Just over two weeks ago, Georgetown sat at 4-3, just having lost two of their best players in the wake of a brutal home loss to UNCG. At that point, any suggestion that the Hoyas could finish non-conference play at 10-3 would have drawn laughter.
Fast forward to today, and the Hoyas have won four games in a row to bring their record to 8-3. Running the table to end the non-conference schedule is now not just the goal, but the expectation. Two games remain, the first of those coming at 12 p.m. on Saturday, as Georgetown hosts the 6-7 Samford Bulldogs.
Samford has had their fair share of issues so far this season, especially on the defensive end. The Bulldogs are allowing 75.8 points per game, good for 309th in the NCAA. Opponents have scored more than 90 points five times, including Samford’s last three games. In the team’s last game on Wednesday, the Bulldogs allowed 105 points in an 18-point home loss to Alabama.
One area Georgetown will look to exploit the Samford defense is in the paint. On Tuesday against UMBC, Georgetown made it a point to feed the ball inside and take advantage of their size. This game-plan proved successful, as Omer Yurtseven and Qudus Wahab combined for 32 points and 22 rebounds. With Samford’s tallest player listed at 6’8”, the Hoyas will once again outmatch their opponent physically. I would be surprised if Ewing doesn’t go right back to this strategy of force feeding the post. We could be in store for another big night from Omer Yurtseven.
On the offensive end, the Bulldogs have been slightly more successful. Samford boasts a balanced attack, with four of their five starters averaging more than 13 points per game. The focus for Georgetown needs to be on playing rock solid team defense, something the Hoyas showed they are capable of in Tuesday’s win over UMBC.
Senior guard Josh Sharkey is not only the Bulldogs’ leading scorer, averaging 16.9 points per game, but also the nation’s assist leader, dishing out 9.7 per contest. The 5’10” Sharkey will likely be matched up with Georgetown’s Terrell Allen, an interesting match-up of two veterans who are adept at facilitating their respective offenses.
Sharkey is joined in the backcourt by Brandon Austin and Deandre Thomas. While Thomas has not been much of a contributor, Austin is a competent scorer at all levels. He is the team’s main three-point threat, shooting 42.7% from deep on the year. At times, Georgetown has struggled to close out on shooters, something they’ll need to do with Austin. In addition to being a threat from deep, Austin is also able to use his strength to finish at the rim. Jagan Mosely will likely face off with Austin, and should prove up to the task of shutting him down.
In the frontcourt, both Robert Allen and Jalen Dupree stand at 6’8”. Dupree is the more physical of the two, weighing in at 235 compared to Allen’s 200, but both are inside-out threats as opposed to sheer bruisers.
Jalen Dupree hits a wide open three-pointer against Alabama.
While Yurtseven and Jamorko Pickett should be able to handle the two Bulldog forwards on the inside, they’ll need to be wary of giving up open jumpshots, as both Allen and Dupree have proved capable of hitting open looks.
Turnovers have been the main stumbling block for the Bulldog’s offense. All five of Samford’s starters average over two turnovers a game, with Sharkey leading the way with an abysmal 5.4 turnovers per contest. If the Bulldogs are to pull off the upset, they’ll need to value the basketball and prevent the Hoyas from getting easy buckets in transition.
On paper, Georgetown is a far better team than Samford. That being said, the Bulldogs have proven they are more than capable of putting up enough points to hang with the Hoyas’ high-powered offense. The real question is whether Samford will be able to string together enough stops to keep Georgetown under 85, 90, even 100 points.
The focus was certainly there for Georgetown in Tuesday’s win over UMBC. Staying locked in and not looking ahead to conference play is essentially if the Hoyas are to avoid giving Samford any hope of an upset.
Jacob’s Prediction: Georgetown 92, Samford 73
It’ll be very difficult for Samford to match up defensively with Georgetown. Tuesday’s convincing victory gives me hope that the Hoyas are done playing down to the level of inferior opponents. Ewing will have his guys ready; they’ll jump out to an early lead and never look back.
Will’s Prediction: Georgetown 89, Samford 72
Samford stinks. Their defense is ranked at 289th in the country according to KenPom, and that’s a bad matchup when you consider that KenPom ranks Georgetown’s offense as 16th in the country. They’re also a very small team compared to Georgetown, with their biggest players standing at 6’8”. Like Jacob said above, the win on Tuesday gives me hope that the Hoyas are done playing down to inferior opponents, of which Samford is certainly one.
