CBB – Georgetown at DePaul

At 11-1 and amongst the top teams in the country in both offensive and defensive field goal percentage

2008-01-08

At 11-1 and amongst the top teams in the country in both offensive and defensive field goal percentage, it’s amazing to consider that many experts describe Georgetown as “struggling”. The Hoyas will look to “turn it around” on Tuesday in Chicago against Depaul, in one of 15 games on the college hoops betting board.

Georgetown turned in an uneven effort in its Big East opener. That might not be enough Tuesday in its next game against an opponent that has been a bit of a surprise in conference play this season.

The seventh-ranked Hoyas look for a fourth straight win when they visit DePaul, which has already won its first two Big East games.

Georgetown (11-1, 1-0) opened Big East play by winning 58-46 at Rutgers on Saturday. The Hoyas, who lead the nation in field-goal percent defense at 34.8, limited the Scarlet Knights to just 31.1 percent shooting.

Georgetown has held every opponent in its 11 victories below 40 percent shooting from the field.

However, the recent poor production of 7-foot-2 center Roy Hibbert continues to be puzzling. Hibbert, a senior who opted against declaring for the NBA draft last year, managed six points on 2-of-7 shooting against Rutgers.

He's averaging 8.8 points and 4.2 rebounds over his last six games - well off his season averages in 2006-07 of 12.9 points and 6.9 boards.

Hibbert has averaged 14.5 points in the Hoyas' two Big East wins over the Blue Demons, including last season's 66-52 victory at home. Georgetown won two seasons ago 64-44 in its last visit to DePaul in the Blue Demons' first season in the Big East.

DePaul (6-7, 2-0) was disappointing in non-conference play this season, losing at home to North Carolina A&T and Illinois-Chicago. But the Blue Demons have taken advantage of a three-game homestand to open Big East play by winning twice, including a 70-65 victory over Providence on Saturday.

The Blue Demons prevailed Saturday despite a poor performance from leading scorer Draelon Burns, who was limited to eight points on 3-of-13 shooting. It snapped a string of 10 straight games in which he reached double figures and averaged 22.2 points in that span.

Georgetown has won six straight against DePaul since a 78-51 loss on Jan. 22, 1994.

The visitors are a 7-point favorite, and the total is set at 138. The top trends from the StatFox FoxSheet favor the Hoyas and the UNDER:

** GEORGETOWN is 10-1 ATS (+8.9 Units) off a win by 10 points or more over a conference rival over the last 2 seasons.
The average score was GEORGETOWN 68.1, OPPONENT 55.9 - (Rating = 3*)

** GEORGETOWN is 28-12 UNDER (+14.8 Units) against conference opponents over the last 3 seasons.
The average score was GEORGETOWN 66.1, OPPONENT 58.7 - (Rating = 2*)

Tip time is 9:00 PM ET on ESPNU.

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