Georgetown Hoyas at Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center, South Bend, IN
Wednesday, December 29, 2010, 7:00 pm Eastern, TV: ESPN2
Opening Line: Georgetown -2 1/2
Current Line: Georgetown -2
Opening Total: 145 1/2
Current Total: 144 1/2
Money Line: Georgetown -130 / Notre Dame +110
Both Georgetown and Notre Dame are 11-1 and ranked in the top top 15 nationally in the Big East opener for both teams. Georgetown has a 3 point loss at Temple for the only blemish on their record. Georgetown has quality wins over North Carolina St, Missouri and Memphis. Notre Dame lost by 14 at Kentucky a couple of weeks ago. Notre Dame won a tournament Thanksgiving weekend in Orlando and it included victories over Georgia, California, and Wisconsin. They also have a home win over Gonzaga on the resume. This is a a crucial early conference game for both teams. The Big East is so loaded that neither team can afford to be in a 0-1 hole to start the season, but just like UConn-Pitt earlier in the week, one of these teams has to lose. Notre Dame has won the last two meetings in the series including a 78-64 win at Georgetown last year. Both games went under the total. The Hoyas lead the overall series 14-12. The Irish are 11-3 ATS in games where the total is between 140 and 150 points the last two seasons. Notre Dame is also 19-7 ATS versus teams with winning records in the same span. Georgetown is 9-2 ATS in all games this season. They are also 14-5 ATS in road games at teams with winning records in the last two seasons.
Georgetown is outscoring opponents 81-66 on the season. The Hoyas are shooting 52.8% from the field and 42.6% from 3 point range. The Hoyas are holding opponents to 41.6% shooting from the field. Georgetown also makes 73.1% of their free throws. Guard Austin Freeman leads the team in scoring with 18.9 ppg. Point guard Chris Wright leads the team in assists (6.3 a game) and steals (1.9 a game). He also scores 13.7 points a game. Jason Clark also scores 13.7 points a game. Senior forward Julian Vaughn averages 9.5 ppg, but leads the team in rebounds with 7 a game and blocks with 2.1 a game. The Hoyas average 35.2 rebounds a game and have a rebounding margin of +6.6. The Hoyas average 18.4 assists and 14.2 turnovers a game. They average 7.8 steals and 4.5 blocks a game. Georgetown is usually known for its dominant frontcourt with players like Patrick Ewing (both Sr. and Jr.), Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Motumbo, and more recently Greg Monroe. However the strength of this year’s team is the back court.
Notre Dame is outscoring opponents 81-64 on the season. The Irish are shooting 45.8% from the field and 37.5% from 3 point range. Notre Dame opponents are shooting only 38.9% from the field on the season. Notre Dame makes 73.8% of their free throws. Forward Tim Abromaitis leads the team in scoring with 16.1 ppg and rebounding with 7.5 a game. Point guard Ben Hansbrough leads the team in assists with 4 a game and also scores 15.3 points a game. Small forward Carleton Scott leads the team in blocks with 1.9 a game. He also scores 12.8 ppg and pulls down 6.8 rebounds a game. Power forward Tyrone Nash scores 10.2 points a game and averages 6 rebounds a game. Notre Dame averages 42.2 rebounds a game and have a rebounding margin of +10.2. The Irish average 18.7 assists and 10.4 turnovers a game. Notre Dame averages 3.8 steals and 4.2 blocks a game.
Both of these teams are senior laden and have tons of experience. Notre Dame has a decided edge in rebounding. Both of these teams have explosive offenses and are among the highest scoring teams in the country. They do play great defense though, which explains the relatively low total. Each of these teams can compete for the Big East title and this will be a good test for both teams
Our College basketball handicappers are red hot as conference play begins. Don’t miss out on any more winners this year or in 2011 either.
