Coming off a four-game homestand and a disappointing loss to UConn, Georgetown travels to Chicago to face DePaul on Saturday at noon. DePaul has already locked up last place in the conference, sitting at 2-11 in the Big East. In their last game, they were blown out by #13 Creighton on the road. They return home to host the Hoyas looking to wipe the memories of their recent 24-point loss..
DePaul has struggled mightily throughout the season. Their best game was last Saturday, where they beat St. John’s 88-83 while shooting 63% from the field. Creighton quickly halted DePaul’s high spirits after the rare win against Johnnies. The contrast between the Blue Demons’ last two games is largely a result of their inconsistent scoring ability, as they have struggled to score throughout the season, averaging only 65.9 points per game.
DePaul’s Charlie Moore and Romeo Weems have consistently been the Blue Demons’ leading scorers, averaging 14.2 and 7.9 points per game, respectively. Moore will likely be matched up with Dante Harris, providing an intriguing point guard matchup between the veteran Moore and up-and-coming Harris. Weems stands at 6’7 and scored a career-high 20 points against the Hoyas last February. There’s a good chance he draws a tough matchup in Jamarko Pickett, who will look to prevent Weems from having another career night this time around.
DePaul’s other leading contributor, Javon Freeman-Liberty, has been out the last three games with a concussion, and it remains unclear if he will be back on Saturday. These three players combine for most of the Blue Demons’ offensive production, leaving a substantial gap without Freeman-Liberty. DePaul averages 16.4 turnovers per game, somehow more than the Hoyas. Georgetown should up their defensive intensity to capitalize on DePaul’s sloppiness while keeping their own turnovers to a minimum.
Georgetown is coming off one of their worst rebounding performances of the season. The Hoyas lead the conference in rebounds, but UConn outrebounded them 46-30. After Georgetown, DePaul is the next best rebounding team in the conference, making it essential for the Hoyas to keep them off the glass. Taking advantage of DePaul’s inability to score and playing solid defense should put the Hoyas in a good place. The balanced scoring that the Hoyas have showcased the last few games has proved to be successful. It seems that either Jahvon Blair or Jamorko Pickett needs to score in double-figures, as the absence of this certainly contributed to the loss against UConn. On the bright side, the play of Dante Harris is providing lots of excitement and has given Hoya fans high hopes for the future.
Both teams are coming off of losses, leaving them both in need of a win to right their respective ships. The Hoyas have the advantage on the offensive end and are certainly a better all-around team than the Blue Demons. Nonetheless, DePaul has shown flashes of potential in the past month, most notably in the upset of St. John’s. That being said, if the Hoyas can play good defense and control the boards, they should come away victorious.
Kathryn’s Prediction: Georgetown 72, DePaul 65
DePaul should be a win. They are by far the worst team in the conference, especially without one of their leading scorers. If Georgetown plays the way they have more recently with solid defense, good rebounding and balanced scoring, they should be able to fend off the Blue Demons. Hoya Saxa!
Jacob’s Prediction (14-4 on the season): Georgetown 79, DePaul 70
There’s no way to sugarcoat it- the Hoyas looked bad against UConn. That being said, I think most of that comes down to the shots not dropping on the offensive end. And for what it’s worth, Georgetown has been pretty good at bouncing back from down performances so far this season. I think Jahvon Blair regains his rhythm and the Hoyas jump out to a substantial lead early. Sloppy play may allow the Blue Demons to claw back into it, but I don’t think this one will be all that close.
Will’s Prediction (12-7 on the season): Georgetown 83, DePaul 69
DePaul sucks, nothing new here. On paper, the team has some good pieces, but they all underperform. Dave Leitao has the coaching ability of a kumquat. Which is to say, none. If we had won against UConn, I’d say that we’d lose this game, because that’s how these things go. BUt I think the Hoyas are sitting pretty against DePaul. If you like watching good, solid, fundamental basketball, turn off your TVs on Saturday. This game promises none of that.
