Syracuse Orange at Georgetown Hoyas, Verizon Center, Washington, DC
Saturday, February 26, 2011, 12 pm Eastern, TV: CBS
Opening Line: Georgetown -1
Current Line: Georgetown Pick’em
Opening Total: 134.5
Current Total: 135
Money Line: Georgetown -110 / Syracuse -110
The 11th-ranked Georgetown Hoyas (21-7, 10-6 Big East) will have to play without one of their top seniors on a day all of them will be honored and against their biggest rivals in the 17th-ranked Syracuse Orange (23-6, 10-6). The Hoyas (Pick’em) will not have senior point guard Chris Wright on Saturday after he underwent hand surgery, as they look to sweep Syracuse for the first time in nine seasons.
Georgetown won 64-56 at the Carrier Dome in the last meeting on February 9, beating the Orange on their home court for the first time in head coach John Thompson III’s career. That was also the seventh consecutive win during an eight-game winning streak for the Hoyas, who have dropped two of three following a shocking 58-46 home loss to Cincinnati on Wednesday.
Wright averages 13.1 points and 5.4 assists per game and broke his left hand in the second half against the Bearcats, missing all six shots he took from the field and finishing with just two points. Leading scorer Austin Freeman scored a game-high 19 points, but only one other Georgetown player totaled as many as seven. The Hoyas shots just 25 percent from the field (12 of 48), and their bench was outscored 40-10 by Cincinnati.
Poor shooting was not the case for Georgetown in the last meeting with Syracuse, as the team made 45.3 percent from the field (24 of 53) and limited the Orange to 39.6 percent shooting (19 of 48). The Hoyas also held a 28-21 edge in rebounding and dished out eight more assists (20-12).
Syracuse was toward the end of a rough stretch that saw the team drop six of eight games both straight-up and against the spread in that last meeting, but the Orange have since rebounded with a three-game winning streak. They are coming off a 69-64 road victory at Villanova on Monday, rallying back from an early 6-0 deficit by scoring eight straight points. They never trailed again and were led by Philadelphia natives Scoop Jardine and Rick Jackson, who combined for 38 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
The road has been kind to Syracuse lately, resulting in three wins both straight-up and against the spread in the last four games away from home. The Orange are 5-3 on the road overall this season while Georgetown has suffered all three of its home losses in its past four games at the Verizon Center.
Now that you have read this Big East college basketball betting preview featuring Georgetown & Syracuse, check out the NCAA basketball odds on this and all the games to compare the best lines at multiple sportsbooks.
