In the spring of 1986, John Thompson III was a sophomore at Princeton, his father was a 44 year old head coach (almost the same age his son is today), and Horace Broadnax was a senior at Georgetown. A world away, Savannah State University enjoyed a 17-8 winning season in the Division II Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, but it took 23 years to repeat the feat.
Now in his fifth season at Savannah State, Broadnax has turned around one of Division I's worst programs, a school that had gone 9-102 between 2001-05 and had once shot 1-23 in a half against Kansas. The Tigers finished 16-15 in 2008-09 and return an experienced group to repeat the feat, and get a rare opportunity to host a top 20 team at its 6,000 seat Tiger Arena.
Last season, Georgetown welcomed SSU and promptly thumped the Tigers, 100-38, as the Tigers shot 15-57 for the game and were down 42 at the half. The numbers may not be as pronounced, but the Tigers remain under-sized the second time around.
Only one starter remains from the team that absorbed that loss last December, 6-7 Rashad Hassan, averaging 8.3 points in three games this season. Its backcourt of Tracy Rankins and Darius Baugh have combined to average over 18 points a game this season, but their shooting has been poor against admittedly weak opponents like Webber International and North Florida. Rankins is shooting 38% from the field so far this season, Baugh just 18%. Rankins led the Tigers with 17 points in its loss Tuesday to North Florida.
Savannah plays a three guard offense by necessity, owing to a general lack of height on the squad. Senior Patrick Hardy, at 6-4, had struggled to regain his shooting touch in the first three games, shooting 3-15 from the field, 2-11 from three point range. Outside shooting does not suit the Tigers, shooting just 7-40 so far this season. The center position hold more promise, as 6-7 sophomore Arnold Louis is averaging 9 points and 9.7 rebounds a game. At 6-7, he remains too small in a game like this one to take over inside, and his 6-11 backup, Glen Izevbigie, has averaged just one rebound a game this season.
Georgetown was tested by a pair of tough teams in the past week, relying on a core of three starters to handle most of the scoring. A game like this offers an opportunity to get some scoring opportunities for Jason Clark and Jason Vaughn, while providing a test for reserves Henry Sims and Nikita Mescheriakov to build their confidence.
Some keys to the game:
1. Turnovers: Both teams have been loose with the ball this season to date and Georgetown must work on better sets to avoid the turnovers that will hurt them down the road.
2. Height: With six players over 6-7, Georgetown must do a better job of leveraging height on rebounds and in opening up offensive sets to the basket.
3. An Early Lead : last year's Hoyas took this game out of reach early, and a superior road team is always advised to keep the crowd out of the game as quickly as possible.
