Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

MEN’S BASKETBALL | Big East Schedule Announced

The Big East conference released its master schedule Wednesday morning, setting the dates for all of Georgetown’s 18 league games. The Hoyas non-conference schedule was released in July.

Georgetown opens Big East play on Jan. 5 with a 2 p.m. game at Marquette. The Golden Eagles finished 27-8 last season, losing to Florida in the Sweet 16. In two games with the Hoyas last year, Marquette won at the Bradley Center, 83-69, but succumbed to a furious Georgetown rally in an early January date at Verizon Center.

The Blue and Gray return to Washington on Jan. 8, where they take on Pittsburgh in a 9 p.m. game that will be televised on ESPNU. The Panthers struggled last season, finishing 22-17 and missing the NCAA tournament. However, they did hang a 72-60 loss on the Hoyas in January, although Georgetown romped, 64-52, in their matchup in the Big East tournament.

St. John’s will welcome Georgetown to New York on Jan. 12 in a matchup that airs on ESPN. The Red Storm was 13-19 in 2011-12 and lost twice to the Hoyas, both by double-digit spreads. However, Head Coach Steve Lavin has landed a stellar recruiting class and the Johnnies seem to be on the upswing.

Another league cellar dweller, Providence, will be next on Georgetown’s dance card, with the Friars heading to Washington on Jan. 16. Like St. John’s, Providence missed out on the postseason after finishing 15-17 last season. Georgetown won both of its games against Providence in 2011-12, although they were low-scoring defensive battles.

On Jan. 19, Georgetown heads to Tampa, Fla. to take on South Florida. The Bulls boast last season’s coach of the year in Stan Heath and finished 22-14 last year. The Hoyas thrashed the Bulls, however, when the two teams met last February, notching a 75-45 win.

To complete their Martin Luther King, Jr. Day weekend, the Hoyas will head from sunny Tampa to snowy South Bend to play Notre Dame at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 21 in an ESPN Big Monday game. The Irish finished 22-14 last season and dropped a 59-41 bruiser to the Hoyas in the teams’ lone meeting.

Louisville, last year’s national semifinalist and tipped by many to be the Big East’s best team, will come to Verizon Center on Jan. 26, a Saturday, for a noon game on ESPN. The Cardinals won last year’s Big East tournament as part of a late charge that included eight straight wins before falling to eventual national champion Kentucky, 69-61, in the Final Four.

That is the first game of a three-game homestand for the Hoyas, who face Seton Hall on Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. and rematch St. John’s on Feb. 2 at 4 p.m. The Pirates, who narrowly missed last season’s NCAA tournament, finished 21-13 in 2011-12 and lost in the second round of the NIT. They did, however, hang a 73-55 victory on the Hoyas in a late February matchup. The rematch with the Johnnies will air on CBS.

On Feb. 9, Georgetown heads north to Piscataway, N.J., where they take on Rutgers. After briefly improving two seasons ago, the Scarlet Knights returned to form last season, finishing 14-18 and losing, 52-50, to the Hoyas in a mid-January matchup.

The Hoyas returns to the District on Feb. 11 where they get a second crack at Marquette, in a game that is set to air on ESPN. Then, on Feb. 15, Georgetown will rematch last season’s Big East tournament exit — a 72-70 double-overtime thriller — when it travels to Cincinnati for a 9 p.m. game, also to be carried by ESPN. The Bearcats, another Sweet 16 team, lost to Ohio State in their final game last season.

DePaul, the Big East’s worst team last season, is next up for Georgetown, with the Blue Demons slated for a 7 p.m. trip to Verizon Center on Feb. 20. DePaul, 3-15 in the league last year, lost 83-75 to Georgetown last season.

The end of Georgetown’s most storied rivalry begins on Feb. 23, when the Hoyas take on Syracuse at the Carrier Dome. That 4 p.m. game is the first of two meetings between the two teams and will be the last chance for the Syracuse faithful — except those that somehow always manage to fill the upper rings of Verizon Center — to see the rivalry that began when John Thompson, Jr. declared Manley Field House “officially” closed. If Georgetown fans can’t make the trip to upstate New York, they can catch the game on CBS.

Another tough road game follows on Feb. 27, when Georgetown will travel to Connecticut. That 7 p.m. game, which will be shown on ESPN2, should give the Hoyas another chance to ding the Huskies, who they pummeled, 58-44, on Feb. 1 last year.

The Blue and Gray close the regular season with three home games. First up is a March 2, 9 p.m. rematch with Rutgers. Unfortunately for Georgetown students, that game is on the first Saturday of the university’s spring break. They will, however, be able to catch the game on ESPNU.

Villanova, a perennial foe for the Hoyas, comes to the District during the middle of the break, with a 7 p.m. March 6 date set for that game. Georgetown swamped the Wildcats last year, winning 67-46, in what was a down year for Head Coach Jay Wright’s team, which finished 13-19 on the season. The game will be carried be either ESPN or ESPN2.

Finally, as previously announced, Georgetown will conclude its regular season — and its rivalry with Syracuse — on March 9. That noon game, televised as part of ESPN’s College GameDay program, will mark the final renewal of the conference rivalry. Although the game falls on the second Saturday of Georgetown’s spring break, a large crowd is still expected and some students have already adjusted travel plans to account for the game.

 

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