Georgetown Hosts SMU on Saturday Afternoon

How to Watch, Stream, Listen, Follow

Game Time: Noon ET

Location: Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C.

TV: FS1 (Justin Kutcher and Doug Gottlieb)

Radio: The Team 980 (Washington)

Tweets: @GeorgetownHoops / @SMUBasketball

The Georgetown Hoyas (7-2) return to the Capital One Arena on Saturday afternoon for a tilt with the SMU Mustangs (6-4), marking the beginning of a four-game homestand to close out the nonconference schedule.

Last Saturday, Georgetown faced its toughest nonconference road test in the Patrick Ewing era, falling to archrivals Syracuse (7-2), 72-71, at the Carrier Dome. The Hoyas led by as many as 15 early in the second half, but were unable to curb the Orange offense when Jim Boeheim’s men pushed the pace. The Blue & Gray had an opportunity to win the game, leading by one point with just ten seconds remaining on the game clock and five on the shot clock, but an offensive foul by Jagan Mosely allowed Tyus Battle to score a game-winning jumper on Syracuse’s last possession. Jessie Govan notched his third double-double of the year with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Mac McClung added a career-high 18 points, 13 of which came in the first half, while Greg Malinowski scored on 3-of-3 three-point attempts in the second half en route to 11 points, his most as a Hoya.

Govan’s efforts helped him earn his 10th-career spot on the Big East Weekly Honor Roll. The senior center has impressed early this season, averaging 19.8 points and 8.1 rebounds, with the former being a career best. James Akinjo is the only other Hoya to average double figures (13.0 points per game), and he leads the team in assists with 4.7 per game. His 42 total assists are 19 more than Jagan Mosely’s 23, which is second-best. Josh LeBlanc shoots a team-high 67 percent from the field.

SMU also enters on the heels of a loss; the Mustangs fell to TCU (7-1) on Dec. 5, 67-59. Jahmal McMurray, the team’s leading scorer (18.7 ppg), recorded 19 points in the loss. Three other Mustangs average double figures on the year: Ethan Chargois (13.8), Jimmy Whitt Jr. (11.8) and Isiaha Mike (10.2). SMU is one of the larger teams Georgetown will encounter before Big East play, with four regular starters listed at 6-foot-3 or taller.

The Hoyas and Mustangs have only met once before. That meeting came in the 1984 NCAA Tournament second round when Georgetown won a low-scoring game, 37-36, en route to the program’s lone national championship.