Syracuse basketball got back into the win column earlier this week on the Hill, and now the Orange is set to face long-time adversary Georgetown on Saturday afternoon in our nation’s capital.
Last Saturday, the ‘Cuse got blown out by Virginia in the Orange’s Atlantic Coast Conference opener in the 2023-24 season. This past Tuesday evening, though, Syracuse basketball notched an 81-70 triumph over Central New York neighbor Cornell out of the Ivy League.
In its win against the Big Red, the Orange rode strong performances from sophomore point guard Judah Mintz, sophomore forward Chris Bell and sophomore wing Justin Taylor.
The ‘Cuse turns its attention to those pesky Hoyas, a program that battled year after year with Syracuse basketball in the Big East Conference, with these fierce rivals continuing to play as non-conference foes ever since the Orange bolted for the ACC in 2013-14.
How to watch Syracuse basketball go toe to toe at Georgetown.
The ‘Cuse (6-3) and the Hoyas (5-3) are scheduled to tip off at 11:30 am on Saturday, Dec. 9, from the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., with television coverage on Fox. Coverage will also be available from fuboTV.
In their storied all-time series together, per cuse.com, Syracuse basketball is 53-45 versus Georgetown. Most recently, last season, the Orange beat the Hoyas, 83-64, at the JMA Wireless Dome on December 10, 2022.
Both Syracuse basketball and Georgetown, in 2023-24, have first-year head coaches. Adrian Autry took over from Hall of Famer Jim Boeheim this past spring, while former Providence boss Ed Cooley is guiding the Hoyas.
When I wrote this article, Georgetown was No. 176 overall via KenPom, along with No. 87 in adjusted offensive efficiency and No. 309 in adjusted defensive efficiency. KenPom, meanwhile, had the Orange at No. 100 overall, No. 119 in adjusted offensive efficiency and No. 90 in adjusted defensive efficiency.
Additionally, in the NCAA’s NET rankings, the Hoyas were No. 227 nationally, whereas Syracuse basketball was No. 112 overall. To date in 2023-24, Georgetown is 5-2 at home. The ‘Cuse is 0-1 in true road contests.
The Hoyas’ resume in the current campaign is as follows. They have defeated Le Moyne, Mount St. Mary’s, American University, Jackson State and Merrimack. Georgetown has fallen to Holy Cross by one point, Rutgers, and TCU, also by one point.
Neither the Hoyas nor the Orange has been particularly good on defense at this juncture in 2023-24. Syracuse basketball is averaging 76.9 points per game and allowing 71.1 points. Georgetown, conversely, is scoring 79.0 points per encounter while giving up 72.9 points.
Two areas to monitor in this non-conference affair are 3-point shooting and the turnover department.
The Orange is only shooting 32.4 percent from deep, and its opponents are connecting on 31.7 percent from downtown. Georgetown is good from long range, hitting on 39.0 percent, while Hoyas’ foes are making just 28.9 percent from beyond the arc.
Georgetown is committing 14.1 turnovers per game, as compared to Syracuse basketball committing 11.9 miscues per meeting.
By extension, the Hoyas are allowing their opponents to score 16.5 points off of turnovers per contest. The ‘Cuse, to that end, is scoring 18.3 points off of turnovers per game.