20.12.2022

Georgetown @ UCONN Game Preview and Pick

Tonight’s college basketball slate features a solid dose of Big East match-ups, one of which being the Georgetown Hoyas heading to UCONN to take on the second-ranked Huskies. We’ll be previewing the game before going over my best bet for the game.

Game Preview

Patrick Ewing and his Georgetown Hoyas have not gotten off to the start they were looking for, entering tonight on a two-game losing streak and with a 5-7 record. Defensively this team is a mess, and that’s putting it lightly, the Hoyas rank 260th in the country in defensive efficiency rating, according to KenPom, and in their last two games, the Hoyas allowed a combined 185 points to be scored.

Offensively the Hoyas have been better on that side of the floor but still nothing to write home about. Georgetown is averaging 75.2 points per game and has an effective field goal percentage of 49.8%, which is ranked 193rd in the country. Primo Spears is the offense's focal point leading the team with 17.6 points and 4.6 assists per game.

The Hoyas' opponents tonight, the UCONN Huskies, have had quite the opposite start to their season. UCONN enters tonight with a 12-0 record and has an offensive efficiency rating of 116.1, which is the seventh-highest rating in the country, according to KenPom. Big man Adama Sonogo has been an unstoppable force down low this season, leading the team with 18.2 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.

As a team, the Huskies have been able to put an effective field goal percentage of 56.5%, the 15th best in the nation. UCONN hasn’t just been impressive on the offensive end, but their defense has also been stellar. Entering tonight, the Huskies are third in the defensive efficiency rating on KenPom, with a defensive rebounding percentage of 81.4%.

Look for freshman center Donavan Clingan to significantly impact the defensive end tonight, as he has been averaging 1.8 blocks and 7.1 rebounds per game.

Pick for the Game

The point total in this game can be found at 148.5, and my best bet is for this game to over. So far this season, the over is a combined 15-9 for these two teams, and it is 3-1 when Georgetown is an underdog like they are tonight.

I’m expecting most of the scoring to come from the Huskies, as they should be able to take advantage of all the Hoyas' weaknesses. Georgetown is 323rd in the country in assists allowed per game and 324th in the country in offensive rebounds allowed per game; on the other hand, the Huskies are 29th in offensive rebounds this season and sixth in assists per game.

The amount of ball movement and second chance looks the Huskies will get likely put them above their average of three-pointers made per game which was already 22nd in the country.

On the offensive end for Georgetown, they do put up enough field goal attempts a game that bodes well for the over. The Hoyas are averaging 61.8 attempts per game, which is 41st in the country, and there is a good chance they will exceed that number tonight if they fall behind big to the Huskies.