Feb. 11, 2008
Washington, D.C. - The sixth-ranked Georgetown University men's basketball returns home on Monday night, hosting Villanova in a key BIG EAST Conference matchup at Verizon Center. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. The game will be shown live on ESPN, with Sean McDonough, Bill Raftery and Jay Bilas calling the action. It can be heard locally on SportsTalk 980 AM with Rich Chvotkin at the microphone.
The Hoyas enter Monday night's game with a 19-3 overall record and a 9-2 slate in the BIG EAST. Georgetown had a six-game win streak snapped on Saturday in a 59-51 loss at Louisville. Villanova snapped a five-game losing streak on Saturday, beating Seton Hall, 72-70. The Wildcats are 14-8 overall and 4-6 in the conference.
Georgetown leads the head-to-head series with Villanova, 36-27, and has won the last two meetings, including a 62-57 decision in the BIG EAST Tournament Quarterfinals last season. The Hoyas are 19-11 at home against the Wildcats, but have not beaten Villanova in Washington since the 1996-97 season.
The Hoyas have been led this season by one of the stingiest defensive units in the country. GU ranked first in the country in field goal percentage defense (35.8 percent) and No. 4 in the country in scoring defense (56.8 pgg) in the latest NCAA rankings. In the last two years, spanning 59 games, only seven opponents have shot higher than 45 percent from the floor against the Hoyas.
Senior center Roy Hibbert (Adelphi, Md./Georgetown Prep), who has been named to the BIG EAST Conference's Weekly Honor Roll the last four weeks, leads the team in scoring (13.2 ppg), and rebounding (6.8 rpg) and is fourth in the league in field goal percentage, connecting on 60.4 percent of his shots from the floor. In the last 10 games, Hibbert is averaging 15.1 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.0 blocks per game while hitting 60.6 percent of his shots.
He leads a team that is first in the BIG EAST in field goal percentage (49.5 percent) and fourth in the league in three-point field goal percentage (37.0 percent).
Freshman guard Austin Freeman (Mitchellville, Md./DeMatha) scored a team-high 14 points in the loss to Louisville on Saturday. Freeman, who is ninth in the BIG EAST in field goal percentage (51.6 percent),is averaging 10.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists in league games this season.
Junior guard Jessie Sapp (New York, N.Y./National Christian Academy [Md.]) is averaging 11.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists while hitting 41.7 percent of his three-pointers in the last seven games.
Following Monday's game, Georgetown hits the road for a pair of games, visiting Syracuse on Saturday and Providence on Monday.
