Hoya fans, we made it through game one. Say what you want about how they got it done, but the Georgetown Hoyas are undefeated.
The Hoyas will look to build on Tuesday’s victory tomorrow at 11:00 AM when they host Green Bay at Capital One Arena. The Hoyas will once again enter as heavy favorites against a Green Bay team that finished 10th out of 11 in the Horizon League Preseason Poll.
The Phoenix opened the season with disappointment, falling to Indiana State 80-53. Tomorrow should be another chance for the new-look Hoyas to get acclimated to the season and straighten out any issues from Tuesday.
Both teams are still figuring it out.
The Hoyas should have a much easier time with Green Bay than Coppin State, and that is because of one thing: experience. Whereas Coppin State entered Capital One Arena as an experienced unit, the same cannot be said about Green Bay. The Phoenix roster features a total of nine newcomers, six transfers and three Freshman, headlined by junior transfer Davin Zeigler who led the Phoenix in scoring and rebounding in the season opener.
The Hoyas will be able to use this game to fix some of the issues from Tuesday’s season opener. First, the Hoyas will try to defend the three point line. After allowing Coppin State to take 38 three point attempts, the Hoyas have to crack down on the arc on what is a guard-focused Green Bay scoring attack led by Zeigler. On offense, the Hoyas will continue to try to find their identity. On Tuesday the Hoyas were able to find points early by using a Brandon Murray iso approach, but the offense looked better when ball movement found secondary scorers like Akok Akok on the wings. This could be a get right game on both sides of the ball for the Hoyas.
The Hoyas should be more complete this time.
After the first game of the season, we still haven’t seen the Hoyas play at full strength. On top of the absences of Dante Harris and Jay Heath, Qudus Wahab was limited to playing only 15 minutes due to foul trouble. If Wahab can limit his fouling tomorrow, he should be able to produce in a big way against a small Green Bay team that has struggled to rebound so far.
The Hoyas should also have LSU transfer Bradley Ezewiro join the squad tomorrow. Ezewiro, who missed the season opener due to a wisdom teeth operation (which was a new one for me at least), should play an important role in the Hoya rotation. Although his status hasn’t been confirmed, if he does make his Georgetown debut tomorrow, the added depth he brings and his presence on the floor will definitely help the Hoyas improve on Tuesday’s performance.
We said this on Tuesday, but we mean it this time: this game should not be close. The Hoyas should be able to achieve something that us fans have been waiting for: a winning streak.
Predictions:
Will
88-66 Georgetown
The Hoyas can’t possibly scare us with a close game again. It just can’t happen. Wahab will be in there more, and we now know that Primo Spears is indeed that guy. Big Hoya win, nothing more to say.
Best bet: Total Over 145.5
Armen (1-0, Bets 0-1)
102-56 Georgetown
There is an argument to be made that Green Bay is the worst team in D1. The Thompson’s Towel intramural basketball squad would have a chance against this team and I am not joking. They rank at the bottom of Division 1 in offensive and defensive production, cannot shoot or rebound, they’re young, short and are just a bad all around basketball team. I might be being a little mean here, but there is absolutely no reason this game should be close.
Best bet: Georgetown -17.5
John (1-0, Bets 0-1)
84-57 Georgetown
It is a Friday night at Georgetown so John is out of the office, but he was still kind enough to make his pick from Adams Morgan.
Best bet: Georgetown -17.5
Brendan (1-0, Bets 0-1)
79-61 Georgetown
Brendan was also out of office on a Friday night at Georgetown, but he was able to get his pick in right at the buzzer.
Best Bet: Georgetown -17.5
