Jan. 20, 2012
WASHINGTON - The No. 10-ranked Georgetown University men's basketball (15-3, 5-2 BIG EAST) returns to Washington, D.C., to host Rutgers (11-8, 3-3 BIG EAST) on Saturday, January 21. Tip-off at the Verizon Center is slated for Noon with the game being broadcast live on MASN with Mike Gleason and Bob Wenzel calling the action. Local fans can tune in to SportsTalk 570 AM for the radio call from Rich Chvotkin.
For fans, travelling to Saturday's game via Metro, please be advised that Metro will perform major track work over the weekend of January 20-22 on all five rail lines. The work will begin at 10 p.m. Friday and continue through system closing on Sunday. The Trip Planner on Metro's website will not reflect the impact of this work on schedules. For more information on traveling by Metrobus or Metrorail, customers may call 202-637-7000 or TTY 202-638-3780, or visit wmata.com.
The Hoyas have won its last two games, earning BIG EAST road victories against St. John's and DePaul. The Hoyas are the only team with four wins over top-25 teams this season. Georgetown is ranked No. 10 in Associated Press Top 25 poll and No. 12 in the ESPN/USA Today Top 25 Coaches' poll. For the sixth-straight season the Hoyas have made at least one appearance in the top-10. Only Duke, North Carolina and Pittsburgh can make that claim.
The meeting with Rutgers will be the 43rd meeting all-time between the schools, with Georgetown holding a 26-16 advantage in the head-to-head series and 17-2 at home against the Scarlet Knights. The Hoyas have won nine of the last 10 meetings over Rutgers.
Georgetown enters the game, following an 83-75 victory over DePaul on Tuesday night. The Hoyas were led by senior guard Jason Clark (Arlington, Va./Bishop O'Connell), who scored a career-high 31 points, on an impressive 11-for-14 shooting night, while grabbing five rebounds and four steals. Clark leads the team, and is tied for 12th in the BIG EAST, averaging 16.2 points per game, while grabbing 4.2 rebounds and picking up 2.00 steals per game (sixth in the league).
In its previous two wins, Georgetown has dominated its opponents on the glass, out-rebounding opponents by an average of 15.0 boards. Freshman forward Otto Porter (Sikeston, Mo./Scott County Central) had a career-high 15 rebounds in the Hoyas' victory over DePaul on Tuesday. Porter is 11th in the BIG EAST, with 7.1 rebounds per game, while averaging 8.1 points per game, good for fifth on the team.
Junior forward Hollis Thompson (Los Angeles, Calif./Loyola) has scored in double figures in 16 of the Hoyas' 18 games this season, eclipsing 20 points four times. In the Hoyas 69-49 victory last Sunday at St. John's, Thompson scored all 20 of his points in the second half, going 4-of-5 from three-point range. Thompson is second on the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 14.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. His 14.6 points per game is 19th in the BIG EAST, while his 52.2 field goal percentage is 12th in the league. Thompson shoots 52.6 percent from three-point land, which is leads the BIG EAST.
Senior center Henry Sims (Baltimore, Md./Mount St. Joseph) had 16 points, seven rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot at DePaul. He is currently third on the team in scoring (11.8 ppg) and rebounding (5.3 rpg) and leads the team with 3.56 assist per game, which is tied for 15th in the BIG EAST. Sims also leads the Hoyas and is eighth in the conference with 1.50 blocked shots per game.
Sophomore guard Markel Starks (Accokeek, Md./Georgetown Prep) was a late scratch from the Hoyas lineup at DePaul, but has been strong for GU throughout the season, averaging 8.8 points per game, to place fourth on the team in scoring. Starks is shooting 49.1 percent from the floor and 40.7 percent from three-point land, which is the eighth best mark in the conference.
Rutgers enters the game with an 11-8 overall record and a 3-3 mark in the BIG EAST following a 65-58 win over Notre Dame on Monday. The Scarlet Knights have two victories over top-10 opponents within the last four weeks, defeating No. 10 Florida, 85-83 in double overtime on December 29 and defeating No. 8 UConn, 67-60 on January 7. Freshman guard Eli Carter leads the team in scoring with 13.7 points per game while junior forward Dane Miller leads the team with 6.2 rebounds per game, while dishing out 2.2 assists per game.
