8 Things to Watch for Against Georgetown

Providence looks to win their second straight road game Wednesday night (7pm, Cox/SNY) when they travel to Washington, DC to take on Georgetown (11-3, 1-2).

Here’s what to watch for.

1. Georgetown will be without 6’8 Greg Whittington, a versatile forward capable of grabbing 15 rebounds or hitting two or three 3 pointers on any given night.  Whittington was suspended for Saturday’s 67-51 victory over St. John’s – the Hoyas first Big East win of the year – and John Thompson III announced today that his suspension is indefinite.

This is no small loss for Georgetown, as Whittington led them in minutes (over 35 a night), and takes away a double digit scorer from a team that has struggled to put the ball in the hoop at times this season.

2. Which Georgetown team will Providence get?  Thompson’s group took then-#1 Indiana to overtime in November a night after rolling over UCLA.  They also have wins over Tennessee and Texas as well.

With a roster filled with 6’8/6’9 forwards, the Hoyas will defend, but they’ve struggled mightily at times on the offensive end.  While they defeated Tennessee, it was a 37-36 win.  They took down Pat Skerry and Towson 46-40 and in their two conference losses they managed only 48 points each time out (a 49-48 loss to Marquette and a 73-48 beat down at the hands of Pittsburgh).

Providence failed to get much of anything going against Georgetown last season, setting a school Big East low in field goal percentage in DC last season, and they have to hope that the Hoyas impressive win over St. John’s wasn’t them turning the corner.

3. Providence is 4-21 all-time at Georgetown,  and they haven’t defeated the Hoyas since March of 2005 when Ryan Gomes hit a game winner with under two seconds to play.  The Friars had a shot the past two seasons, with Marshon Brooks exploding for 43 in an 83-81 loss and the Hoyas pulling away late 49-40 last December.

PC trails the all-time series 42-19.

4. Otto Porter is one of the league’s best.  My preseason player of the year may not have exploded as a sophomore, but Porter has been steady (13.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.0 steals, 39% from 3).  In the absence of Whittington (one of only three Hoyas averaging double figures in points), Porter played his best game of the season at St. John’s with 19 points and 14 rebounds, while taking 12 free throws.  Georgetown will need him to take on a heavier burden without Whittington.

5. Can’t leave Starks.  Now a junior, Markel Starks came to Georgetown as a highly-publicized recruit and he’s beginning to emerge in his third year on campus, upping his scoring average by four points per game while making 44% from 3 and 83% from the free throw line.  Starks had 43 in the back to back games against UCLA and Indiana and 18 and 7 in the Big East opener versus Marquette.

Council, Cotton struggled in DC last year

6. Can Cotton find room?  Bryce Cotton has carried over his strong out of conference run with very good numbers in Big East play.  He’s averaged the second most points per game in conference play (20.8) while making nearly 47% of his three point shots.  His 15 three pointers made and 3.8 threes per game are both tops in the Big East.

Cotton struggled mightily against Georgetown’s length last season, making just 5-25 from the field and 4-19 from three. He’s diversified his offensive game in his junior year and Providence needs him to be a consistent 20 point a night threat to win against most teams in the Big East – especially on the road against Georgetown.

7. Council rounding into form.  As noted here yesterday, Vincent Council looked like he was finding his footing in an 11 point, eight assist outing against Seton Hall in which he made clutch plays late.  Like Cotton, Council had difficulties with the Hoyas last season, making just 9-29 from the field.

8. Henton on the glass.  The Friar sophomore terrorized Seton Hall on the offensive glass Sunday, grabbing eight offensive rebounds.  He continues to struggle with his jump shot, as Council found him for great looks from beyond the arc on Sunday, but he was unable to convert.

If Providence is to pull the upset on Wednesday they’ll need the Henton they saw in DC last year when he scored 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, as opposed to the 1-9 effort Georgetown held him to in Providence a month and a half later.  Henton could be Providence’s swing player in a game in which offense could be tough to come by.  If he can get them second opportunities on the glass, or start knocking down the looks he made with regularity last season it would certainly help PC’s chances.

Bonus: PC versus Georgetown in 7 Minutes from last December.

Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images

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