The Georgetown men’s basketball team (12-4, 2-3 Big East) will face off against No. 13 Seton Hall (14-3, 3-1 Big East) on Saturday in Newark. The Hoyas will look to move to .500 in conference play and build off of Tuesday’s 69-66 victory at St. John’s (10-7, 0-5 Big East), while the Pirates try to rebound from a 84-64 shellacking at the hands of Marquette (12-5, 3-2 Big East).
Georgetown struggled offensively against St John’s, shooting just 33 percent from the field and committing 22 turnovers. The Hoyas did find success on the interior in the second half, however, and maintained a lead throughout much of the period thanks to converting 22 of 29 free throw attempts. Junior center Jessie Govan notched 18 points and 13 rebounds, good for his 11th double-double of the season, while junior forward Marcus Derrickson added 17 points and 8 rebounds. Govan hit the go-ahead three-pointer with 29 seconds remaining, turning a broken Hoyas’ possession into points to seal a hard-fought road victory, reminiscent of battles between then-Georgetown star center, and current head coach, Patrick Ewing and St. John’s guard, and current head coach, Chris Mullin.
“It was good to be back and the game was like old times,” Ewing said. “It was a knockout, drag out fight. The guys fought hard. We made mistakes but we played hard. After the way we lost to Creighton, it was a great way to bounce back.”
Despite Seton Hall’s most recent setback, the Pirates present a formidable challenge to any team in the conference, and their success starts with senior forward Angel Delgado, who has racked up over 1000 rebounds over his career. Delgado leads Seton Hall in rebounding at 11.6 per game and is the third-leading scorer at 14.4 per contest, behind senior forward Desi Rodriguez (18.2 ppg) and senior guard Khadeen Carrington (14.5 ppg). The Pirates rank 22nd nationally in offensive efficiency according to KenPom.com, as well as top-50 in defensive efficiency. Needless to say, the Hoyas will need to play much sharper on Saturday if they wish to win back-to-back Big East road games.
According to guhoyas.com, this meeting marks the 111th all-time meeting between the two programs, with Georgetown leading the series 57-46. The Hoyas lost the most recent meeting in 2017, 62-59, and have not beaten the Pirates since a 73-67 win on March 7, 2015.
Tip-off is slated for 12 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on FS1. Follow @GUVoiceSports for updates and breaking news.
