The Hoyas might not have thought they spent their Thanksgiving in the happiest place on earth, after emerging from the Old Spice Classic in Disney World, Florida, with a decent 2-1 record.
This week, the Hoyas will return to business-as-usual when they begin a five game home stand against American University on Saturday. It may be a stretch to call the matchup a rivalry-Georgetown leads the all-time series 41-8-but the crosstown Eagles still should bring a tense atmosphere and a partisan crowd to the Verizon Center.
“Whenever you play teams within the city, it’s a heightened energy, it’s a heightened sense of urgency on everything,” head coach John Thompson III said.
American (4-3) has not played particularly well lately, having lost their past two games, but this is still largely the same squad that made the NCAA tournament last season. The defending Patriot League champions return three starters and seven seniors from last year’s team.
The player that Georgetown will have to stop is senior guard Garrison Carr. Carr, American’s leading scorer at 19.0 points per game, stands at only 5’11,” but the small figure has big shot ability. In the frontcourt, Greg Monroe and Co. will watch senior forward Brian Gilmore, the team’s leading rebounder and most dangerous interior threat, averaging 12.4 points per game.
Georgetown will look to the offense of sophomore Austin Freeman to counter those American scorers. After a quiet start to the season, Freeman was the Hoyas’s leading scorer twice during the Old Spice Classic, earning a spot on the All-Tournament Team. His season averages of 14.2 points and 5.4 rebounds per game are both second on the team.
“[Freeman] is going to score points. That’s something he’s going to do,” Thompson said. “We have to make sure that he focuses on, and is an active participant in, every other aspect of the game: his ability to be a good defensive player, his ability to get rebounds, his ability to do a lot of things on the basketball court.”
Still, the real question will be whether the shared knowledge and connections of two local teams will help or hurt the favored Hoyas.
“We’re familiar with their team. Our guys played with their guys during the summer. And they’re familiar with us,” Thompson said. “A lot like the Maryland game, you know the opponent, they know us. There are no surprises.”
The Hoyas hope that is not the only similarity this Saturday’s contest will share with the Maryland game. Tip-off is at 1 p.m. at the Verizon Center.
