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The Monmouth Hawks have quickly become one of the most dangerous mid-major teams in the nation. With a record of 6-3 and wins over UCLA, Notre Dame and USC, the Hawks have swooped in and made an impact in the realm of college basketball in 2015. And that's not even discussing their awesome bench mob, either.
So that's why it's going to be intriguing to say the least when Monmouth takes on the Georgetown Hoyas of the BIG EAST Conference Tuesday night in Washington D.C. The Hoyas have an... um, a penchant, I suppose you could call it, of losing to feisty mid-majors. That said, Monmouth will be running into a red-hot Hoya team that has won five in a row and six of their last seven.
Needless to say, it'll be an intriguing collision on Tuesday night in the "Phone Booth."
How to watch, listen or stream
Game Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
TV: FS1
Radio: WOBM 1160/1310 AM (Monmouth) || 106.7 WJFK FM (Georgetown)
Online Streaming: You can stream Monmouth-Georgetown on FOX Sports GO where available.
Gamblin' Info
Spread: Georgetown opens as an 8-point favorite over Monmouth via OddsShark.
Records ATS: Monmouth (6-2) || Georgetown (5-4)
O/U: The O/U opened at 145.5.
3 things to watch
1. Georgetown's winning ways: The aforementioned winning streak continues to be on the line each time Georgetown steps on the floor. They appear to have rid themselves of their early spell, though there's no shame in losing to Maryland and Duke in College Park and on a neutral floor respectively. Bizarre loss to Radford aside, John Thompson III's team has done what they're supposed to do in each matchup since their loss to the Blue Devils last month. Monmouth represents another opportunity for Georgetown to put together a quality victory over a good team from the MAAC, as the Hawks are the best team that they have faced since facing Syracuse back on December 5. Ill-timed slump against UNCW this past Saturday, Georgetown has handily beaten each of their opponents. We'll see if that trend continues Tuesday night in D.C.
2. A freshman searches for consistency: Marcus Derrickson has been an interesting player. As he looks to find his groove, Derrickson has been very on and off through Georgetown's first nine games. In the first game, he scored four. Against Maryland, he scored 13. He put up a goose egg versus Wisconsin, and then scored three points against Duke. The tilt has continued, with a seven-point outing versus Brown that was followed by a 15-point game against UNCW, where the youngster from Bowie, Maryland was 5-for-7 from the 3-point line. The trend suggests Derrickson is due for an off night against the Hawks, so we'll see if he can right the ship and put together two good outings in a row.
3. Trouble on the Hawks' horizon?: The Monmouth Hawks' average height is roughly 6-foot-4. On their roster, they have only three players taller than 6-foot-7, two of get limited possessions in Chris Brady and Zac Tillman. This... plays into a bit of a problem for the Hawks, and right into the strengths of Georgetown. The Hoyas dish out big men left and right, with four players at 6-foot-8 and above, six at 6-foot-7 or higher. The biggest of all is 7-footer Bradley Hayes who has been unequivocally the biggest surprise in the entire conference. Hayes has been a double-double machine of sorts lately and he's fixing to head back to the buffet table Tuesday night. Hayes might eat, and eat a lot, and this decided advantage in the paint might tilt it to Georgetown.