Coming off a narrow victory over Longwood (a game some dubiously termed an “instant classic”), Georgetown (3-3) will travel South for a Sunday showdown with the South Carolina Gamecocks (5-2). The Gamecocks are one of the weaker teams in the SEC, giving the Hoyas a realistic chance at securing their first victory of the season over a high-major opponent.

Game info

TV Network: SEC Network

Location: Colonial Life Arena (Columbia, SC)

Time: 2 pm

All time record vs. TEAM: Georgetown is 3-1 all-time versus South Carolina. The two teams last met in the 2005 NIT Quarterfinals, a 69-66 loss for the Hoyas in JTIII’s first season as head coach. This year’s matchup is the first leg of a home-and-home; the Gamecocks will visit DC in December 2022 to cap off the series.

Who we’re playing

South Carolina’s start to the season has certainly not gone as smoothly as their 5-2 record suggests. The Gamecocks have yet to play a major conference opponent, and their two losses came at the hands of Princeton and Coastal Carolina, both teams that rank outside of the top 150 in KenPom. In their most recent loss to Coastal Carolina this past Wednesday, the Gamecocks were blown out by 24 points. Big picture, it seems that South Carolina—like Georgetown—is still struggling to string together consistent play for a full 40 minutes.

Opposing Player to Look Out For

Wildens Leveque

Patrick Ewing recently announced that starting center Timothy Ighoefe had suffered a broken hand in the win over Longwood and will be out for 4-6 weeks. On Sunday, the rest of the Georgetown frontcourt will face a real challenge in Wildens Leveque. 

Against Longwood, the Hoyas were able to play small for most of the second half following Ighoefe’s exit. That won’t fly against the Gamecocks. Leveque stands at 6’10” and is averaging 9.9 points per game to go along with a team-high 7.1 rebounds per contest. Malcolm Wilson—who started the season opener against Dartmouth in Ighoefe’s absence—will likely get the first crack at stopping Leveque, but I’d expect a heavy dose of Ryan Mutombo in the rotation as well. 

As a team, South Carolina averages 12.9 offensive rebounds per game. If the Hoyas hope to come away with a victory, they’ll have to do a good job of limiting Leveque and stopping the Gamecocks from dominating the glass and racking up second-chance points.

How Georgetown Matches Up

South Carolina likes to play fast—the Gamecocks rank 49th in the country in KenPom’s Adjusted Tempo metric. The Hoyas aren’t scared of getting into a track meet either, as we saw in Tuesday’s win over Longwood. Expect a high-paced game with plenty of up-and-down action.

While South Carolina likes to push the tempo, they haven’t been particularly efficient on offense. On the season, the Gamecocks are shooting a ghastly 47% from the field and 31% from three-point range. So far this year, the kryptonite of the Georgetown defense has been allowing too many open looks from the perimeter. If the Gamecocks are unable to convert these looks at a high percentage, it will likely allow the Hoyas to hang around.

The Gamecocks do make up for their sub-par offensive numbers with stellar, hard-nosed play on the defensive side. South Carolina has forced 14 or more turnovers in every game this season, so Dante Harris and the rest of the Georgetown backcourt will need to value the basketball to prevent the Gamecocks from getting out in transition. On the bright side, South Carolina does tend to foul at a very high rate, so the Hoyas should look to attack the rim and get to the charity stripe early and often (looking at you, Aminu).

Additional Notes

• Sunday’s matchup will also be a homecoming game for two Hoyas. Both Malcolm Wilson and Kaiden Rice attended Ridge View High School in Columbia, South Carolina. While it is a true road game, expect a strong contingent of Georgetown supporters to turn out to back their local standouts.
• Georgetown has also been linked to 5-star recruit G.G. Jackson, a member of the Class of 2023 who currently attends Ridge View. Sunday could be a prime opportunity for the Hoyas to leave a positive impression on the highly sought-after recruit, who is also considering South Carolina.

Predictions

Jacob’s Prediction (3-3 on the season): South Carolina 78, Georgetown 75

I hate to say it, but both the Gamecocks and the Hoyas have looked downright bad for much of this young season. I expect this one to turn into a messy, turnover-filled pillow fight (think every Georgetown/St. John’s game from the past three years, if you need a mental image). That being said, I really do think Ighoefe’s absence will come back to bite the Hoyas in this one. I have very low confidence in either Malcolm Wilson or Ryan Mutombo, and Georgetown will struggle to match South Carolina’s size if they opt to go small like they did against Longwood. I don’t think that the Gamecocks will be able to do much in terms of half-court offense, but fast-break and second-chance points will be the difference maker in this one. Also, it doesn’t help that the Hoyas are playing their first true road game of the season.

Will’s Prediction (3-3 on the season): South Carolina 71, Georgetown 59

I was feeling okay-ish about this game before we learned that Ighoefe will miss the next four to six weeks. The Hoyas have struggled at the 5 all season, and his absence makes an already iffy position a tremendous weakness. Georgetown should be able to cover that hole up against lower-caliber opponents, but it’s a different story going against a high-major program with size (as the Gamecocks have). I’d love to be proven wrong, but I’m just not optimistic that Georgetown will be able to patch that hole up in a way that South Carolina won’t be able to exploit it.