetown Pk .5 u

Wow. You want to talk about one of the most improbable covers, how’s going from down 18 in the first half to a 13 point win? By the end of the first half, I had abandoned my Villanova -11.5 bet and was fully rooting for my Hoyas and points. Unfortunately, both blew up in front of my face thanks to just 17 second-half points from Georgetown. Let’s look at the positives from this game, though. Jamorko played very confidently in the first half, Dante Harris turned some heads, the boys were whipping the ball around the court, and Qudus was dominant inside. The tale of two halves got the best of us however, when Villanova tightened up their defense and started making their shots. Onto the next one.

St. John’s will be a tough matchup for the Hoyas. Coming off of a 9-point loss to Seton Hall in which Sandro Mamukelashvili went for 32 points, I would like to predict a big game from Qudus, but he cannot stretch the floor like Mamkelashvii did and St. John’s does have some height. Our turnover issue might be a factor when St. John’s applies full-court pressure, and the increased pace of the game could contribute to more sloppy play. On the other hand, I see an opportunity for easy transition buckets. A fun matchup to pay attention to will be Posh Alexander versus Dante Harris; keep your eyes peeled. I think we actually matchup rather well with St. John’s, who do not have an abundance of talent outside of Julian Champagnie, and I don’t think they will kill us with the three. At the end of the day, I think this game comes down to which Hoya squad shows up; the first or second half team against Villanova? With a spread this close, this game could go either way, but my money is on a fired-up Georgetown team coming out hungry for their first Big East win. 

Armen 

Georgetown PK 0.5u

Over 154 0.5u

It’s official. I’m an idiot. Before I start, I have one thing to say: what in the world was I thinking? I’m going to blame this on finals, but let’s be clear, I will not take the same bets as John until he shows he can win one. That’s now the logical thing to do. Now that I’ve gotten that out of my system, let’s move on to today’s game.

Contrary to what some people might think, I am optimistic that this team could dominate subpar opponents this year in the Big East. I’m going to imagine the Navy game never happened. Since then, Georgetown has played three decent games, and now they have an opponent who will play directly into the Hoyas’ strengths. If Georgetown can dominate the paint and get some production from Blair and Pickett, the lack of defense and fast-paced nature of both of these teams could turn this into a shootout. I think it’ll be close, but I think St. John’s is a very overrated team so give me the Hoyas, give me the over, and give me whatever John isn’t taking. JOHN Kurkjian. St. JOHN’s University. Coincidence, I think not. Ladies and gentlemen, take it to the bank.

John

St. John’s PK 0.5u

Under 154 0.5u

I suck at betting; that’s something we all know. No shot Georgetown wins. That’s my explanation. If we win, I lose units,but we’re back to .500 then. Everyone’s gonna fade my bets, so since I’m always wrong, give me the Johnnies.  That’s all I’ve got folks. 

*** All bets are completely theoretical and based on delusion.  This column is for entertainment purposes only.