Georgetown 1/26/2011 Pregame Articles/Link

The No. 21-ranked Georgetown University men's basketball team returns from a week off to host BIG EAST Conference rival St. John's on Wednesday, Jan. 26 at Verizon Center. Tipoff at The Phonebooth is slated for 7 p.m.

The game will be shown live on MASN, with Quint Kessenich handling the play-by-play and Brooke Weisbrod serving as the color analyst. Georgetown's game against St. John's is available on MASN in Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, and is also available on SNY in New York and Connecticut. Locally, fans can tune in to ESPN 980 AM for the radio broadcast of Rich Chvotkin. The Hoya broadcast can also be heard on Sirius 153.

The Hoyas enter the game with a 14-5 overall record and a 3-4 mark in the BIG EAST Conference after an 80-75 win at Seton Hall last week. Georgetown is ranked No. 21 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll and No. 20 in the ESPN/USA Today Top 25 Coaches' poll.

http://www.guhoyas.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/012511aaa.html

The calm before the Red Storm has come to an end for the Hoyas.

A rough 1-4 start to Big East play has been followed by two road wins and a week off, and No. 21 Georgetown (14-5, 3-4 Big East) is about to begin a crucial stretch that will determine the fate of its season. The gauntlet begins tomorrow night when St. John's (11-7, 4-4 Big East) visits Verizon Center for the second game of the two teams' home-and-home series.

The Hoyas' matchup with the Johnnies starts a 22-day run through the league that includes No. 23 Louisville at home and No. 8 Villanova, No. 9 Syracuse and No. 5 Connecticut on the road. Because of its slow start to conference play, Head Coach John Thompson III's team has little margin for error if it wants to finish in the top half of the Big East. With the Hoyas sitting in a tie for 11th in the league but just two games out of the top three, every game is crucial.

http://www.thehoya.com/sports/men-s-basketball-hoyas-look-for-red-redemption-1.1915767

The Hoyas (14-5  3-4) are having a second chance to play and beat the St. John's Red Storm (11-7  4-4) the second time around in a home game matchup here in the D.C.  The Hoyas lost their last meeting with the Red Storm on January 3, 2011, 61-58.  This game was played at Madison Square Garden in NYC.  St. John's held the Georgetown big three scorers of Austin Freeman, Chris Wright and Jason Clark to 7-of-25 from the field, and the 58 points is the third fewest for the Hoyas all season. A similar defensive effort would be critical in getting the series sweep on the road.

http://glidehoyas.blogspot.com/2011/01/second-chance-and-second-time-around.html

As Austin Freeman goes, so goes Georgetown, and the Big East preseason player of the year appears to have regained his shooting touch.

Continuing his torrid shooting against St. John’s, however, might not be easy.

Freeman, who had his worst performance of the season in a loss to the Red Storm three weeks ago and has regularly struggled in this series, looks to lead the 21st-ranked Hoyas to a third consecutive victory when they host St. John’s on Wednesday night.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/preview?gid=201101260229

The chatter has to be getting louder, right? As ESPN’s Jay Bilas said during Monday night’s broadcast of the Notre Dame vs. Pittsburgh game, “Because conferences like the Pac-10 and SEC are down this year, there is a real possibility that the Big East will become the first conference ever to send double digit teams to the tournament.”

Though, at this point, it is nearly complete speculation, multiple outlets project St. John’s either in the NCAA Tournament or on the bubble. So, as the Johnnies head to Washington DC to play their 7th straight game against a ranked opponent in #21 Georgetown (14-5, 3-4), the question presents itself, are tournament projections and post-season dreams beginning to slip into the back of their minds?

http://johnnyjungle.com/columns/over-the-airwaves/showdown-in-the-capital/

Austin Freeman doesn't always know when it's going to happen, but he says there's no mistaking the feeling when it does.

Three-pointers snap through the net, jump shots hardly touch the iron, and lanes to the rim appear as open as the Beltway at 4 a.m. That's pretty much how things unfolded for Freeman on Georgetown's trip through New Jersey, where the senior emerged from a slump by sinking 16 of 25 attempts (64 percent) from the field and scoring a combined 53 points in back-to-back wins over Rutgers and Seton Hall, his sizzling performance against the Pirates earning him Big East player of the week honors for the first time in his career.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/25/AR2011012506616.html

Malik Stith, Dwight Hardy and Dwayne Polee Jr. were riveted to the television in the St. John's locker room Monday night, watching as Notre Dame gave the Red Storm's NCAA Tournament hopes a boost by upsetting Pitt, 56-51.

Senior Justin Brownlee said not a day goes by without the players discussing the fulfillment of their dream -- to get St. John's back to the tournament for the first time since 2002.

"I haven't looked at any brackets," senior Justin Burrell said. "I try not to focus on that. But I have roommates. I have friends. Everybody's watching and telling us about it, so I know I'm going to hear it no matter what.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/college/basketball/major_leagues_ZQfaJgu5Lp1J5dCpaBJiMO#ixzz1C9ElD4Xi

On Monday night, a collection of St.John's players gathered in the home locker room to watch 15th-ranked Notre Dame play at No. 2 Pittsburgh. They were thrilled when the Fighting Irish pulled off the upset. The focus for the Red Storm under coach Steve Lavin always is the next game, but halfway through the Big East schedule one can't help but keep an eye on the big picture.

St. John's (11-7, 4-4) has 10 seniors who are hungry for an appearance in the NCAA Tournament, St. John's first since 2002. The goal was within sight when the Johnnies won their first three conference games, but the picture became murky as they lost four of the last five. They know that the big upset by Notre Dame - a team they have gone 1-1 against - can do nothing but help a resume that took a big hit Saturday with a home loss to Cincinnati.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/college/2011/01/26/2011-01-26_st_johns_out_to_get_ncaa_tournament_hopes_back_on_track_vs_georgetown_after_loss.html#ixzz1C9FDQuQV

I don't normally link to my own stuff, but I thought the 5 questions with the stat-minded Hoya Prospectus was very interesting as an insight into the Hoyas now and in the future.

http://www.rumbleinthegarden.com/2011/1/26/1957432/pregame-georgetown-5-questions-with-hoya-prospectus