Big East Top-25′s Collide

The Big East is loaded with college basketball talent. They have 5 teams ranked in the top-25, and the first 4 are currently ranked in the top-10. Both the Georgetown Hoyas and the Villanova Wildcats are part of that group.

It’s almost a certainty that the Hoyas will fall from their #8 position at the end of the week due to a disappointing loss to the South Florida Bulls on Wednesday. Georgetown has been a bit of a mystery this season as their play has been extremely inconsistent. They lost early in the Big-East schedule to a down Marquette team, but then bounce back with wins over UConn and Pittsburgh. A surprisingly easy win against the Duke Blue Devils got the attention of many of the college basketball experts, but losing their very next game to the Bulls has them headed back out of the top-10.

Austin Freeman leads the team in scoring with a 16.4 point average, but the focus of this offense is Center Greg Monroe. Monroe is a true “big man” that can rule the inside. He’s averaging 15.4 points, 9.7 rebounds and over 3 assists per contest. When Monroe is at his best, there is no team in the country that can contain him. Chris Wright and Jason Clark round out the double-digit scorers for the Hoyas as they contribute over 25 points, 6 boards and 6 assists combined. Depending on which G-Town team shows up Saturday, this could either be a very competitive match-up or a blowout by Villanova.

The Wildcats have been shredding their competition over the last few weeks. They have outscored each of their last 4 Big East opponents by an average of 16 points per game. Prior to that run, they beat Georgetown at home by five. The pace of that game favored the fleet footed Wildcats as they pushed the tempo and got the Hoyas to fall for the trap. Senior leader, Scottie Reynolds is taking this team on his back as he tries to end his college career with an NCAA Championship. He’s averaging 18.5 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.

The key to Nova’s success is their depth. There are 7 players on their team that average over 8 points per game, and many of them contribute nicely in rebounds and assists as well. Junior Antonio Pena may be the biggest surprise to this Villanova squad. He had limited playing time over his first 2 seasons, and has now developed into a starter. His 11.1 points per game is more than double what he scored as a sophomore, and his rebounds have increased by over 3 per game. If this team is given the freedom to run, they are almost impossible to beat. The only loss they suffered this season was to a defensively oriented Temple Owls team that held Nova to just 65 points.

Expect the Hoyas to follow the Owls game plan. A heavy dose of Greg Monroe on the inside, and stifling defense may be the right recipe to stopping this Wildcat freight train. Check out his highly touted match-up at 12pm ET on ESPN.

Related posts:

1. S. Florida Meets Georgetown in 2nd Round of Big East Tourney
2. Big East Battle of Top 10′s Fight for Conference Title
3. Georgetown Takes on W. Virginia is Big East Showdown
4. Monday Night NCAA Basketball- Louisville vs. Villanova
5. Top 2 Teams in SEC Battle for Conference Title

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