WASHINGTON – The 20th-ranked Georgetown University men's basketball team is back in action on Friday, Nov. 30,
hosting Tennessee at Verizon Center as part of the SEC/BIG EAST
Challenge. The game, which is one of 12 involved in the sixth annual
SEC/BIG EAST Challenge, tips off at Verizon Center at 6:30 p.m.
Friday's
game will be aired live on ESPN, with Marc Kestecher on play-by-play
and Bobby Knight doing color. Rich Chvotkin can be heard live in the
local D.C. radio listening area on ESPN 980 AM.
Georgetown
enters the game with a 4-1 overall record after defeating Mount St.
Mary's 72-50 in its last outing. The Hoyas only loss thus far was
against No. 1 Indiana in the finals of the Legends Classic in Brooklyn.
Two
wins in three games last week, including a 78-70 decision over then-No.
11 UCLA in the semifinals of the Legends Classic, propelled the Hoyas
into the national rankings. Georgetown is No. 20 in the Associated
Press poll and No. 25 in the USA Today Coaches' poll.
Against Mt. St. Mary's Georgetown had two players record double-doubles as sophomore forwards Otto Porter Jr. (Morley, Mo./Scott County Central) and Greg Whittington (Columbia, Md./Oakland Mills)
each achieved the feat. Porter scored 17 points and grabbed 13
rebounds, while Whittington tallied 17 points and recorded 11 boards.
The Hoyas shot over 60% from the field and after only holding a two
point lead at halftime outscored the Mountaineers 38-18 in the second
half.
On
the season Georgetown is limiting its opponents to 39.6 percent
shooting from the field and 35.5 percent from three-point range.
Meanwhile the Hoyas are making 50.4 percent of their shots and 39.6
percent from three. Five Hoyas are making over 50 percent of their
shots, led by Porter who has made 19-of-33 shots on the year (.576).
Porter is third on the team in scoring with 12.5 points per game. Junior Nate Lubick (Southborough, Mass./St. Marks) is second on the team in shot percentage making 16-of-28 shots (.571) and is fifth in scoring with 8.6 points
Junior guard Markel Starks (Accokeek, Md./Georgetown Prep)
and Whittington rank one-two in number of shots taken and also have shot
over 50 percent from the field. Starks, who is GU's leading scorer at
14.0 points per game is 27-of-53 (.509), while Whittington is 27-of-52
(.519) and ranks second in scoring with 13.6 points per game. The other
Hoya netting half his shots is freshman D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera (Indianapolis, Ind./Oak Hill) at 52.6 percent.
Sophomore forward Mikael Hopkins (Hyattsville, Md./DeMatha) is fourth in scoring with 11.2 points per game. He has netted double digit points in four of GU's five contests.
Tennessee
enters the game on a two-game winning streak after defeating Oakland,
77-50, at home and UMass, 83-69, in the final game of the Puerto Rico
Tip-Off. The Volunteers boast a 4-1 mark, with the only blemish coming
at the hands of Oklahoma State, 62-45, also in Puerto Rico. Three Vols
average double digit points, led by Jarnell Stokes' 14.8 points per
game. Stokes also leads the team in rebounding with 7.4 per game.
This
will be the third all-time matchup between Georgetown and Tennessee.
The teams split the first two affairs with GU winning 70-60 in the first
round of the 2003 NIT postseason tournament and Tennessee winning 90-78
in 2008.
Georgetown
is 2-0 all-time in SEC-BIG EAST Challenge games with both victories
coming against Alabama. Last season GU defeated the Crimson Tide, 57-55,
in Tuscaloosa and also in the inaugural game of the Challenge in 2007,
when the Hoyas won, 70-60, in Birmingham.
