Two former Big East rivals square off on Saturday afternoon, as Georgetown travels to the Carrier Dome to take on Syracuse. The Orange (6-2) won last year’s game in overtime and returns most of its roster, while Georgetown (7-1) features a relatively young roster — though the Hoyas do bring back leader Jessie Govan. Both teams enter the game on four-game win streaks.

Here’s what our beat writers predict to happen on Saturday afternoon.

Charlie DiSturco (6-2)
Keep on keepin’ on
Syracuse 72, Georgetown 60

A Syracuse-Georgetown matchup may seem like a down-to-the-wire game, but Syracuse is a much better team. Georgetown does return senior Jessie Govan, who dominated SU last season, but sports multiple freshman that are not used to playing inside a road arena like the Carrier Dome. The Hoyas’ 3-point defense has been horrendous — ranking 249th in the country, per Kenpom.com — and the Orange should be able to exploit that on Saturday. Georgetown will keep it close for the majority of the game before SU pulls away late, adding another 70-point game to its resume in its fifth-straight win.

Matthew Gutierrez (5-3) 
Close call
Syracuse 70, Georgetown 66

Let’s hope for a thriller akin to last year’s overtime excitement in the nation’s capital. Wow, that was fun, and it felt as though the place had more Syracuse fans than anything else. Jessie Govan caused all sorts of havoc inside, bullying the SU bigs to the tune of 21 points, eight boards and three assists. Figure the legendary center Patrick Ewing knows how to develop Govan further. Considering how weak the Orange have played in the paint, his presence alone may keep this game close.

Billy Heyen (7-1)
What’s a Hoya?
Syracuse 76, Georgetown 63

The Hoyas enter as a deceiving one-loss team, because they haven’t really played anyone. KenPom.com ranks them lower than the Northeastern team Syracuse just beat by 23 on Tuesday. Two Georgetown players have a chance to keep them in the game: 6-foot-10 senior Jessie Govan, who does everything, and freshman guard James Akinjo, who leads the Hoyas in 3s. But the Orange won on Tuesday even with Tyus Battle scoring only two points. He’ll get back in double figures and SU should cruise.

Published on December 6, 2018 at 12:57 am