In an tournament filled with some formidable opponents, Georgetown opens play in the Old Spice Classic Thursday with a favorable first round opponent.

Wichita State is in a rebuilding mode following last season's 11-20 record, and gets an unfavorable draw against the Hoyas in the first round. Coach Gregg Marshall has rebuilt the Shockers with five junior college transfers and a lineup that has only two players with at least a season in Division I, so expectations are guarded early in the season. After early wins against Florida A&M and Centenary, this is a decided step upward.

The Shockers are expected to start a pair of 6-4 guards whose numbers have been encouraging. Freshman Toure Murry has played well in early games, with a 48 percent shooting average and 3.3 assists per game, having scored 15 points and six assists in the Centenary game. Sophomore Graham Hatch played for 14 games as a freshman and has fared well from three point range for a team currently shooting under 30 percent from outside, but has averaged only 15 minutes a game during WSU's early wins. Given the level of competition each has faced to date, the ability to react to Georgetown's offensive sets is a question mark at this time.

Up front, the Shockers will rely on 6-6 senior Ramon Clemente to handle much of its rebounding efforts. Clemente averages 8 points and 11.7 rebounds per game to date, with seven games of 10 or more rebounds last season. A.J. Hawkins, a junior transfer from St. Bonaventure, has shown a lot of promise early, averaging 52 percent from the floor as a small forward, but without any significant outside shooting (0-4) or rebounding totals (4.0 rpg) to date. 7-0 freshman center Garrett Stutz enjoyed a 22 point effort against centenary and can be expected to start early in the game with the Hoyas, but he owned a height and weight advantage on Centenary's smaller lineup he will not enjoy in the Old Spice tourney. Expect Marshall to rotate a number of 6-7 and 6-8 players if Stutz falters inside, but the Shockers's rebounding numbers reflect smaller opponents that have not been particularly adept at rebounds. For Georgetown to control the game, owning the boards will be a key.

Some other keys to the game:

Both teams will be adjusting to road conditions in the opener, with the winner of this game meeting the winner of Tennessee-Siena on Friday. For it to advance, Georgetown must play to its strengths (defense, height) and get ahead of the Shockers as it did against a rebuilding Drexel team last weekend. Wichita is a better rebounding team, but their team remains a work in progress and Georgetown must capitalize on it early to assure a favorable outlook for the second round.