Mar 8, 2007, 15:50 GMT
New York, NY - The ninth-ranked Georgetown Hoyas, who won the Big East regular season title, begin their quest to add a league tournament title to their resume' as they battle the ninth-seeded Villanova Wildcats in the quarterfinal round. Awaiting the winner of this clash is a date tomorrow with either fifth-seeded Syracuse or fourth-seeded Notre Dame in the semifinal round.
Villanova earned its spot in this game by beating DePaul by a 75-67 final in yesterday's opening round. It has been 12 years since 'Nova captured its first and only Big East Tournament title. The Wildcats, who are 22-9 overall, are now riding a four-game winning streak and have apparently earned themselves a spot in the upcoming NCAA Tournament regardless of the outcome of this afternoon's tilt.
Georgetown finished 13-3 during the regular season against Big East opposition, edging Pittsburgh and Louisville for the crown. The Hoyas are in search of their seventh Big East Tournament championship, as they are currently tied with UConn for the most among league members with six. Unfortunately, it has been 18 years since the last title was captured.
Georgetown and Villanova split a pair of close games during the regular season, and the Hoyas hold a 35-27 lead in the all-time series.
Villanova's Scottie Reynolds, the Big East Rookie of the Year, has led the Wildcats in scoring in 12 of the last 18 games, including five straight to close the regular season. Yesterday, Reynolds poured in 29 points despite connecting on only 6-of-19 field goal attempts, as he was 13-of-16 from the foul line for the Big East's best free throw shooting team. Senior Curtis Sumpter was outstanding from his power forward position, as he finished with 25 points. Those two players had to be more productive than usual because Mike Nardi, who scores 12 points per contest, was limited to only five minutes of action because of an ankle injury. Reynolds was averaging 14.1 ppg to go along with team highs of 124 assists and 43 steals heading into this tournament, and Sumpter brought 17.0 ppg and 7.3 rpg to New York. Clearly, the duo will be counted on heavily once again today.
Georgetown is led by forward Jeff Green, the Big East Conference Player of the Year. Green is scoring 13.6 ppg while pulling down 5.9 rpg, and the fact that he has also racked up 101 assists and 34 blocked shots speaks to his versatility. Green is averaging 15.1 ppg against Big East opposition, proof that he is more than capable of elevating his game against top competition. Roy Hibbert, GU's massive center, is contributing 13.3 ppg and 6.4 rpg in league play, and he has blocked 70 shots this season. The third and final double-digit scorer on the roster is Jonathan Wallace with 11.2 ppg. The Hoyas lead the conference in scoring defense by a considerable margin, as they are only surrendering 56.5 ppg this season on 38.8 percent shooting from the floor.
© 2007 The Sports Network
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