#1 Villanova heads to Washington DC to face Georgetown

How to Watch, Stream, Listen, Follow

Game Time: 6:30 p.m. ET

Location: Capital One Arena, Washington D.C.

TV: Fox Sports 1

Stream: FoxSportsGo.com

Radio: WTEL 610-AM (Villanova), 106.7 FM (Georgetown)

Gamblin’ Info: Villanova is favored by 13 according to OddsShark

Series History: Georgetown leads, 43-37

Last Matchup: Villanova won, 81-55 (3-4-17)

Watch For...

Turnovers

Georgetown tends to turn the ball over more than most teams (their 21.9% turnover percentage is 49th-worst in the nation)… if Villanova can put some pressure on them it’ll likely lead to more turnovers than Georgetown can afford to give up. The flip side of this, of course, is the toll that course of action puts on Villanova. The Wildcats won’t be able to put pressure on Georgetown the entire night - unfortunately for him, Jay Wright’s basketball robots need some time on the bench to recharge. Right now the Wildcats just don’t have the depth they need to give players enough time off the court to make the time on it effective.

Injuries

This early in the year it’s unhelpful to make assumptions and say ‘what-if’ when it comes to who will be able to play (and play well) in any given game. Season after season Villanova has battled with depth, and this one is no exception. Two freshman - one bearing an uncanny resemblance to Ryan Arcidiacono - are bandaged up right now. Despite reports that aforementioned Ryan Jr. (aka Collin Gillespie, for those of you who didn’t get a chance to see him early on in the season) might be coming back in the near future, he isn’t going to make the Georgetown game. Phil Booth is a perfect example of an injury that took a while to heal, but his continued improvement this season shows that Villanova can handle injuries correctly, even if it feels slow. Villanova fans will just have to be patient, and trust the best dressed coach in NCAA basketball.

New Coaching

Patrick Ewing is coaching the Hoyas this year, and has likely been thinking quite a bit about the upcoming ‘Nova game. He is a Georgetown Alumnus, retired Hall of Fame basketball player, and his last college basketball game against Villanova was a certain one in 1985 that got Villanova the title of National Champions for the first time. With this being his first matchup with the ‘Cats since then, look for Ewing to be a little more invested in this potential upset than most coaches.

Leading Men

There are players on both teams that’ll make this game worth watching. Jessie Govan and Marcus Derrickson have both been key members of Georgetown’s squad this season. Govan is just a few inches shy of seven feet, and is undoubtedly the Hoya’s leading man. This season he has been averaging a double-double, is making 42.5% of his three-pointers, and I also found out today that his favorite movie is reported to be Space Jam. Villanova’s leading man is, of course, Jalen Brunson. The junior scored 17 points the last time Villanova met up with Georgetown, and will undoubtedly be looking to repeat the performance tonight.