It's not where you start, it's where you finish. And as Georgetown embarks on the most challenging road schedule of any Top 25 team, there are no guarantees, just opportunities.

Opportunity has been the catch-phrase of this unusual series, where the road team has been dominant and the Monarchs have stung the Hoyas twice in the last three years with a combination of patience, execution, and a defensive hammerlock on the boards late in games. It's the hallmark of a program built by 10th year coach Blaine Taylor that has become one of the most consistent--and most challenging--mid-majors in the nation.

Taylor is the successor to a line of successful Division I coaching at ODU. Begun under Sonny Allen and preceded by the likes of Tom Young, Oliver Purnell, and Jeff Capel, Taylor has built the Monarchs for the long haul. Averaging 24 wins a over the past six seasons, Taylor returns four starters from a team picked first in the Colonial Athletic Association for the upcoming season. But like his counterpart John Thompson III, Taylor must look to replacing a gap in the middle as the key to his team's success this season.

Center Gerald Lee ended his Old Dominion career as an CAA standout, the conference MVP, and replacing his 14.4 points a game is no small undertaking. Taylor's four returning starters are experienced and prepared to keep the Big Blue more than competitive in its season opener Friday.

6-5 senior guard Ben Finney leads a three-guard attack that proved challenging for all comers last season, even Notre Dame, which fell to ODU in the first round of the 2010 NCAA's. Finney's 8.5 points and 5.8 rebounds make him a battler on both sides of the court, and one of two likely three point options in the backcourt. 6-1 Darius James struggled from the field at times last season, but is ably assisted by 6-5 Kent Bazemore (8.4 ppg, 121 assists), which gives ODU a variety of options that generally drive to the basket and do not engage in three point volleys. Like Georgetown's Greg Monroe, Lee could open up the middle and allow the guards to get things done, the responsibility of which now falls to a pair of 6-8 redshirt seniors in Frank Hassell and Keyon Carter.

Taylor figures to stay with a tight rotation for Friday's game, with additional help expected from 6-4 Trian Iliadis and 6-9 Chris Cooper. The two juniors averaged less than five points a game between them last season, but combined for 16 in the Monarchs' 74-41 exhibition win over Elizabeth CIty State. ODU held the visiting Vikings to just 30 percent shooting and in two exhibition games, the Monarchs averaged a whopping 51 rebounds per game.

Georgetown enters the season also dealing with the loss of a big man but with many more options from a depth perspective. After two years in a secondary scoring role, 6-8 senior Julian Vaughn figures to get the nod at center, and his off-season conditioning suggests he is ready for the task. With a veteran core in the backcourt with Chris Wright, Austin Freeman, and Jason Clark, the evolution of the power forward position will be one to watch in the early weeks of the season. 6-7 Hollis Thompson is more a scorer than a rebounder, while 6-7 Jerelle Benimon and 6-8 Nate Lubick will, for now anyway, be seen as rebounders first and scorers second. If Vaughn can hold the middle, a rotation of these three forwards could provide Georgetown some tremendous flexibility at power forward.

Vaughn's ability to play 40 minutes will be tested, however. Despite averaging just 22 minutes a game last season, Vaughn fouled out of three games and was fourth on the team in fouls committed, and this may force junior Henry Sims to take the long awaited next step in his development at center. Sims' 1.4 points and 1.4 rebounds a game belie his talent, but he saw less than five minutes a game in Big East play as an understudy to Monroe. If Sims gets out on the court, he needs to make the most if it.

As backcourts go, these are golden days for Georgetown. The trio of Wright, Freeman, and Clark enter 2010-11 averaging 42 points a game between them, the most productive group under 6-4 since Perry McDonald, Charles Smith, and Mark Tillmon led the Hoyas in the 1987-88 season. With Freeman back to good health, Wright's increasing productivity over his career, and the expectation that Clark is eminently capable of a breakout year, the guard play will allow Coach Thompson the ability to tinker with the frontcourt without losing offensive firepower as a result.

Georgetown's immediate task in the game will be backcourt efficiency. Wright and Clark shot just 4 for 14 in last season's game and allowed ODU to build a lead from 18 Georgetown turnovers. With that in mind, here are some other keys to the game:

1. Rebound Margin: ODU finished the 2009-10 season ranked 3rd in rebound margin, Georgetown 102nd. With both teams looking to replace a big man in the lineup, the ability of the forwards to pick up the rebounding load and avoid extra possessions could be the deciding factor in a close game.
2. Three Pointers: Another stat from 2009-10 to watch in 2010-11: ODU ranked only 302nd in the nation in three pointers per game last season, and only one starter averaged better than 32 percent. Any early success from three may give ODU the confidence to play a more perimeter-focused attack on Georgetown as Baylor successfully executed against the Hoyas two seasons ago.
3. Hollis Thompson: Thompson's numbers are solid but he didn't get enough minutes in the 09-10 rotation to be a deciding factor. His 44 percent mark from three should (and will not) be overlooked.

For ODU to win, Finney and Bazemore control the tempo, Hassell has a big rebounding effort, and the Monarchs force poor decisions by the georgetown backcourt. Georgetown's objectives are for steady guard play from Chris Wright, effective court management from Vaughn in the post, and a better forty minute effort than the Hoyas displayed last year during exam week at McDonough Gym. It's a good early test for a Georgetown team with more than its share of tests ahead of its schedule heading into the 2010-11 season.