Games of Interest- December 23, 2019 through January 6, 2020

[njhoya78]

Big East Conference play begins this evening, at long last, with two contests being televised on Fox Sports 1; two games tonight, two games tomorrow (including the Hoyas traveling to Providence against the well-coached Friars), and one game on New Year’s Day. This will be the final season for the ten-team conference, as Connecticut returns to Big East play next season.

Gonzaga remains atop the Associated Press Top 25 for a second consecutive week without playing a game; the Bulldogs return to action tonight against Dick Vitale’s former school, Detroit Mercy. Duke (up two slots to #2), Kansas (up two slots to #3), Oregon (up two slots to #4) and Ohio State (down three slots to #5) round out the top five in this week’s poll. The biggest gain among ranked teams was by West Virginia; the Mountaineers moved up six slots to #16 after defeating then-ranked #2 Ohio State in Cleveland, 67-59. The biggest fall in this week’s poll was suffered by Louisville, which dropped four slots to #7 after losing in overtime at then-ranked #19 Kentucky, 78-70.

Two Big East Conference teams remain ranked in the AP Top 25 for a second consecutive week. Villanova continues to be ranked #10 without playing, and Butler moved up one spot to #11 after routing Louisiana-Monroe, 67-36. Once again, seven other Big East Conference schools received votes in this week’s poll, as only the well-coached Providence Friars were shut out.

Washington, formerly ranked #21, dropped out of the Associated Press Top 25 after losing to unranked Houston in the championship game of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu, 75-71; the Huskies defeated Ball State (85-64) and Hawai’i (72-61) in earlier tournament play. Wichita State is ranked #24 now, after an 84-66 victory over Abilene Christian.

Finally, Happy New Year to all of HoyaTalk…hope that the New Year brings all of you whatever you want and need.

All times listed are Eastern Standard Time. Game results will be updated on a sporadic basis.  NOTE:  Updated as of 7:11 pm on January 5.

Monday, December 30

BIG EAST CONFERENCE
Xavier 62 at #10 Villanova 68.
Seton Hall 74 at DePaul 66.

OUT-OF-CONFERENCE
Middle Georgia State 53 at Georgia State 83.
Pennsylvania State-York 57, Maryland Baltimore County 87.
High Point 58 at Texas 89.

ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25
Jackson State 57 at #6 Baylor 83.
North Florida 59 at #20 Dayton 77.
Detroit Mercy 72 at #1 Gonzaga 93.
Tulane 73 at #9 Memphis 84.

Tuesday, December 31

BIG EAST CONFERENCE
Georgetown 60 at Providence 76.
#11 Butler 60 at St. John’s 58.

OUT-OF-CONFERENCE
Boston College 49 at #2 Duke 88.

ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25
Georgia Institute of Technology 58 at #18 Florida State 70.

Wednesday, January 1

BIG EAST CONFERENCE
Marquette 75 at Creighton 92.

OUT-OF-CONFERENCE
The Citadel 68 at Samford 69.
South Florida 64 at Southern Methodist 82.
Mercer 63 at North Carolina Greensboro 72.

ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25
California State Fresno 52 at #13 San Diego State 61.
East Carolina 69 at #24 Wichita State 75.

Thursday, January 2

BIG EAST CONFERENCE
No games scheduled

OUT-OF-CONFERENCE
American 51 at Colgate 65.
Georgia State 69 at Appalachian State 60.
Wagner 66 at Mount St. Mary’s 47.
Central Arkansas 107 at Houston Baptist 111, overtime.

ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25
Illinois 56 at #14 Michigan State 76.
#20 Dayton 84 at La Salle 58.
#4 Oregon 65 at Colorado 74.
#1 Gonzaga 85 at Portland 72.

Friday, January 3

BIG EAST CONFERENCE
Georgetown 62 at Seton Hall 78.

OUT-OF-CONFERENCE
No games scheduled

ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25
Wisconsin 61 at #5 Ohio State 57.

Saturday, January 4

BIG EAST CONFERENCE
Creighton 57 at #11 Butler 71.
Providence 66 at DePaul 65.
#10 Villanova 60 at Marquette 71.

OUT-OF-CONFERENCE
Oklahoma State 50 at #22 Texas Tech 85.
Massachusetts Lowell 66 at Maryland Baltimore County 63.
Samford 78 at Virginia Military Institute 75.
Georgia State 72 at Coastal Carolina 74.
Long Island University 73 at Mount St. Mary’s 82.
#21 Pennsylvania State 89 vs. #23 Iowa 86.
McNeese State 69 at Central Arkansas 79.
Notre Dame 88 at Syracuse 87.
#2 Duke 95 at Miami (Florida) 62.
North Carolina Greensboro 92 at Wofford 98, overtime.
Texas 44 at #6 Baylor 59.
Southern Methodist 92 at Vanderbilt 81, overtime.

ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25
Indiana 59 at #15 Maryland 75.
Georgia 65 at #9 Memphis 62.
#18 Florida State 78 at #7 Louisville 65.
Missouri 59 at #17 Kentucky 71.
Virginia Polytechnic Institute 39 at #19 Virginia 65.
Mississippi 54 at #24 Wichita State 74.
#16 West Virginia 53 at #3 Kansas 60.
#8 Auburn 80 at Mississippi State 68.
#4 Oregon 69 at Utah 64.
Arizona State 47 at #25 Arizona 75.
Pepperdine 70 at #1 Gonzaga 75.
#13 San Diego State 77 at Utah State 68.

Sunday, January 5

BIG EAST CONFERENCE
St. John’s 67 at Xavier 75.

OUT-OF-CONFERENCE
Boston University 63 at American 67.

ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25
#20 Dayton 80 at Saint Joseph’s 67.
#12 Michigan 69 at #14 Michigan State 87.

Monday, January 6

BIG EAST CONFERENCE
No games scheduled

OUT-OF-CONFERENCE
Georgia State at Arkansas State, 8:00 pm (ESPN+)
#16 West Virginia at Oklahoma State, 9:00 pm (ESPN 2)

ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25
No other games scheduled

[BeantownHoya]

Under the category that's college bball for you...South Carolina 8 days ago beats Virginia by 11 at VA as 10 point underdogs...today loses at home to Stetson as 20 point favorites...

[SSHoya]

Nova went on 17-0 run v. Xavier. 21-11 Nova.

[kettlehill]

Colin Gillespie has become a very good player in the mold of Arch and Hart.....

[HoyaSinceBirth]

Dec 30, 2019 18:58:17 GMT -5 kettlehill said:

Colin Gillespie has become a very good player in the mold of Arch and Hart.....

Need to take advantage of him on the defensive end he's around Mac's level if not worse as a defender.

[SSHoya]

Myles Powell will play tonight.

[RockawayHoya]

Dec 30, 2019 20:36:28 GMT -5 SSHoya said:

Myles Powell will play tonight.

Saw this too. Think this hurts us for Friday; would've been nice to have a rustier Powell for our game.

Also, Xavier looks like they are going to be a tough out. Their new bigs look pretty athletic; the Freemantle kid has some ups. We will pay dearly in that game if Pickett gets into early foul trouble and forces us to go 4 guards.

[drquigley]

Just finished watching a recording of that Nova-Xavier game. Are you kidding me? No way we can play with either of those teams. Xavier almost won even though they made only one 3 pointer. They are monsters. Constantly attack the paint. They will destroy us unless we play some form of zone. Meanwhile Nova is up to its old tricks. Put 5 guys on the floor who can do it all; dribble penetrate, score off the dribble, hit 3s, pass, play defense, rebound. Fortunately, they don't shoot 3s like they have in the past and may be a little undersized. But man has Jay Wright figured it out. Have a system and recruit guys who can play in it.

[KenteKrazies]

Dec 30, 2019 21:07:24 GMT -5 drquigley said:

Just finished watching a recording of that Nova-Xavier game. Are you kidding me? No way we can play with either of those teams. Xavier almost won even though they made only one 3 pointer. They are monsters. Constantly attack the paint. They will destroy us unless we play some form of zone. Meanwhile Nova is up to its old tricks. Put 5 guys on the floor who can do it all; dribble penetrate, score off the dribble, hit 3s, pass, play defense, rebound. Fortunately, they don't shoot 3s like they have in the past and may be a little undersized. But man has Jay Wright figured it out. Have a system and recruit guys who can play in it.

You have been added to the doubter list

[sleepy]

Dec 30, 2019 21:07:24 GMT -5 drquigley said:

Just finished watching a recording of that Nova-Xavier game. Are you kidding me? No way we can play with either of those teams. Xavier almost won even though they made only one 3 pointer. They are monsters. Constantly attack the paint. They will destroy us unless we play some form of zone. Meanwhile Nova is up to its old tricks. Put 5 guys on the floor who can do it all; dribble penetrate, score off the dribble, hit 3s, pass, play defense, rebound. Fortunately, they don't shoot 3s like they have in the past and may be a little undersized. But man has Jay Wright figured it out. Have a system and recruit guys who can play in it.

Did we watch the same game? I thought they both looked pretty terrible and they’d both get destroyed by DePaul and Seton Hall if they played like that in the proceeding game.

Terrible turnovers, bad shot selection and in ability to finish combine with limited athleticism. They both looked liked bad Georgetown teams of the past struggling to score 60. Much more impressed by the DePaul Seton Hall game in terms of talent and teams we will struggle with.

[hoyadestroya]

Dec 30, 2019 21:39:34 GMT -5 sleepy said:

Dec 30, 2019 21:07:24 GMT -5 drquigley said:

Just finished watching a recording of that Nova-Xavier game. Are you kidding me? No way we can play with either of those teams. Xavier almost won even though they made only one 3 pointer. They are monsters. Constantly attack the paint. They will destroy us unless we play some form of zone. Meanwhile Nova is up to its old tricks. Put 5 guys on the floor who can do it all; dribble penetrate, score off the dribble, hit 3s, pass, play defense, rebound. Fortunately, they don't shoot 3s like they have in the past and may be a little undersized. But man has Jay Wright figured it out. Have a system and recruit guys who can play in it.

Did we watch the same game? I thought they both looked pretty terrible and they’d both get destroyed by DePaul and Seton Hall if they played like that in the proceeding game.

Terrible turnovers, bad shot selection and in ability to finish combine with limited athleticism. They both looked liked bad Georgetown teams of the past struggling to score 60. Much more impressed by the DePaul Seton Hall game in terms of talent and teams we will struggle with.

Agreed, win or lose this game tonight, DePaul looks for real and Seton Hall is only going to get better. What a difference watching a BE game versus what the Hoyas have been playing against.

[EtomicB]

Very nice win for Seton Hall...

[daveg023]

Dec 30, 2019 22:47:56 GMT -5 EtomicB said:

Very nice win for Seton Hall...

Based on tonight’s games, we better beat PC if we have hopes of going 2-2 through the opening four games.

[drquigley]

Dec 30, 2019 21:39:34 GMT -5 sleepy said:

Dec 30, 2019 21:07:24 GMT -5 drquigley said:

Just finished watching a recording of that Nova-Xavier game. Are you kidding me? No way we can play with either of those teams. Xavier almost won even though they made only one 3 pointer. They are monsters. Constantly attack the paint. They will destroy us unless we play some form of zone. Meanwhile Nova is up to its old tricks. Put 5 guys on the floor who can do it all; dribble penetrate, score off the dribble, hit 3s, pass, play defense, rebound. Fortunately, they don't shoot 3s like they have in the past and may be a little undersized. But man has Jay Wright figured it out. Have a system and recruit guys who can play in it.

Did we watch the same game? I thought they both looked pretty terrible and they’d both get destroyed by DePaul and Seton Hall if they played like that in the proceeding game.

Terrible turnovers, bad shot selection and in ability to finish combine with limited athleticism. They both looked liked bad Georgetown teams of the past struggling to score 60. Much more impressed by the DePaul Seton Hall game in terms of talent and teams we will struggle with.

Agreed DePaul looked better than they have in the past but they just blew the game tonight. And Myles Powell is nowhere near where he will be in a few weeks. But Xavier and Nova are light years ahead of these two.

[jwp91]

Two great games last night. Both were rock fights. Nova sure made Xavier take difficult shots for about 10 minutes in the 1st half. I can’t help but wonder how Nova is going to deal with Yurt. Xavier is going to be a problem for us because I don’t think we have the depth to match up at the 4. Fremantle was a beast. Pickett gets 2 fouls and then what?

I hope we start conference play on the front foot.

[kettlehill]

Watching most of those two games last night I did come away optimistic: we get in a tight game with any of those 4 teams, we have one big advantage: free throw shooting. All 4 teams were awful, including Powell and Gillespie who one would expect to be good.

[MCIGuy]

Dec 30, 2019 21:07:24 GMT -5 drquigley said:

Just finished watching a recording of that Nova-Xavier game. Are you kidding me? No way we can play with either of those teams. Xavier almost won even though they made only one 3 pointer. They are monsters. Constantly attack the paint. They will destroy us unless we play some form of zone. Meanwhile Nova is up to its old tricks. Put 5 guys on the floor who can do it all; dribble penetrate, score off the dribble, hit 3s, pass, play defense, rebound. Fortunately, they don't shoot 3s like they have in the past and may be a little undersized. But man has Jay Wright figured it out. Have a system and recruit guys who can play in it.

Well, before we forfeit the season can we consider, in the case of Villanova for example, that last year’s Wildcats team was better than this current one appears to be? And that the Hoyas of last season beat that Villanova squad at home and had a close loss against them on the road despite Govan putting up zero points before fouling out? And while this current Gtown squad is not as deep as last season’s, wouldn’t you agree that going into BE play it is playing way better ball than that previous team? So with all that added up don’t you think it is within a realm of possibility that this team can hang with their Big East counterparts?

[MCIGuy]

Dec 31, 2019 8:27:29 GMT -5 kettlehill said:

Watching most of those two games last night I did come away optimistic: we get in a tight game with any of those 4 teams, we have one big advantage: free throw shooting. All 4 teams were awful, including Powell and Gillespie who one would expect to be good.

In a close game we could also have two go-to guys to get baskets and a point guard who is able to create for others and find the right teammate to throw it to.

[MCIGuy]

Dec 31, 2019 7:51:00 GMT -5 jwp91 said:

Xavier is going to be a problem for us because I don’t think we have the depth to match up at the 4. Fremantle was a beast. Pickett gets 2 fouls and then what?

Go twin towers. Take a chance.

[jwp91]

Dec 31, 2019 8:33:30 GMT -5 MCIGuy said:

Dec 31, 2019 7:51:00 GMT -5 jwp91 said:

Xavier is going to be a problem for us because I don’t think we have the depth to match up at the 4. Fremantle was a beast. Pickett gets 2 fouls and then what?

Go twin towers. Take a chance.

I imagine we will see both 4 guards and twin towers in that situation. I think I like the twin tower option better. I'm not sure how well it matches up.