Game 1: University Of Maryland, Baltimore County (0-0)
Nov. 25, 4:00 pm (EST)
Washington, DC
McDonough Gymnasium (2,200)
No Public Seating Available
Media:
TV: Fox Sports 1
GU Radio: WJFK-106.7
UMBC Radio: None
Game Notes: Georgetown
Game Notes: UMBC
About the Retrievers:
Location: Catonsville, MD
Enrollment: 13,767
Conference: America East
2018-19 Record: 16-17
Record vs. Georgetown: 0-3
Meet The Coach:
Ryan Odom
(Hampden-Sydney '96)
5th season, 82-52
Career: 111-73
|
|
Expected Starters |
Name |
Ht. |
Pts. |
Darnell Rogers |
5-2 |
0.0 |
L.J. Owens |
6-3 |
0.0 |
R.J. Eytle-Rock |
6-3 |
0.0 |
Daniel Akin |
6-9 |
0.0 |
Brandon Horvath |
6-10 |
0.0 |
|
Team Stats (2019-20): |
Points/Game: |
68.3 |
Points Allowed: |
66.9 |
FG Shooting: |
44.3 |
FG Defense |
41.2 |
3FG Shooting: |
31.7 |
FT Shooting: |
64.5 |
Rebounds/Game |
34.5 |
Assists/Game |
12.3 |
Turnovers/Game |
12.6 |
|
|
Game Notes
- Nov. 25 is the latest opening to a Georgetown schedule since the 1994-95 season season, when Georgetown opened versus #1-ranked Arkansas on Nov. 27, 1994.
- Georgetown has won 13 of 15 season openers dating to the 2005-06 season.
- UMBC is 15-19 in season openers since joining Division I in 1986.
- Georgetown is 7-0 all time against teams from the America East Conference, 3-0 vs. UMBC.
- UMBC was picked 2nd in the 10 team America East pre-season poll.
- Georgetown is 9-0 all time in games played on November 25, 8-0 in the Big East era.
Preview
If the 2020-21 season could be summed up in a word, it is uncertainty.
A 25 game regular season opens Wednesday with no guarantees. With two returning starters and nine newcomers from another disappointing season in 2019-20, the bar is set unusually low for a Georgetown team picked for last for the first time in its storied Big East history. The fourth year of Patrick Ewing's tenure offers hope, if for no other reason as there is too much uncertainty to predict much else.
The season opens Wednesday not in the airy confines of Capital One Arena, but a closed off McDonough Gymnasium, where GU will play five consecutive home games for the first time since the 1978-79 season. A rematch with an opponent it handled comfortably last season, Maryland-Baltimore County, offers an early look to where the reconstructed Hoyas are, and what awaits them.
The Hoyas took down the Retrievers last season, 81-55, behind 22 points and 13 rebounds from Omer Yurtseven. For its aprt, the Retrievers were down 14-0 and never contended. Returning four starters from a 16-17 team in 2019-20, UMBC hopes for a better opening.
The Retrievers run a three guard lineup which will be apparent when the Fox Sports 1 cameras focus on 5-2 senior Darnell Rogers, and that's not a misprint. The son of former George Washington standout Shawnta Rogers, he played only seven games before an injury last season, averaging 14 points, and did not see action at Capital One Arena last season. His 42 percent mark from three point range gives UMBC hope in an area where they were ill-suited much of the year.
Juniors L.J. Owens and R.J. Eytle-Rock will provide much of the offense for UMBC. Owens averaged 9.5 ppg last season and his 16 points versus the Hoyas was second best for him last season. Eytle-Rock was a better scorer down the stretch, averaging 12 per game, but was held to 1 for 8 against the Hoyas last season and must be more focused on his ball control, where he gave up five turnovers last December.
Georgetown didn't schedule UMBC by accident, and its frontcourt is the biggest liability entering the opener. The Retrievers return juniors Daniel Akin (5.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg) and Daniel Horvath (11.0 ppg, 6.7 rpg) but UMBC was outrebounded 45-31 in the game last season and a similar plot line appears to be the case Wednesday. A pair of junior college transfers are expected to see some duty, but not much more. Barring a three point barrage by the Retrievers and some sloppy play by the Hoyas, the game figures to be won in the pivot.
Ewing has kept his cards close to the vest as to the state of the 2020-21 team. Grad transfers Jalen Harris and Donald Carey figure to see time alongside Jahvon Blair, with Jamorko Pickett at forward and Qudus Wahab up front. The other forward position is anyone's guess outside the Thompson Center, offering the staff some options to rotate a three guard lineup or run larger combinations to take advantage of size up front.
Some keys to the game:
Three Point Shooting: UMBC averaged just 6.9 threes a game in 2019-20 and probably needs 11 or more to stay in this game. The ability for Rogers to provide a spark is vital for UMBC to stay close early. Georgetown's three point shooting was even fewer (6.4) but figures to be improved this season.
What's the Lineup? Georgetown holds a height advantage across the board but it is unclear which lineups will be in play for a team with no many newcomers. Both teams have a lot of new names outside the starting five.
Defend and Deposit: The Hoyas were ranked just 286th nationally in defense in 2020-21, but its 55 points allowed against UMBC was a season low. Getting (and keeping) the ball down low may be the best defense on both sides of the floor.
There's a lot of players on the roster but Georgetown is not deep. The Hoyas lost six of its top nine scorers from what was a 5-13 Big East team and the missing men from 2019-20 accounted for a whopping 63 percent of the team's scoring. Pickett, Blair and Wahab are considered limited from a game in game out scoring average, and there's no newcomer at this point who is expected to take over the numbers left over by Mac McClung, much less the points from Terrell Allen and Jagan Mosely. As much as the scores themselves, the development of consistent scoring options will be worth watching in the abbreviated four game pre-conference slate.