The 9th ranked UConn Huskies venture to Capital One Arena tomorrow, January 10th, in what will be one of Georgetown’s toughest tests of the entire season.
Both teams are in very interesting positions heading into the contest. Georgetown (12-3, 3-1) is coming off of a loss at Marquette in which they led by as much as 14 in the first half. This game against UConn (12-4, 4-1) marks the second of three in the Hoyas’ toughest stretch to date, and perhaps on the year, as they’ll travel to St. John’s on Tuesday. Marquette, UConn and St. John’s remain the top three teams in the conference, both analytically and by public perception.
Georgetown fared well against the Golden Eagles, relatively speaking. While “moral victories” are not a phrase that anyone wants to throw around loosely, the Hoyas proved that they are more than capable of competing at the highest level of the Big East, which should continue to give this young team confidence moving forward.
Meanwhile, UConn is coming off a heartbreaking loss at Villanova in which Alex Karaban, a 74% free throw shooter, missed back-to-back free throws down one point with 3 seconds left in the game, which they would wind up losing by 2. The loss came as their first in conference play this season, and fourth on the year. While the Huskies did lose three straight in Maui back in November, which proved that they’re capable of a skid, it’s going to be tough to bet against a Dan Hurley-led team coming off a loss. The Hoyas should expect a locked-in UConn squad prepared for battle as they look to avoid dropping a second game in the tight Big East conference race.
While Georgetown is 36-38 all-time vs. UConn, the Huskies have absolutely dominated this matchup in recent years, winning all eight of the previous eight meetings between the two schools. If Georgetown were to pull off a win on Saturday, it would be their first against UConn, home or away, since the 2016-17 season. For reference, the 2016-17 NBA season was also Kevin Durant’s first season with the Warriors, in case anyone was wondering.
The health of two star players, Jayden Epps and Liam McNeeley, will be key to monitor on gameday. Georgetown faced Marquette without Epps, who has been in and out of the lineup with a “lower-body injury”. The injury is believed to be a sprained ankle, but not much has been determined about his status on Saturday up to this point. Malik Mack and Micah Peavy brought the ball up against Marquette’s press for the majority of the game, but Epps’ added ball handling and scoring would be a big boost if he were to suit up. On the other side, UConn Freshman Liam McNeeley recently suffered a high ankle sprain that seems to be somewhat serious, and he is not expected to play in this game. McNeeley, a former 5-star and Big East Preseason Freshman of the Year, has been instrumental to UConn’s success, putting up nearly 14 and 6 per game. While UConn has depth all over the court, Georgetown has a massive chance to steal a game here without one of UConn’s biggest wing threats. When the committee makes their selections in March, nobody’s going to point out the key injuries surrounding these teams at this time; instead, they’ll point to a Quad 1A victory over a top 10 team as a signature resumé-building win, as long as the Hoyas prevail.
From a matchup standpoint, there’s no doubt that UConn possesses more offensive talent and depth. Their defense, however, has not been up to par with their previous two championship teams, currently ranking 122nd on KenPom, and I think Georgetown, especially if Epps is back, may be able to exploit that in front of a raucous home crowd. Sorber will spend most of this game dealing with Tarris Reed and Samson Johnson, and it will be imperative for the other rotational big-men to step up. As a Georgetown Senior, this environment doesn’t get much better: A 2 PM Saturday tip-off during syllabus week coming off of winter break, I expect this to be one of the most packed Capital One Georgetown games that I’ve ever been to, and the energy in the building will be palpable.
