Georgetown 2009 NIT Tournament Preview

Georgetown Hoyas - Big East (16-14, 7-11)

Seed: #6 - Auburn Region

RPI: 60

Big Wins: 12/13 Memphis (76-70), 12/29 at Connecticut (74-63), 2/28 at Villanova (56-54)

Bad Losses: 1/25 at Seton Hall (60-65), 3/3 at St. John’s (56-59), 3/10 vs St. John’s (59-64)

Coach: John Thompson III

Probable Georgetown Starters:

• Chris Wright, Sophomore, Guard, 12.6 ppg, 3.7 apg, 3.1 rpg

• Austin Freeman, Sophomore, Guard, 11.4 ppg, 2.0 apg, 4.2 rp

• Jessie Sapp, Senior, Guard, 6.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg

• DaJuan Summers, Junior, Forward, 13.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg

• Greg Monroe, Freshman, Center, 12.7 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1.5 bpg

Key Georgetown Roleplayers:

• Jason Clark, Freshman, Guard, 5.2 ppg, 2.5 rpg

• Nikita Mescheriakov, Sophomore, Forward, 2.9 ppg, 1.5 rpg

• Omar Wattad, Sophomore, Guard, 2.6 ppg, 1.4 rpg

Why The Hoyas Can Surprise:
The frontcourt may not be as deep or dominating as it was last year when Georgetown had Roy Hibbert, but Greg Monroe and DaJuan Summers are not a bad follow-up act. Monroe, a 6-11 freshman, had the unenviable job of replacing Hibbert and the Hoya faithful expected very little drop-off. Monroe is no Hibbert, but he did average 12.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, 2.8 assists and 1.9 steals. That is not bad at all for a freshman and Monroe is a very consistent scorer. He has only scored under ten points in a game four times all year long.

Summers is the team’s leading scorer and a versatile scoring threat. He will use his 6-8, 236 pound frame to battle in the paint, his quickness to blow past defenders and his shooting ability to open up the paint for Monroe. With those two leading the way, Georgetown is a difficult team to defend in the paint.

Why The Hoyas Can Disappoint:
Despite the talent in the frontcourt, Georgetown is not a good rebounding team. Monroe grabs quite a few boards, but Summers spends a lot of time on the perimeter instead of hitting the glass and the guards are not too much help. Speaking of guards, the Hoyas turn the ball over quite a bit for a team that generally keeps the game at a reasonable pace. Sophomore Chris Wright and senior Jessie Sapp are decent ballhandlers, but they better start taking better care of the ball if they want to win a few games in the tournament.

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Who To Watch:
The backcourt does have a couple scorers, yet Wright and Austin Freeman are not shooting as well as they were last year. Wright is seeing much more playing time as a sophomore, but his shooting from beyond the arc was 47.8 percent last year and is down to 34.3 percent this time around. Freeman shot 40.0 percent last year and is now 33.3 percent. The Hoyas are not getting as many open looks without Hibbert under the basket and that is affecting the entire offense. If Georgetown cannot hit three-pointers, the frontcourt will not have space in the paint and if they do not have space in the paint, the backcourt will not have any open looks.

Georgetown By the Numbers:

Scoring Offense: 69.6 (142nd in nation, 11th in conference)

Scoring Defense: 63.5 (68, 4)

Field-Goal Percentage: 46.9 (43, 4)

Field-Goal Defense: 40.2 (40, 3)

Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.2 (169, 10)

Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 33.3 (195, 8)

Free-Throw Percentage: 71.0 (98, 5)

Rebound Margin: -0.5 (199, 13)

Assists Per Game: 13.9 (109, 11)

Turnovers Per Game: 14.6 (233, 14)

Joel’s Bracket Says: First Round loss to Baylor

By Joel Welser
CollegeSports-fans.com Senior Basketball Writer

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