--Coastal Carolina was picked eighth of nine teams in the Big South pre-season poll.
-- Both schools feature 6th year head coaches with new assistant coaches. CCU coach Pete Strickland welcomes two new assistants in John Bennett (Pfeiffer '98) and Jamie Kachmarik (Bowling Green '97).
--Coastal's mascot, the Chanticleer, is noted by CCU's web site as the "crafty quick-thinking rooster" from the Canterbury Tales; it's also a nod to the state's more famous fowl, the South Carolina Gamecocks. According to the school's media guide, the preferred pronunciation of the nickname is "shont-i-cleer", as opposed to "chant-a-clear".
  

Following a close win over Penn State, Georgetown returns to what appears to be inexperienced competition in Coastal Carolina. Looks can be deceiving, however.

Coastal is a veteran team--11 of its 15 players are upperclassmen, with only two freshmen and two sophomores. CCU starts five seniors on a team which improved from 8-20 team in 2001-02 to 13-15 in 2002-03. With five men on the Chants' roster from the DC area, Coastal looks to come out and give the Hoyas a battle early, led by guard Brandon Newby, who played locally at Gonzaga. Also to watch: senior guard Alvin Green, a former Georgetown recruit from 2000 who signed with Coastal after the Hoyas got a commitment from guard Luke Martin (remember him?)

As was the case last year, Coastal goes as far as its guards will take them. The backcourt has done well to date in 2003-04, particularly from three-point range (43.5%). but CCU is small (only two players above 6-8) which should be a plus to a smaller GU team as well.

For this game, Georgetown may seek a balance between the styles of play exhibited in the two games to date. The Grambling game featured a flying start and a second half on auto-pilot, while the Penn State game started out like a lamb and ended like a lion, so to speak. The Hoyas will need Gerald Riley back from Sunday's shooting slump, and could force more action down low to players like Sead Dizdarevic and Amadou Kilkenny-Diaw, each of which will be important in the event of foul trouble on Courtland Freeman (who fouled out in only 23 minutes of play Sunday).

Yes, it's a tune-up game, but fans should not kid themselves. The Hoyas are 2-0, but the two wins come against teams that sported a combined 2002-03 record of 19-39. The G-men are not going to be 9-0 on New Year's Day without continued improvement in all facets of the game. The Hoyas must approach each of its upcoming opponents as a potential land mine, not just a bump in the road.