Syracuse Basketball Game Preview: Crush the Hoyas!

By David Stone | Dec 4, 2015

The Syracuse basketball team travels to Washington, DC to take on their most hated rival, the Georgetown Hoyas on Saturday at the Verizon Center.

Although Georgetown are unranked and have three losses, this game loses none of it’s competitive edge. These are two bitter rivals who have hated each other since the early 1980’s. This isn’t some new rivalry like Syracuse vs. Duke, where we sit and laugh and sip martinis. No. This is flipping Georgetown. You scream, you yell at the refs, you curse the name Thompson under your breath, you drink cheap beer and like it.

This is the type of game that can become a catalyst for a team down the stretch. It’s where a team can find an identity and put an exclamation point on the early part of their season. For Georgetown, it’s a chance to get things back on track with a win over a ranked opponent.

Please don’t think that just because Georgetown have lost some games that they are a bad team. They lost their three games by a combined eight points. Two of those games were against #5 Duke and #3 Maryland. Their loss to Radford was the first game of the season. I seem to remember SU struggling a bit early as well against the likes of Lehigh and St. Bonaventure.

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So before we go making any assumptions that this is an easy win for Syracuse, let’s just throw that idea out the window. It’s false. This game is going to be fought tooth and nail, kicking and screaming, biting and scratching. It will very possibly go down to the wire.

So what does Georgetown come into the game with aside from a 3-3 record? They bring a quartet of solid players, some senior leadership, and a coach who does not quit.

D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera is the clear leader of the Hoyas. He’s averaging 16 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists per game. Though his production hasn’t really picked up from last year, he’s still been the most consistent player for the Hoyas. He’s also capable of busting out a 30 point game when he gets hot, like he did against Maryland Eastern Shore on December 1st. He hit 5-10 3’s in that game, proving that if he’s on, he’s deadly from the outside.

Isaac Copeland, a 6’9 sophomore forward, has also been playing well for the Hoyas. He’s averaging 12 points, 5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game. He’s shot the ball very well this season, averaging 50% overall from the field and 41% from 3.

Senior center Bradley Hayes has also been having a good season. He’s averaging 10 points and a team-high 6 rebounds per game. He has been a force on the interior, and at 7′, could be a focal point against the much smaller ‘Cuse back line. This is especially true if Lydon plays the center a lot like he has been lately.

L.J. Peak is the fourth of the group, averaging a solid 11 points and 3.5 rebounds as a sophomore guard. Peak has not proven to a be a threat from the outside, but he has done a good job of getting to the hoop and getting to the free throw line. He’s averaging 6 attempts a game.

It’s going to be very important for Syracuse to control these four players. There are distinct matchup advantages for Georgetown, such as their center against anyone we can put on the floor. Don’t be surprised if a lot of the offense runs through him, just like Wisconsin did against us.

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Let’s also not forget that this will be Coach Mike Hopkins debut. The NCAA has ruled that Boeheim will start his nine-game suspension immediately, giving Hopkins the nod without much time to prepare. I will be very curious to see how he handles his first game as the shot-caller. Will he sub more? Will he stick to JB’s 6-man rotation? We’ll find out soon enough.

He’ll be pitted against John Thompson III, Georgetown’s coach for the past 11 years who has compiled an impressive 251-118 record. He’s a seasoned veteran and it will be very interesting to see what kind of adjustments he makes with Hopkins coaching. Will he try and test the new coaches skills by mixing up his lineups and scheme? It will certainly be one heck of a way for Hopkins to start his coaching career.

As far as predictions, I think Syracuse is going to come out mad in this game. They got hit in the mouth by Wisconsin, and they want to prove that they are better than that. I think Tyler Roberson has a very big game to make up for his ghost-like effort against the Badgers. I also think Coleman sees more minutes and has a big day on the glass. The team will shoot better from the outside and will be able to pull out the last-second victory, 71-68.

The most important thing is the win. I don’t care what the score at the end is. Just win and Beat Georgetown!

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