Georgetown game day. As such this is as good a time as any to remember what happened the last time UC went into the Verizon Center.
A lot has changed in the two years since UC last went into DC and walked away with the win. Georgetown has started to ascend to the heights of the Big East once more. UC has finally left behind the notion of being in rebuilding mode. The expectations really haven't changed that much from UC fans, we have always wanted the same things within the confines of the Big East. But for the first time in quite a while there is a team assembled that is capable of meeting them. Both teams obviously want this game, though for different reasons. A UC win makes the Cats an absolute lock for the tournament and allows them to play for seeding the rest of the year. A Hoya win would give them a big leg up in the race for the double buy with their upcoming match up with Syracuse.
Georgetown Game:
Chris Wright picking up the slack for Georgetown: Washington Post
"That's what they hang their hat on," Thompson said of the Bearcats' defense. "They have inside presence. They make it very difficult for you to score. They go for steals and will randomly double [team] the ball [handler] and have very active hands."
I can't really envision a more succinct discription of this team on defense.
The other quote from JTIII that caught my attention
"Yancy can score down low but it seems like every 17-foot shot he takes goes in," Thompson said.
I don't think we are watching the same Yancy Gates.
Hoyas Streaking: Bearcat Lair
Georgetown might be the hottest team in the Big East right now after reeling off 9 wins in their last 10 games. They rely on a trio of talented guards in Chris Wright, Austin Freeman and Jason Clark who combine for 43.5 points per games on the season. Cincinnati head coach Mick Cronin and his team rely on a stout half court defense, but he is worried about finding ways to limit their perimeter scoring.
I don't think that there is a Big East team that is playing better than Georgetown right now. St. John's is close, but they do all of their damage at home. The Hoyas have been killing people in their own buildings.
Bearcats look to stamp NCAA ticket against Georgetown: Cincinnati Enquirer
The Hoyas (21-6, 10-5) have won nine of their last 10 Big East games after a 1-4 start in conference play, and were ranked No. 5 Tuesday in the RPI, so, yes, a victory on the road over Georgetown would go a long way toward cementing the first NCAA berth since 2006 for the Bearcats, who were No. 39 in the RPI.
All they have to do is harness one of the best shooting teams in the country on its home court and control senior guard Austin Freeman, a Big East player of the year candidate who averages 17.7 points.
Everyone is talking about Rashad Bishop on Austin Freeman, and with good reason. One of the best perimeter players in the conference going against the best defender. That story writes itself, but the real story, and the match up that will swing the tide of the game is Cashmere Wright and Chris Wright. For UC to pull this upset off Cash needs to outplay Chris. If #4 plays like he has been the last three games UC might be in a world of hurt.
Other Bearcat Stuff
Mick Cronin said something, quick bash him for it: Crosstown Shoutout
Now Mick comes out and says somethings in support of his team and is trying to motivate his players and what happens? The same people can’t wait to jump on the bash Mick train again. What? Come again? Let me get this straight. Now he is "unprofessional" or "whining" for saying his team isn’t getting the respect it deserves? What would you have him say? Maybe he should pull something out of the old Bob Huggins bag of media tricks. Or maybe something he learned from certain hall of famer Rick Pitino. Wait a second! THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT HE IS DOING! But that selective Cincy memory has kicked in so you don’t remember. How many times did Huggs say "We’re terrible" or "We didn’t deserve to win tonight". And who can forget the ol’ you guys aren’t good enough to use the regular locker room so we’ll dress in the crappy one trick?
+1
Parker odd man out: Bill Koch
This year he has played in 18 games and started one, averaging 9.8 minutes and 1.6 points.
"It bothers me every day that I didn’t redshirt JaQuon Parker this year," Cronin said, "because he’s a great kid and he’s caused us absolutely no internal negativity because he hasn’t played. I thought he would play more."
Parker should have been red shirted along with Kelvin Gaines. He has only played in three of the last ten games and in those three appearances he has logged a total of 12 minutes. There has been a lot of message board talk about him struggling big time with his shot early in the season. While that may well be true, I just think that Larry Davis and Sean Kilpatrick bring more to the table off the bench.
Nationally Regarded
Big East eyes record 11 NCAA bids: MikeDeCourcy
What is clear is that it’s not outrageous for the Big East to produce 11 tournament teams so long as the field is as large as it is and the Big East is a 16-team amalgamation. That’s 69 percent of the membership, which is not as great a percentage as the league enjoyed in 1991 (seven teams, 78 percent) or the Big Eight in 1992 and 1993 (six teams, 75 percent) or the Big Ten in 1990 (seven teams, 70 percent).
11 is perfect reasonable to me, my position as a blogger and fan of a team that is likely to sit as the number 9 or 10 of the 11 is besides the point.
Jadevon Clowney Action Figure can be yours for the low, low price of 47 dollars. Doc Saturday
Go ahead and shake your head and express shock – shock! – that anyone is actually willing to go to such lengths over an outsized teenager who's not even out of high school yet, much less on track to fulfill the hype as a can't-miss star in the SEC. But if you followed any portion of Jadeveon Clowney's overheated recruitment to South Carolina, the existence of a homemade Jadeveon Clowney action figure on eBay shouldn't come as any surprise. Of course there's a homemade Jadeveon Clowney action figure on eBay. After the magazine covers and the documentary film crew and the nationally televised announcement on SportsCenter, how could there not be?
If you are not big into Football recruiting that name might be a new one to you. And I am sure that the concept of creating Hallows to and 18 year old kid is equally foreign. But if you watch the tape you will begin to understand why someone would take the time and effort to intricately paint the figure of player in the uniform of a school that he has still yet to attend and then sell it online.