Former Big East rivals will reunite, with the Georgetown Hoyas (1-1; 1-1-0 ATS) taking a long overdue trip to Piscataway. There, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (2-1; 1-2-0 ATS) will host Georgetown for the first time since 2013. It was Louis Brown Athletic Center then and now it's Jersey Mike's Arena, the site for this clash. The game is scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m. EDT. Both teams have an ugly loss already. Who will avoid another blemish?
Head coach Ed Cooley's second game with the struggling Georgetown program was a nightmare. As 17.5-point home favorites against Holy Cross, the Hoyas fell 68-67. 37.9% three-point shooting, led by Jayden Epps' 4-11 from downtown, wasn't enough to save an offense that struggled to hit shots everywhere else. The team finished with a 36.1% clip from the floor and a 63.2% success rate at the free throw line. Those efficiency numbers paired with a slow tempo won't get the Hoyas any further than Patrick Ewing was taking them. If there are positives to draw, Georgetown grabbed 16 offensive boards and only turned the ball over four times. Regardless, they failed at basketball's core tenet of putting the ball in the hoop.
Georgetown's defense was arguably worse on Saturday. They had no answer for Joe Octave, who finished with 33 points. They only grabbed 50% of the 30 possible defensive rebounds, losing the overall rebounding battle by 10. Holy Cross only shot 25.0% from three and still ended the night 46.3% from the floor. The Crusaders scored 22 points in the final eight minutes. The Hoyas need a much stronger showing.