WASHINGTON – The Georgetown University men's basketball team (11-4, 1-1 BIG EAST) will travel to Cincinnati to square off against the Xavier University Musketeers on Wednesday evening. Tipoff at the Cintas Center is slated for 6:30 p.m. and a link to live stats is available at GUHoyas.com.
The matchup will be shown live on FS1 with Thom Brennaman calling the play-by-play and Nick Bahe providing the analysis. The game can be heard locally on The Team 980 with Rich Chvotkin calling the game.
The Hoyas are coming off a heartbreaking 97-94 overtime loss against St. John's on Saturday.
Jessie Govan (Queens Village, N.Y. / Wings Academy) notched his fifth double-double of the year on 25 points and 10 rebounds while
Josh LeBlanc (Baton Rouge, La. / Madison Prep Academy) recorded his fourth double-double with 12 points and a game-high 13 boards.
James Akinjo (Oakland, Calif. / Salesian College Preparatory) added 17 points while
Greg Malinowski (Chantilly, Va. / Episcopal / William & Mary) and
Jamorko Pickett (Washington, D.C. / Massanutten Military Academy [Va.]) tallied 13 apiece to round out those in double figures. Georgetown shot 41.4 percent (29 of 70) from the field and outrebounded the Johnnies 47-32.
Govan leads four Hoyas in double figures averaging 18.7 ppg. Akinjo follows up with 14.2 ppg while
Mac McClung (Gate City, Va. / Gate City) and LeBlanc round out those in double figures with 12.3 ppg and 10.1 ppg, respectively. Akinjo paces the offense with a team-high 66 assists (4.4 apg), while LeBlanc leads the squad on the glass with 8.1 rpg and Govan pulls down 7.5 rpg.
After the opening week of conference play, Georgetown sits atop the BIG EAST standings in a number of categories including the highest scoring offense (89.0 ppg.), the highest 3-point field goal percentage (.411), rebounds per game (41.0), rebounding defense (29.5), blocked shots per game (5.5) and assists per game (19.5).
On Monday, Malinowski was selected to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll after his performances in GU's 1-1 BIG EAST opening week. Malinowski averaged 19.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.0 steals per game against Butler and St. John's. He shot 65.0 percent from the field including 64.3 percent from 3-point range. In the 84-76 road victory over the Butler Bulldogs, Malinowski scored a career-high 26 points on 10-of-12 shooting while hitting 6 of 7 from beyond the arc. Against St. John's, Malinowski tallied 13 points, five rebounds and a game-best seven assists.
Xavier (9-7, 1-2 BIG EAST) is coming off of a 70-52 loss to No. 16/18 Marquette on Sunday afternoon. After a win over DePaul (74-65) to open BIG EAST play, the Musketeers have now dropped two straight, including a loss to Seton Hall (80-70). Naji Marshall led a pair of sophomores in double figures in the loss to the Golden Eagles with a game-high 21 points, while Paul Scruggs picked up his first career double-double on 17 points and 10 rebounds. Marshall leads the Musketeers averaging 13.1 ppg and is third in the BIG EAST with 7.9 rpg. Scruggs (12.8 ppg) and Quentin Goodin (12.6 ppg) are also averaging in double figures, while Goodin is second in the conference with 5.4 apg.
Wednesday's contest marks only the 18th overall meeting against Xavier, with the Musketeers holding the series lead, 13-4. Xavier currently holds a five game win streak against the Hoyas. Last season, Georgetown fell to Xavier in overtime at the Cintas Center 96-91 and at Capital One Arena 89-77.
Jamorko Pickett (Washington, D.C. / Massanutten Military Academy [Va.]) tallied a career-high 21 points in the overtime loss and then matched that with another 21 in the second meeting.
Following Wednesday's game, the Hoyas will return to the District for a three-game home stretch. Georgetown will host the Providence Friars on Saturday, Jan. 12 at Capital One Arena with tipoff scheduled for noon.
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For tickets, please visit WeAreGeorgetown.com or contact the Georgetown Athletic Ticket Office at 202.687.HOYA (4692) or hoyatickets@georgetown.edu.
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