Georgetown Basketball

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Georgetown's 93-72 win over Providence without Thomas Sorber on Wednesday was in some ways, the basketball equivalent of the straight flush: a lot of cards had to fall the right way to make it happen.

Without Sorber, the Hoyas had to have a strong offensive game, contend at the perimeter, avoid foul trouble, and keep PC from taking over at the foul line. Mission accomplished: Georgetown shot over 50 percent for the first time in 13 games, tied a season high with 10 three pointers, lost only one player to foul trouble, and was a net +7 on free throws. Each of these will be decidedly tougher to address in a Sunday afternoon meeting at Creighton.

As much as any Big East team, the Bluejays are a much stronger home team than on the road. At 12-2 at home this season, Creighton returns to Omaha following a 79-73 loss to St. John's where it held the Redmen to 38 percent shooting and still lost. Leading the conference in field goal percentage and second in shooting defense, the Bluejays figure to focus on its strengths inside where Georgetown is lacking due to Sorber's absence.

In a forgettable December game for the Bluejays, the play of senior guard Steven Ashworth was exemplary versus Georgetown and has been all season for a legitimate all-Big East candidate. On pace, per the Creighton media notes, Ashworthj is on pace to be the first Big East player to average at least 17 points and seven assists per game for a career since Syracuse's Sherman Douglas (1985-89).

Ashworth is a dependable and proficient scorer for the Bluejays. He tied season highs in both categories last week versus St. John's with 23 points and 11 assists, with a 35 percent three point range being a drawback amidst a stellar resume, which includes a 95 percent mark at the foul line. Defensively, he played against Jayden Epps in the previous game but may see more time with Malik Mack, who did not play in the first meeting. Teams that can contain Ashworth do so at an advantage, but he gets points either way.

Senior guard Jamiya Neal scored a season low five points versus the Hoyas on December 18, but recent returns have been considerably better, averaging 15 points over his last three games and 10th in the conference in assists. Neal is capable on defense and has fouled out only once in his career, but plays a lot of minutes in games, averaging nearly 35 minutes per Big East game this season. Neal's probable matchup with Jayden Epps bears watching.

Sophomore Jason Green played sparingly in the prior game and did not score in 16 minutes, but he has started every Big East game since for Creighton in place of what would have been a major offensive weapon in the injury to transfer Pop Isaacs. Green has not been much of an offensive target, though his contributions have been more visible in recent games. Creighton needs more from their forwards and it hasn't been there, a similar issue of which exists for freshman Jackson McAndrew. His 13 points versus Georgetown was a high in Big East play but hs is averaging under five a game in his last seven, splitting time with Isaac Traudt (5.2 ppg). Creighton's forwards will provide rebounding support but will leave the bulk of the scoring to Ashworth and one of the best centers to play in Omaha since Paul Silas: senior Ryan Kalkbrenner.

Kalkbrenner owns the following records this season heading into the final two weeks of his regular season career: second in points, first in rebounds, first in blocks, and 13th in free throw percentage (.721). Despite his size, he only gets about 10 field goal attempts per game, but at 66 percent (43 pct. from there) it's surprising he doesn't get more. Coming off a modest 12 points in 31 minutes versus St. John's, Kalkbrenner could have a big day at home if the Hoyas do not have Thomas Sorber and Drew Fielder does not earn a repeat from one of his best games of his career in the win over Providence. The injury to Sorber (and by extension, the season ending injury to freshman Julius Halaifonua) is a point of concern for Georgetown defensively if Creighton feeds Kalkbrenner on a regular basis. When they do, big things happen: against Providence on Feb. 5, Kalkbrenner went for 35 points and 12 rebounds in a 80-69 win.

Creighton is a much more offensively minded team when Kalkbrenner is on and the numbers bear this out: the Bluejays are 20-0 when Kalkbrenner gets 12 or more attempts.

Keys to the game follow that of the first meeting:

1. Perimeter Defense: Despite scoring 12 threes on the Hoyas in December, the Bluejays have connected on more than eight threes once in the past five games. For Georgetown to contend, it must be proficient from deep but limit Creighton from an extended run from outside.

2. Turnovers: Creighton is last in the Big East on steals and ninth in assist to turnover margin.

3. Foul Trouble: For much of the season, Creighton didn't commit many fouls, but the last two games have seen a combined 75 fouls between the teams. Georgetown needs to play good defense but can't afford a parade to the foul line given its depth.

Creighton's 12-2 home record this season is supported by the largest fan base in the conference, averaging 17,325 per game this season. On its "Alumni Day" at CHI Health Center, expect a large and respectful crowd to support the Bluejays as they seek to keep pace with Marquette for the second seed in the conference tournament in a game that the Hoyas would like to steal on the road and make a strong effort for a sixth seed, tying its highest such mark in 12 years.

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