ESPN’s “Big Mondays” start this week with a pair of solid rivalry games in the Big East and Big 12. In the first one
2008-01-14
ESPN’s “Big Mondays” start this week with a pair of solid rivalry games in the Big East and Big 12. In the first one, set for 7:00 PM ET, Georgetown and Pittsburgh collide in the Steel City, and with both teams tough as steel, you can expect a back-and-forth physical game.
Pittsburgh been bitten severely by the injury bug. They have lost two key players in their last two outings and have another key player still playing but hurting. Mike Cook is out for the season with a knee injury sustained during Pitt’s overtime victory over Duke. Levance Fields broke his foot in their next game, a loss to Dayton. These two guys are not the team’s best players but probably their two leaders. Guard Ronald Ramon’s shoulder is hurting and his shooting has suffered.
The Hoyas lost their big game with Memphis but are still ranked in the top five in the polls and anxiously looking forward to making a run at a conference title. Last year, they made it all the way to the Final Four but are still looking for their “go-to-guy” this year to fill the role of the departed Jeff Green. DeJuan Summers a 6’8” sophomore has flashed some brilliance with an average of 12.2 points per game. Roy Hibbert their giant in the middle at 7’2” has been inconsistent. In his last game against American he scored 12 points but only got 1 rebound. Hard to see how a guy this big can only get one rebound.
The loss to Dayton was shocking but not to basketball experts who know how good Dayton (11-1) is. The margin was another thing. Twenty five points is a lot to lose by when you are a top ten ranked team. Freshman post player DeJuan Blair was held in check with 9 points and only 6 rebounds. To his defense he did get into foul trouble. and played the last 15 minutes with four personal fouls.
Prediction: To me, some games simply look like contests where the underdog is the only side to play. Georgetown and Pittsburgh on Monday night is one of those. This has all the makings of a game that is going to come down to the final possession. If Georgetown gets down, they shoot the outside shot good enough to get back in the game. If Pitt falls behind, Georgetown’s free throw woes figure to keep the game interesting. In fact, if you look at the matchups you’ll see in this game, there is very little you can point to giving one team a sizeable edge over the other. Of course, the home court edge goes to Pittsburgh, but that can be offset by the fact that Georgetow has played a 4-point tougher schedule on average. This one’s simply too close too call. Therefore I’ll take my chance with the points, giving the Hoyas a reasonable shot at the upset as well.
Play: Georgetown as an underdog
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