With their Big East opener just around the corner, the Georgetown Hoyas look to cap off the non-conference slate with a win against the 4-6 American Eagles. Though both teams call Washington, D.C. home, the Hoyas will play host as Saturday’s game will tip off at Capital One Arena at 12 p.m.
American is the third straight Georgetown opponent to rank outside the top 200 in KenPom. After defeating both UMBC and Samford by over 25 points, the Hoyas once again will enter Saturday’s contest as the heavy favorites. History has not been kind to the Eagles either, as they have lost all five of the team’s meetings since 2000, with the closest margin coming in the most recent meeting in 2012 when Georgetown won by 17.
Georgetown and American have faced two common opponents thus far this season in Mount St. Mary’s and UMBC. The Hoyas and Eagles were a combined 4-0 in these games, and thus it is too difficult to read too deep into these results. However, outside of these two wins, American is a disappointing 2-6, including a recent three-point home loss to Stony Brook on Dec. 21.
Coming into the season, the Eagles’ hopes for a successful season rested on senior guard and Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year Sa’eed Nelson. Nelson certainly has shouldered much of the scoring load, contributing 16.3 points per game on 48.6% shooting. In addition to being the Eagles’ top offensive weapon, Nelson is active on the defensive end, tallying an impressive three steals per contest. Still, American needs their senior leader to be virtually mistake-free, and Nelson has been far from it, turning the ball over 3.9 times per game on average.
Nelson is joined in the backcourt by fellow veterans Jamir Harris and Stacy Beckton, as well as three-point specialist Jacob Boonyasith (shooting 51.1% from deep on the year). It will be interesting to see how Coach Ewing decides to best match-up with the four guard look that American relies upon. With all four Eagles guards measuring between 6’2” and 6’4”, the Hoyas will have a lot of flexibility with match-ups, and could even switch all guard-to-guard action on the perimeter.
While the Eagles offense primarily runs through their guards, American does feature another senior leader down low in 6’10” forward Mark Gasperini. After starting 27 games as a junior and scoring in double figures 16 times, Gasperini has had some struggles in the early going, averaging just 7.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per contest thus far. Things will not get any easier against the Hoyas as Gasperini will be tasked with guarding (or rather trying to guard) Georgetown’s Omer Yurtseven. Yurtseven was unchallenged against Samford enroute to career highs in points (32) and rebounds (17). With not a lot of size off the bench for American, Gasperini will need to step up to the challenge and go toe-to-toe with Yurtseven if the Eagles are going to keep this game close.
Jacob’s Prediction (10-2 on the year): Georgetown 87, American 62
Georgetown is by far the best opponent American has faced this season. Sa’eed Nelson is a very good player, but Jagan Mosely is an even better defender. With their best scoring option neutralized, the Eagles will be lost on offense and unable to slow down Yurtseven on the other end of the floor. Hoyas win big and enter Big East play with a head full of steam and a whole lot of confidence.
Will’s Prediction (9-3 on the year): Georgetown 93, American 72
The Hoyas are going to extend their current winning streak to six games. Book it. The Eagles are simply too small, too slow, and less skilled than the Hoyas. I’m confident in making this prediction because while the Eagles do have solid players, like Nelson, the Hoyas are still overall a much superior team and this squad in the past six games has shown no signs of playing down to opposition, a problem of some Georgetown teams of years past.
