Everyone knows it’s a long road to the Final Four. Last year’s Hoya squad didn’t make the ultimate foursome by going untested during their season-long run. One of those challenges came at the raucous bandbox of McDonough Gym, when they were upset by Old Dominion of the Colonial Athletic Association. This year John Thompson III’s boys will have to try to avoid a similar early-season blunder when they face off against William & Mary, also of the CAA, for their first game of the season.
The CAA does not have a long-standing reputation as a powerful basketball conference, but it is a league on the rise. George Mason put the conference on the map two years ago with an unfathomable trip to the Final Four.
William & Mary is no exception to the overall improvement of this talented mid-major conference. Last year’s Tribe ended the season with a record of 15-15, more than doubling their win total from the year before.
If Georgetown wants to avoid a meltdown like last year’s ODU contest, they’ve made a good first move: get out of McDonough and into the Verizon Center. One strength the Hoyas have is their ability to handle crowd noise in big-time venues.
The key for the Tribe will be controlling the pace of the game and keeping the ball in the hands of their guards. William & Mary has no one to match up with Roy Hibbert, but senior captain and shooting guard Nathan Mann can shoot the lights out and will keep his team close with his range. Last year he shot 33 percent from three-point land. Look for him to be coming off screens by Lithuanian forward and senior captain Laimis Kisielius to get open looks.
If the Hoyas’ junior guard Jesse Sapp can control Mann, the Tribe will have trouble getting into their offensive groove. Though William & Mary has experience (they have four returning starters), the Hoyas have just as much. That fact, coupled with the Blue and Gray’s home court and size advantages, should push Georgetown in the right direction on the road to San Antonio.
