It will be a battle between Big East opponents when the Georgetown Hoyas (13-11) welcome the St. John’s Red Storm (7-17) to the Verizon Center. The game begins at 7:00 pm ET on Monday, Feb. 8 and can be seen on FS1.
The Hoyas were beaten by Seton Hall 69-61 on Saturday. Isaac Copeland was the team’s high scorer, finishing with 18 points. The Red Storm, meanwhile, are coming off a demoralizing 89-56 loss at the hands of Butler on Saturday. Kassoum Yakwe had a team-high 11 points.
The Georgetown defense should have a clear edge in terms of eFG%. It ranks 15th in the nation in forcing misses (opponents’ eFG% of 44.7%), while the St. John’s offense is 334th with a mark of 44.8%.
This is the second game of the year between these two teams, with the Hoyas winning the first matchup 93-73. D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera was a standout player in the game, producing 33 points, six rebounds, two assists, one steal, one block, and five three-pointers.
The Hoyas look to build on their records of 13-11 Straight Up (SU) and 11-13 Against The Spread (ATS). The Hoyas have seen a decline in scoring as of late, averaging 66.2 points during the last 10 games compared to their season average of 72.9 points per game. The Hoyas are one of the best in Division I in terms of free throws made, making a superb 16.0 per game. The Hoyas will be looking to turn around their defense after struggling a bit recently. The Hoyas have given up an average of 81.3 points to opponents in their last 10 games, well over their defense’s season average of 69.7 PPG. The Hoyas have really locked down opponents on the defensive end, ranking 23rd in the country with a .393 opponent field-goal percentage. Opponents have consistently had their shots rejected by the Hoyas, ranking 46th in the country in blocks per game with 4.8.
In the other locker room, St. John’s has a SU record of 7-17 and an ATS record of 9-15.
The Hoyas’ win over St. John’s in their last game bumped their SU record to 8-2 over St. John’s in their most recent meetings. Additionally, with a 7-3 record, Georgetown has the advantage ATS. St. John’s held the edge in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers once in the last five game, while Georgetown wasn’t able to do so in that span.
Predictions: SU Winner – GTown, ATS Winner – GTown
Notes
In its last game, St. John’s lost by a margin of 33 points. Georgetown is 3-0 in games decided by a margin of 18 points or more. St. John’s has a 1-7 record in blowouts.
The Georgetown Hoyas average a field goal percentage of 43.7% this season. The St. John’s Red Storm have an underachieving record of 1-15 when opponents have a FG% of 43.7% or greater.
On average, the Georgetown Hoyas attempt 22.0 three point field goals per game and the St. John’s Red Storm attempt 19.0. In games where they attempt at least 20 threes, Georgetown is 10-8, while St. John’s has a poor record of 3-9.
The Georgetown Hoyas average 5.5 steals per game. When giving up 5 or more steals, the St. John’s Red Storm have a losing record (7-15) this season.
