On Saturday, the Georgetown Hoyas men’s basketball team (4-1, Big East) will return home to host the Campbell Fighting Camels (3-2, Big South). Georgetown is coming off the Jamaica Classic in which they went 1-1; the Hoyas were bested by Loyola Marymount (6-0, WCC), but took down South Florida (4-1, American) in a wild overtime matchup. Coincidentally, the Camels were also in Montego Bay, Jamaica last week for the tournament, but they did not meet the Hoyas. Campbell went 2-0 in Jamaica, defeating Florida A&M (2-2, MEAC) and Austin Peay (2-3, Ohio Valley). This will be the first ever meeting between Georgetown and Campbell.
On Sunday, the Hoyas were able to beat South Florida in part due to freshman guard James Akinjo and senior center Jessie Govan. Akinjo notched 14 points and five assists, along with the buzzer-beating, game-tying 3-pointer at the end of regulation to send the game to overtime. Govan was a steady contributor the whole game, scoring 27 points and grabbing six rebounds. The 6-foot-10 big man was 10 of 19 from the field and five-of-five from the charity stripe. Akinjo was named Big East Freshman of the Week, while Govan was named to the Big East Honor Roll.
However, as has been a trend of Patrick Ewing’s time as head coach, the Hoyas struggled to contain an opposing scoring guard. Sophomore guard David Collins scored 21 points on Sunday, and shot four-of-five from deep. The Hoyas could find themselves in trouble on Saturday, as Campbell possesses one of the best scoring guards in the country: senior Chris Clemons. Clemons has scored the most points in Campbell history, and his 23.0 career points per game entering 2018-19 rank first among all active Division I players. This season, Clemons is averaging a blistering 31.0 points per game, along with 6.2 rebounds. Akinjo and fellow freshman guard Mac McClung are still adjusting to defending at the college level, but they may face their most difficult task yet when they run into Clemons. Last game against Austin Peay (2-3, OVC), Clemons notched 34 points, six rebounds, and five assists.
Another theme since the Ewing regime began has been turnovers. The Hoyas have not improved much upon last season, as they are still averaging 16.8 per game. Specifically, Akinjo has struggled in this department. The Oakland native has committed 25 of the team’s 84 turnovers, including six against South Florida. The team as a whole will need to clean up their turnovers in order to run smoothly not only against Campbell, but for the rest of the season.
Tip-off is set for 12:00 p.m. ET at Capital One Arena. Follow @GUVoiceSports for game day updates and continuing coverage of Georgetown basketball.
