Free College Pick – Thursday, February 18, 2009
#5 Syracuse Orange (24-2) vs. #10 Georgetown Hoyas (18-6)
The No. 5 Syracuse Orange will hit the road to take on Big East rival the No. 10 Georgetown Hoyas at the Verizon Center in our nation’s capital on Thursday night.
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The two teams last met back on Jan 25, as Syracuse rallied from a big early deficit to beat then-No. 7 Georgetown 73-56. The Hoyas however, have won their last three with the Orange at the Verizon Center.
Georgetown return home, where they are 11-2, including 5-1 in league play and will be looking for a much-needed win after losing 71-68 at Rutgers on Sunday afternoon. Sophomore center Greg Monroe, who’s averaged 18.4 points and 6.0 assists in his last five games and nearly averages a double double with 15.5 ppg and team-high 9.5 rpg, had 19 points, eight rebounds, six assists and four blocks in the loss. Leading scorer Austin Freeman, who is averaging 16.8 points per game and is a 47.9 percent from three-point range, contributed 17 points in the losing cause. The Hoyas shot a solid 50.9 percent from the floor against Rutgers, but went just 4-of-13 from long-range and was outscored, 12-6, at the foul line.
Meanwhile the Orange is the only team in the nation without a road loss, but have two losses at home to unranked opponents including their most recent defeat on Sunday to Louisville. The Orange, shooting an impressive 52.2 percent from the floor for the season, shot a season-low 41.4 percent in the 66-60 loss. Iowa State transfer Wes Johnson, who tops the roster in scoring (16.0 ppg) as well as rebounding (8.8 rpg), netted 14 points and eight rebounds. Johnson is still not 100 percent, nursing a bruised thumb on his shooting hand since a nasty fall at Providence two weeks ago.
The odds makers have the Hoyas as –2-point favorites with a game total of 144.
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The Hoyas will need Monroe to be at the top of his game if they’re going to win a fourth straight at home against the Orange. They will also need to keep a watchful eye on senior guard Andy Rautins, who averages 9.3 points in home and neutral site games, but is scoring 15.3 in visiting arenas. Of even more importance is a big game from Chris Wright, who was held to seven points in the first meeting. Georgetown is 16-0 when it gets 10 or more from the junior guard.
I expect this to be a tough battle with the Orange edging out a close one on the road and the UNDER.
- Syracuse is 8-4 ATS in its last 12 games
- Syracuse is 23-2 SU in its last 25 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Syracuse’s last 5 games
- Syracuse is 8-1 ATS in its last 9 games on the road
- Georgetown is 18-6 SU in its last 24 games
- The total has gone OVER in 8 of Georgetown’s last 11 games
- Georgetown is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games at home
- Georgetown is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games at home
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