When asked about the Georgetown/Syracuse rivalry, senior center Roy Hibbert recalled a story that former coach John Thompson, Jr. told him about its roots: in 1980, the Hoyas defeated the Orange to snap a 57-game home winning streak in the last ever game at Syracuse’s Manley Field House. Now, 28 years later, the rivalry is “part of the fabric of the Big East,” according to current coach John Thompson III.
The two teams’ first 2008 meeting was a 64-62 overtime victory for the Hoyas, and the only thing certain about Saturday’s game in the unfriendly confines of the Carrier Dome is that Georgetown will have another battle on its hands.
“Regardless of who is sitting on the bench, who is in uniform on the court or who is having a good year and who’s not, it is an intense, heated game.” Thompson said.
The Hoyas’ (20-3, 9-2 BE) Big East-best defense has been the most consistent aspect of their game in conference play, and the main defensive assignments against Syracuse (16-8, 6-6 BE) are no mystery—freshman forward Donte Greene (17.9 ppg), freshman guard Johnny Flynn (15.4 ppg) and sophomore forward Paul Harris (13.9 ppg). Flynn scored a game-high 24 points and Greene added 15 against Georgetown last month.
The key to Saturday’s game will be the Hoyas’ zone offense and their ability to find and exploit gaps in Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim’s 2-3 zone.
“A lot of teams throw different defenses at us,” Hibbert said. “We want to make sure we make the ball hop a little more—get it in and out [of the zone] and get good shots. I have to be strong in the post when I’m getting double-teamed. Against a zone I have to come out to the free-throw line a lot for a little jumper or to pass the ball off—I’m fine with that.”
Hibbert will face a double or triple team almost every time he catches the ball in the middle of the zone, but the collapsing defense will open up the outside shot for senior guard Jonathan Wallace (9.4 ppg), junior guard Jessie Sapp (9.7 ppg) and sophomore forward DaJuan Summers (11.1 ppg). The Hoya guards will also seek to penetrate the middle of the zone on the dribble-drive early and often.
“[Zone offense] is about a lot more than making shots,” Thompson said. “We can’t just rely on whether we are making shots or not. We have to get a lot more interior touches, be it in the short corner, the overload or the high post. We also need more penetration, but we need a better understanding of when and where, not just putting your head down and go.”
The Orange are coming off a disappointing roadloss to the Big East bottom-dwellers, South Florida. But Syracuse is a different team in front of the 30,000-plus Carrier Dome crowd (14-4), and all three of Georgetown’s losses have come on the road. In their last visit to the Dome, the Hoyas were routed 72-58 in their final regular season game, snapping an 11-game win streak.
“They killed us,” senior forward Patrick Ewing Jr. said of last year’s game. “As far as motivation, we are more motivated to win the league than anything. But payback is always good.”
“It’s a big time environment. They always play very well at home—you go in there it seems like everything is going against you. For us it will be a chance to see how we bounce back with another road test after what we did at Louisville.”
Tip-off is slated for noon on Saturday.
