Point guard

Scoop Jardine vs. Chris Wright

Relatively even matchup here between two of the Big East’s more seasoned point guards, all the way down to the negative stats. Each point guard is averaging 2.9 turnovers per game on the season.

Shooting guard

Brandon Triche vs. Austin Freeman

The Orange will look to keep Triche constantly moving to get him open for his shot. Freeman is the Big East preseason Player of the Year and has backed it up all year long.

Small forward

Kris Joseph vs. Jason Clark

Joseph will get an edge through his hungry effort all over the court, like he showcased against USF on Saturday. Clark is a scrappy scorer, though, evidenced by his 50 percent clip from the field.

Power forward

Rick Jackson vs. Nate Lubick

Rick Jackson made a statement for SU in the team’s last game against USF. Will he have the same performance against the Hoyas and Lubick? No. But he will feast on another spot where Georgetown is undersized.

Center

Fab Melo vs. Julian Vaughn

The freshman Melo is still soft, and Vaughn will exploit that. But if Melo can get up and down the court like during the USF game, he could play enough minutes for some timely tip-ins and defensive positioning.

Coach

Jim Boeheim vs. John Thompson III

Thompson hasn’t had the success his father had inside the Carrier Dome, going 0-5 since taking over prior to the 2004 season. But playing twice a year, few coaches are as familiar with Syracuse and its tendencies as Thompson.

 

FREE THROWS

Wednesday’s game will be the first between the teams since Georgetown eliminated Syracuse from the Big East tournament last March.

Syracuse has won three consecutive regular-season games against the Hoyas. Georgetown last beat the Orange, 88-74, in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 14, 2009.

Georgetown is the sixth nationally ranked team Syracuse will face this season. SU will be the seventh ranked team the Hoyas have faced.

 

STAT TO KNOW

Georgetown senior Austin Freeman has connected on 46 percent (53-of-116) of his attempts from beyond the arc this season, including 42 percent in Big East play.

 

BIG NUMBER: 50.5

The percentage Georgetown shoots from the field, best in the Big East. SU ranks second in the conference in holding its opponents to 39 percent shooting from the field.

 

BEAT WRITER PREDICTIONS

Brett LoGiurato

Syracuse 72, Georgetown 67

Top dogs. Jack Russells.

 

Tony Olivero

Syracuse 76, Georgetown 75

After the Seton Hall loss, the abyss of the losing streak, Triche said SU needed to come together. Boeheim said SU needed to find balance. Chipper days have returned for a balanced Orange team.

 

Andrew L. John

Syracuse 79, Georgetown 76

Georgetown is on fire right now but has nobody to contain Rick Jackson.

 

FORTUNE COOKIE: Dog days are over

 

— Compiled by The Daily Orange men’s basketball beat writers Brett LoGiurato, Tony Olivero and Andrew L. John

 

Published on February 8, 2011 at 12:00 pm