In a quick turnaround, the Hoyas are headed back home to play the Creighton Bluejays on Tuesday night for the second time in a week. Last time the two teams matched up, Georgetown shocked everyone by walking out of Nebraska with a win in a game where they were 14-point underdogs. The Hoyas won’t catch Creighton by surprise again, but instead will be looking to make a statement that their improved play is here to stay in a rematch on their home court.
Georgetown is coming into the game off a ten-point loss to Villanova on Sunday. Despite the loss, the Hoyas continue to look like a completely different basketball team since returning from their COVID-19 induced break in play. Additionally, center Qudus Wahab was named to the Big East Honor Roll this week, after matching his career high of 17 points against ‘Nova. Wahab and the Hoyas will be looking to prove that their last win against Creighton wasn’t a fluke.
Creighton arrives in DC coming off a 3-point win against Marquette on Saturday night. Marquette rallied late to almost pull off the comeback, but Creighton’s defense managed to hold on and seal the deal. Since the last time they played the Hoyas, the Bluejays have dropped to 19th in the country in the latest AP Poll and will be looking for revenge from last week’s loss. Creighton’s Christian Bishop was also named to the Big East Honor Roll this week after averaging 14 points and 9 rebounds.
In their previous matchup, Georgetown shot an incredible 47.8% from behind the arc. It’s unlikely that the Hoyas will be able to replicate such an elite level of shooting, so the team will have to focus on playing tough defense against Creighton’s numerous offensive weapons and once again winning the turnover battle. Another key to the game is going to be controlling the boards, preventing Creighton from extending offensive possessions and allowing Georgetown to get some easy baskets. The Hoyas just edged out the Bluejays in rebounds in their previous matchup and will need to do it again if they want to win.
It’s going to be an extremely tough task to beat a talented team like Creighton twice in one week, but the Hoyas have shown that they can compete with the best in the conference right now after matchups with Creighton and Villanova. Let’s see if they’ve got some more magic left over for tomorrow.
Vinnie’s Prediction: Creighton 79, Georgetown 72
While I love what I’ve been seeing from the Hoyas lately, they’re playing through an absolute gauntlet in their schedule right now with two games against Creighton and a matchup with Villanova in between. Despite Georgetown’stheir impressive play performance of late, Creighton will be playing angry after getting embarrassed on their home court to a team they felt should’ve been an easy win. Georgetown’s incredible shooting and Creighton’s plethora of turnovers seems unlikely to repeat itself, and the Bluejays take this one.
Jacob’s Prediction (11-3 on the season): Creighton 84, Georgetown 80
As Vinnie alluded to, it’s hard to beat a good team twice. Creighton may not be playing their best basketball, but they’re still a talented team that’s capable of putting up points in a hurry. When the two teams met in Omaha, the Hoyas turned in a better shooting performance than the Bluejays. I don’t expect that to happen again. Georgetown will continue to play hard and likely dominate the paint, but- just like against Villanova- it simply won’t be enough to overcome the three-point shooting of their opponent.
Will’s Prediction (10-4 on the season): Creighton 78. Georgetown 77
Creighton is a good team, but they’re not great. They lost to us (still makes me giddy every time I think about it) and barely eked out a win against a mediocre Marquette team. They have no interior presence to speak of, which allowed Qudus and Chudier to feast off of them last week. It’s going to be close, but the Hoyas sadly probably aren’t going to replicate their shooting performance from last week. What I do want to see more of though is the stout (at least by this team’s standards) defense and ball security that the team showcased against Creighton last week.
