Storrs, CT (Sports Network) - The No. 7 Georgetown Hoyas look to keep pacing
the Big East Conference as they visit Gampel Pavilion to battle Kevin Ollie's
Connecticut Huskies.
Georgetown began its Big East slate with back-to-back losses to Marquette and
Pitt, but it followed the poor start with 11 wins in 12 games. The Hoyas
notched their ninth win in a row on Saturday as they coasted to a 57-46
victory over Syracuse at the Carrier Dome, where the Orange had won 38
straight games. Coach John Thompson III's squad is by no means an offensive
juggernaut, as it is second to last in the conference in scoring with 65.0
ppg. However, it has managed to climb inside the top 10 in the national polls
by limiting its opposition to 55.7 ppg with very physical play on the
defensive end.
Shabazz Napier has been a force for UConn recently, averaging 27.5 ppg while
going 11-of-16 from beyond the arc to push the team to back-to-back wins over
Cincinnati and DePaul. The two-game winning streak has lifted the Huskies to a
19-7 overall record, which is tremendous considering they were expected to
struggle in the program's first season without Jim Calhoun calling the plays
in quite some time.
The Hoyas' monumental win over Syracuse was completely powered by their star
forward, Otto Porter, who scored 33 of their 57 points to go along with eight
rebounds and five steals. Freshman guard D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera scored a
career-high 33 points in the team's previous game versus DePaul, but he went
just 1-of-8 from the floor to net seven points in Syracuse as Porter was the
only Georgetown player in double figures. With the exception of Porter, the
Hoyas went 7-of-35 from the floor. Porter kept the team afloat by making 12 of
his 19 field-goal tries, including 5-of-10 from distance. Moses Ayegba
provided a spark off the bench with 10 rebounds and two blocks.
Napier is leading UConn's loaded backcourt with 17.2 points and 4.6 assists
per game, while the speedy Ryan Boatright chips in 15.2 points and 4.4 assists
per outing. Omar Calhoun and Daniels also own double-digit scoring averages to
contribute to the Huskies' team average of 71.1 ppg, which is the fifth best
mark in the Big East. UConn's allowed average of 65.2 ppg gives it just the
11th lowest scoring defense in the league, but the Huskies are very good at
defending the perimeter, holding their opposition to just 30.8 percent
efficiency from 3-point range.
The Sports Network