Georgetown and Notre Dame enter the final eight days of the Big East regular season with a similar goal but different pressures.

The Hoyas can all but clinch a first round bye with a win Saturday and set themselves up for a shot at a bye into the quarterfinals against West Virginia on Monday. Georgetown can ill afford to look ahead, however, as they face a Notre Dame team Saturday that is playing for its NCAA life with its leading scorer still doubtful for action. The short-handed Irish showed their fight by drilling Pitt in a mid-week game at South Bend, but must now earn a repeat on the road, something it hasn't done since the first week of January. The strange dichotomy of ND as a home vs. road team is one of a number of stories surrounding this game, but opponents would do well to know that ND doesn't lie down on the road: each of its last three road losses were by three points or less.

The Irish lost three starters from last season's 21-15 team but return Tory Jackson at the point. Jackson can be a streaky shooter but his 2.71:1 assist to turnover ratio ensures that ND will not be making mistakes in the backcourt; in fact, ND has one of the stronger assist to turnover ratios in conference play (1.70) that Georgetown has faced all season. Jackson has some able assistance in 6-3 Ben Hansbrough, who has picked up much of the scoring lost to graduation by Kyle McAlarney, shooting 47 percent from the field and 44 percent from three point range, although his numbers in conference have slipped somewhat.

Harangody's injury has put a lot of pressure on the Irish front line and Tim Abromaitis has answered the call. More so than any single player on Mike Brey's squad, Abromaitis is the reason why ND is even in the NCAA discussions, albeit on the edge, because of his strong play this season. Shooting 50 percent from the field and 48 percent from three point range, the 6-8 Abromaitis presents matchup problems for Georgetown with Julian Vaughn and fans may see some defensive switches to keep Abromaitis from setting up inside or by taking advantage of screens to pop up outside. ND also figures to see action from 6-7 Carleton Scott and 6-8 Tyrone Nash, with nash doing a better job at rebounding in Harangody's absence, with seven rebounds in the win over Pitt.

So how did ND beat Pitt start to finish? Good defense, six threes in the first half, and tempo. This may the kind of game, especially on the road, where Mike Brey may want to keep the game in the 60-65 point range, key on better three point shooting, and try to hang around for the last five minutes--fans should watch to see if GU pursues a more up-tempo approach.

The Irish matchups from a statistical point of view with the Hoyas are comparable to Louisville in all but one major category, scoring defense. Opposing teams are averaging 44 percent from the field and this can get ND into trouble, especially on the road. The Irish have compensated of late with some strong shooting of its own, so Georgetown's ability to play consistent defense will be more important than ever in this game.

Some keys to the game:

1. Don't Look Ahead: Both teams have some big games ahead of them next week (GU-West Virginia, ND-Connecticut) and both cannot afford to lose focus in the meantime.
2. Whither the Zone? . ND may try to challenge the Hoyas with a Syracuse-style matchup zone. Passing and outside shooting may be tested early.
3. Chris Wright: The Georgetown guard has been up and down of late and did not do particularly well last year against the Irish (5-14, 1-6 from three) but the law of averages suggests Wright is due for a big game.
4. Bench.: Both teams are not deep. ND may get some minutes from 6-3 senior Jonathan Peoples and some spot duty from 6-5 Joey Brooks, but both teams should not see more than eight deep in this one.
5. Free Throws: ND wins games at the line. The ability of Georgetown in the Louisville game in exercising good court sense and not pick up early fouls was vital than and remains so Saturday. In last year's game against Georgetown, ND was 15-16 from the line to put the win in the books.

For ND to win, Tim Abromaitis borrows a page from last year's Irish win over the Hoyas and puts up a Harangody-like 30 point, 10 rebound effort, as three point shooting and expert free throw shooting are the difference. For Georgetown, which more often than not has locked down ND shooters at Verizon Center, its ability to shut down the Irish from outside will put a lot of pressure on ND inside, to which Georgetown has an advantage, especially if Harangody cannot see extended action. Abromaitis and a little adrenaline have powered the short-handed Irish in its last three games, but a second wind may be hard to come by if Georgetown plays to its potential.