Jan. 29, 2010
WASHINGTON - The Georgetown University men's basketball team hosts Duke University at Verizon Center on Saturday, January 30 at 1 p.m. The No. 7/11 Hoyas (15-4, 6-3 BIG EAST) meet the No. 8/7 Blue Devils (17-3, 5-2) for the fourth time in four years, with Duke making its first trip to the Nation's Capital since the Hoyas 87-84 victory on January 19, 2006. The game will be televised nationally on CBS with Verne Lundquist handling the play-by-play and Clark Kellogg providing analysis. Fans can tune in locally to ESPN 980 for Rich Chvotkin's radio call.
On Saturday, Georgetown head coach John Thompson III and Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski will be wearing sneakers in support of the American Cancer Society's Coaches vs. Cancer, a nationwide collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). The program leverages the personal experiences, community leadership and professional excellence of basketball coaches nationwide to increase cancer awareness and promote healthy living through year-round awareness efforts, fundraising activities and advocacy programs.
Georgetown enters the game after falling to No. 4 Syracuse, 73-56 on Monday night. Junior guard Austin Freeman (Mitchellville, Md./DeMatha) led the Hoyas with 23 points on 9-of-18 shooting, 4-for-7 from 3-point range, while grabbing a team-leading six rebounds. Freeman leads the squad averaging 16.0 points per game and 19.2 points per game in BIG EAST play. Freeman has led the team in scoring only three times this year (Marquette, UConn and Syracuse), but has scored at least 15 points in ten games.
Sophomore center Greg Monroe (New Orleans, La./Helen Cox) is averaging a double-double, placing second on the team, scoring 14.8 points per game (14.2 in BIG EAST games), while leading the team with 10.1 rebounds per game (9.6 in BIG EAST games). Monroe scored 21 points grabbed 14 rebounds and dished out seven assists to lead the Hoyas past Rutgers last Saturday. For Monroe, it was his third consecutive double-double, the first Georgetown player to have at least three straight double-doubles since Roy Hibbert posted five straight to end the 2007 season. For his efforts Monroe was named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll for the second consecutive week, the fourth time he has earned weekly conference honors this season.
Last week, junior guard Chris Wright (Bowie, Md./St. John's College HS), scored a BIG EAST career-high 27 points in a victory over No. 9 Pittsburgh, who was previously unbeaten in the conference. Wright has been named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll twice this season, and is third on the team in scoring with 14.6 points (15.4 in BIG EAST games) and leads the team with 4.2 assists per game. Wright is also 12th in the conference in free throw percentage (80.3%).
Sophomore guard Jason Clark (Arlington, Va./Bishop O'Connell) was the only other Hoya to score in double-figures against Syracuses, finishing with 15 points, shooting 4-for-7 from 3-point range. Clark is fourth on the team with 10.8 points per game, fourth with 3.7 rebounds and has hit 40-of-91 three-point field goal attempts (44.0%). Junior Julian Vaughn (Vienna, Va./Oak Hill Academy) is fifth on the team with 8.2 points and second on the team with 5.3 rebounds. Freshman guard Hollis Thompson (Los Angeles, Calif./Loyola) is averaging 3.5 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. Freshman forward Jerrelle Benimon (Warrenton, Va./Fauquier) has averaged 1.3 points and 1.8 rebounds in 9.9 minutes per game the last four games.
Tonight will be the 14th time Georgetown and Duke will meet, with the Blue Devils holding a 7-6 edge over the Hoyas. Georgetown is 6-3 all-time when playing at home, with its last win coming at the Verizon Center on Jan. 19, 2006. The Blue Devils have won the matchup in each of the last two seasons, both played at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Duke enters the game after a 70-56 victory over ACC foe Florida State on Wednesday. The Blue Devils have been led by senior guard Jon Scheyer, who leads the squad with 18.8 points per game and 5.7 assists per game. Duke has won four of its last five games, all against ACC opponents, by an average of 17.25 points.
