Well, that game against Dartmouth sucked. No other way to slice it. Let’s hope for the collective sanity of Hoya fans that tomorrow’s game against American is smoother sailing.

Game info

TV Network: FS2

Location: Capital One Arena, Washington DC

Time: 8:30 pm

All time record vs. American: 21-6, last game was an 80-60 win in Dec. 2019. The last time American won against Georgetown was in Dec. 1982. 

Who We’re playing

The Eagles only played 10 games during last year’s COVID-abbreviated season, and they lost last year’s leading scorer Jamir Harris, who transferred to Seton Hall. However, even with the departure of Harris, the Eagles still return eight of their nine leading scorers from last season. They’ve had a strong start to the season, winning their first two games. American beat Marist in overtime to open the season, and then followed it up with a 74-62 road win at William & Mary.

Opposing Player to Look Out For

Stacy Beckton Jr. 

I did careful research to make sure that there wasn’t another ginger from the DMV on American’s roster. We should be in the clear on that front. 

The best player for American this season has been Stacy Beckton Jr., and by a pretty wide margin. Through the first two games, he’s averaging 21 points, 1.5 assists, and 7 rebounds per game. He’s doing this while shooting 66.7% from the field and 57.1% from three. He doesn’t attempt a crazy amount of shots from three, but he does go for it four or so times per game, so Georgetown will have to respect it. He doesn’t seem to be much of a facilitator, but he has taken on an increased scoring load this season.  Given that Beckton has been responsible for scoring nearly 28% of American’s total points this season, it’s imperative that the Georgetown defense shut him down and force American to find its scoring elsewhere. 

How Georgetown Matches Up

Oh boy, what a question. When you’ve lost a game against Dartmouth, it’s kind of tough to speak with any real claim of superiority. The defense last game was atrocious, with Georgetown defenders losing their man, over-helping, or just not having an awareness of how to operate within space. Given that American is a weak three-point shooting team (30.6% on an average of 18 attempts per game), it might be best for the Hoyas to go zone on Tuesday. Really, anything that was different from what we saw on Saturday will do, because whatever that was just did not work. 

American usually plays with a lineup of two guards and three forwards, opting to slot in the 6’8” Josh Alexander in at center. The status of Tim Ighoefe and whether he’s ready to return from his concussion will be important to monitor for the Hoyas. American’s forwards have played decently this season, but that was against teams their own size at 6’8” and 6’9”. If they have to face an interior gauntlet with the size of Ighoefe and Mutombo, I suspect the results will be different. 

Predictions

Will’s Prediction (0-1 on the season): Georgetown 68, American 63

I try to make it a habit to not say anything if I don’t have anything nice to say. On the subject of the Dartmouth game, I’ll just say this: Aminu Mohammed is for real. Other than that, I have nothing to say.

This is a game we should win. Will we? Who knows. But I’m picking the Hoyas to rebound (albeit to make it interesting) from getting their teeth kicked in by Ryan Cornish and squad on Saturday and to pull out their first win of the season. 

Jacob’s Prediction (0-1 on the season): Georgetown 73, American 60

All last week, I was bummed that I wouldn’t be in DC to watch Georgetown’s season opener against Dartmouth. In retrospect, it sounds like that was for the best.

It’s possible that I’m being overly optimistic for Tuesday considering I didn’t have to suffer through Saturday’s loss in person. However, Georgetown has historically struggled in season openers in the past under Ewing (even if previous years did not result in a loss). For that reason, I trust that the Hoyas will be more well prepared (and certainly motivated) to dispatch with American on Tuesday night.