On Thursday, March 12, No. 3 Villanova will take on No. 11 Georgetown University in the quarterfinal round of the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Wildcats (24-7, 15-5 Big East) will tip off against the Hoyas at 9:30 p.m. on FS1.
During the regular season, the Wildcats went 2-0 against the Hoyas (15-17, 6-14 Big East). Their most recent victory over Georgetown came on Feb. 7, when the Wildcats won, 80-73, on the road in Washington, D.C.
In that game, the ‘Cats went 28-for-57 (49%) on field goal attempts,10-for-29 (34%) on three-pointers and 14-for-28 (50%) at the free throw line.
Georgetown went 24-for-60 (40%) on field goal attempts, 7-for-25 (28%) on three-pointers and 18-for-23 (78%) at the free throw line. During the matchup, it committed 14 turnovers, However, the Wildcats failed to convert many points off those errors.
During the matchup, freshman guard Acaden Lewis led the Wildcats with a career-high 26 points. Junior guard Malik Mack led Georgetown with 21 points.
The Wildcats are currently led by junior guard Tyler Perkins, who averages a team-high 13.7 points per game. Senior forward Duke Brennan leads the ‘Cats on the glass, averaging 10.5 rebounds per game.
Perkins recently received the Big East Most Improved Player of the Year award. Additionally, graduate guard Devin Askew earned the Big East Sixth Man of the Year.
Villanova is without redshirt freshman forward Matt Hodge for the remainder of the season due to an ACL tear that required surgery.
As for Georgetown, it upset No. 6 DePaul University, 63-56, in the first round of the tournament to advance to the quarterfinals.
In the opening game, the Hoyas went 22-for-56 (21%) on field goal attempts, 3-for-14 (34%) on three-pointers and 16-for-18 (89%) at the free throw line.
Georgetown found success against the glass, outrebounding the Blue Demons, 40-32.
The Hoyas were led by senior center Vince Iwuchukwu, who posted his fifth double-double of the season, totaling 17 points and 14 rebounds. Graduate guard Jermiah Williams also totalled 17 points on Thursday. Mack followed, scoring 16 points.
Iwuchukwu will be a player to look out for after Wednesday’s performance, which also marked a tie for a career-best and season-high in rebounding.
The winner of the game is set to advance to Friday night’s semi-final to play the winner of No. 2 University of Connecticut and No. 10 Xavier.
If Villanova is to win, the quarterfinal game will take place on Friday at 8 p.m. on FS1.
