College Basketball Preview and Prediction: Xavier at Georgetown

College Basketball: Sunday, March 1, 2020 at 2:00 pm (Capital One Arena)

The Xavier Musketeers (18-10, CONF 7-8) and Georgetown Hoyas (15-13, CONF 5-10) face off in a Big East showdown that has huge March Madness implications. Both teams have been inconsistent this year but you cannot question the effort from either one of these teams.

Xavier beat Georgetown at the Cintas Center earlier in the year by dominating the interior, can they do this again? The Hoyas will probably play with a very short bench which has been the status quo as of late for the Hoyas. Xavier is led by Naji Marshall who is averaging 16.3 points while shooting 44.4 percent from the field. In the last game against DePaul Marshall put up 23 points, six rebounds, and six assists. Marshall is dealing with an arm injury but is expected to go in this game. Tyrique Jones has been a walking double-double and I expect he should be dominant in this game. Expect Freshman Zach Freemantle to play a big part in this game also.

Over the last five games, Georgetown’s defense has been a real big issue, giving up 75.6 points per game. The Hoyas two best players are center Omer Yurtseven and guard Mac McClung and they are both questionable. If they aren’t able to play, it’s going to be another game that will be next to impossible to win.

This is a series that has been dominated by Xavier and it’s going to happen again. Marshall is going to have another big game and it’s going to lead to a huge Xavier win. Even if Georgetown gets Yurtseven and McClung back they surely won’t be playing at one-hundred percent. Plus the Xavier back-court, which has struggled at times this year, will just need to control the tempo and pound the ball inside.

Xavier 85, Georgetown 69