Problematic Road History Has Georgetown Underdogs Against Syracuse

Sports News - January 25th, 2010 - Written By Bryan

The Georgetown Hoyas have fought to stay atop the Big East rankings with a 15-3 record, but things certainly won't get any easier this week.

Just before starting a winnable three-game slate against middling conference opponents, he 12th-ranked Hoyas have to deal with their biggest modern nemesis on Monday night as they face the Syracuse Orange in a battle of top-15 teams.

Georgetown hasn't beaten Syracuse in any of their last five road trips, and has only won once in the Carrier Dome in the last 11.

Syracuse, winner of six-straight, is favored by 5 1/2, according to BetED, with the College Basketball Betting Lines listed at a 146-point total. It hasn't lost at home to the Hoyas in more than seven years, and won last year's home meeting 98-94 in an overtime thriller that brought in over 31,000 fans.

“We have great fans here in Syracuse,” forward Kris Joseph said. “Our fans are die-hard fans and I think them being here and being so loud helps us a lot. I think it scares a lot of teams.”

But the Orange will be looking for vengeance after losing 58-57 in the Big East tournament, and one thing they have been able to count on this year in their rise to fourth in the nation has been size and post play down low, starting the year 19-1 and beating six conference opponents in a row.

But if there's one thing the Hoyas have, it's an ability to competed down low with near-seven-foot center Greg Monroe who averages exactly 21 points and almost 14 boards a game. He is coming off a double-double against Rutgers, in which he matched his points average and grabbed 11 rebounds.

“We were focused for the most part,” Thompson said. “They came out with a cohesiveness and an energy which was a good for us. That’s something we’ve stressed that we want to maintain.”

Georgetown is averaging 11 points fewer per game than the Orange, but also allow three fewer points. Opponents are shooting less than 50-percent against the Hoyas, who have won four of their last five, including two against ranked conference opponents.

They beat Pittsburgh by eight last Wednesday after narrowly escaping UConn on Jan. 9, and have beaten four of the five ranked teams they've played this year.

Syracuse lost to Pitt by ten before the Panthers were even in the rankings, but have since bounced back with a thin 72-71 win over then-10 West Virginia and back-to-back big wins over Notre Dame and Marquette.

The Orange are 12-3 ATS in their last 15 conference games, and have covered in 21 of their last 27 games overall.

Georgetown, however, hasn't fare so well against oddsmakers, covering the spread in only seven of it's last 26 conference games.