Georgetown vs West Virginia | Preview, Predictions, Odds

Monday, March 1, 2010 – Free NCAA Pick

#11 Georgetown Hoyas (19-9) vs. #8 West Virginia Mountaineers (22-6)

The No. 8 West Virginia Mountaineers will host the No. 11 Georgetown Hoyas in a Big East showdown at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, West Virginia on Monday night.

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Then-No.12 Georgetown was downed by the Mountaineers 75-58 at home the last time these two teams met on Jan 22, 2009. The Hoyas lead the head-to-head series with WVU, 26-21.

The Mountaineers have won three of their last four outings including a 74-68 decision over Cincinnati on Saturday. Kevin Jones led with 15 points, while Darryl Bryant had 14 and four assists in the win. Leading scorer Da’Sean Butler (16.9 ppg) had just eight points, but did contribute seven rebounds and five assists. WVU went 5-of-10 from three-point range and 14-of-20 at the foul line over the final 20 minutes, while winning the battle on the boards, 41-30, including a 15-10 edge on the offensive glass. The Mountaineers are 11-5 in the Big East and tied with Pittsburgh for third place.

The Hoyas meanwhile, have gone from Big East title contenders to 9-7 in conference play. Their latest defeat was at home, 78-64 to Notre Dame. Greg Monroe had a team-high 15 points and four boards, while Jason Clark and Hollis Thompson chipped in with 12 points apiece in the loss. Junior Austin Freeman, who tops the roster in scoring for the season with an average of 17.0 ppg, was limited to just five points and he did not start for the first time since his freshman year. The Hoyas shot an efficient 51.1 percent from the floor, but Hoyas defensive effort was futile against the Irish who hit on an even better 57.1 percent from the field. Georgetown had been limiting its opponents to 65.6 ppg and 41.4 percent shooting from the field for the season.

The odd makers have the Mountaineers as –6 ½ -point favorites in this one.

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Georgetown will need more offensive production from Freeman combined with an all out team effort defensively if they want to win this contest.

This is the final home game of the season for the Mountaineers, so I expect a big effort and win from them against an inconsistent Georgetown. WVU takes this one by 4-points.