After a couple very solid wins, Georgetown is once again a heavy favorite tonight against St. John's. The spread is currently 17.5 (up from an opening line of 17) and the over/under is 120.5.
Point spreads/odds provided for recreational purposes only
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Cincinnati Point Spread
Georgetown is a big 14 point favorite today at home against Cincinnati. Sorry, no over/under for this one.Point spread provided for recreational purposes only
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Monroe Makes Burger Team, Sims Gets Snubbed
Greg Monroe is JTIII's fourth McDonald's All-American in three years. Henry Sims--like fellow Baltimore star before him, DaJuan Summers--gets shut out. But, boy, is it ever nice to be disappointed to get only one McDonald's All-American!Monday, February 18, 2008
Providence Point Spread
After the disappointing loss on Saturday, the Hoyas are heading into Providence this afternoon as a 6 point favorite. The over/under is 133. This looks like a tough line to me - I'd like to think that we'll bounce back with a strong win, but this team has been anything but consistent lately.Point spread/odds provided for recreational purposes only
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Recap of 'Cuse game
not much to say about this one other than the fact that it was an utter debacle. you all know my opinion of the 'cuse; however, they flat out beat g'town today. from coaching to shooting to playmaking, this one was quite forgetable. this was a lot further apart than the 7 point final score differential. based on some of the espn half-time commentary, the close win over nova, and today's game, i think road games may see the beginning the "over-rated" chant. not saying we are, but today we looked awful. my guess is that because of today's game we fall to #17 to # 19 in the rankings. there's definitely a target on our back for the rest of the season. the last game against l'ville may decide the BE.
in the first half while i applaud jt3's thought process of trying to let the hoyas play through the 'cuse spurt; but, at some point during the 'cuse outbreak, a TO was needed. hoyas looked totally confused and lost out there today. the fact that they had 3 or 4 field goals in the first 14 or so minutes was like watching the st. john's game except this time we were the johnnies.
not that i enjoy picking on hibbert, but he seems to be going in reverse. no reason he should have been in foul trouble. also no reason he should be outrebounded by a 2/1 ratio by dejuan; although that likely has much to do with the fact that roy sat out a good stretch b/c of fouls. he just seemed invisible out there. also, the bench contribution was anemic today.
unfortunately, i missed the first 5 minutes of the 2nd half, so i can't comment as to the catalyst for the comeback that almost was. can one of you guys tell me what went on with that? good comeback effort, but it's sort of hard to dig yourself out of a self-created 20 point hole.
aside from wallace's 26 points, the only bright spot to today's game was seeing ewing sr named as espn's #16 on the top 25 college players of all time. also, espn classic showed the 1985 and 1995 g'town / cuse games. boeheim apparently never had hair. baby stallion & i enjoyed watching the old games.
i'm hoping that this is the game that causes everyone's heads to get screwed back on. i don't mean to be negative, but not much positive can be taken from today.
in the first half while i applaud jt3's thought process of trying to let the hoyas play through the 'cuse spurt; but, at some point during the 'cuse outbreak, a TO was needed. hoyas looked totally confused and lost out there today. the fact that they had 3 or 4 field goals in the first 14 or so minutes was like watching the st. john's game except this time we were the johnnies.
not that i enjoy picking on hibbert, but he seems to be going in reverse. no reason he should have been in foul trouble. also no reason he should be outrebounded by a 2/1 ratio by dejuan; although that likely has much to do with the fact that roy sat out a good stretch b/c of fouls. he just seemed invisible out there. also, the bench contribution was anemic today.
unfortunately, i missed the first 5 minutes of the 2nd half, so i can't comment as to the catalyst for the comeback that almost was. can one of you guys tell me what went on with that? good comeback effort, but it's sort of hard to dig yourself out of a self-created 20 point hole.
aside from wallace's 26 points, the only bright spot to today's game was seeing ewing sr named as espn's #16 on the top 25 college players of all time. also, espn classic showed the 1985 and 1995 g'town / cuse games. boeheim apparently never had hair. baby stallion & i enjoyed watching the old games.
i'm hoping that this is the game that causes everyone's heads to get screwed back on. i don't mean to be negative, but not much positive can be taken from today.
Syracuse Point Spread
Georgetown is a 3 point favorite, with an over/under of 135. The line opened at 2.5, so it looks like some bettors are leaning toward the Hoyas this morning.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
The DC Sports Bog on PE2's Handshakes
I've been trying to avoid blogging. I figured that if I didn't post anything the other VBBs would sweep in to fill the void. You know, like a power vacuum; except without the power part.
Anyway, I saw this on the DC Sports Bog and I just had to post a link. Dan Steinberg interviewed Pat Ewing Jr. about the series of elaborate handshakes that he's developed for each of his teammaters. It's a pretty entertaining piece, and not only for the insights about the various handshakes (i.e. "The Ewing-Tyler Crawford shake is some sort of homage to a Dave Chappelle skit.").
My favorite part is the "[o]ther notes," which include a variety of things that Jonathan Wallace is afraid of. Included in J-Wal's lists of fears are scary movies and bridges.
Anyway, I saw this on the DC Sports Bog and I just had to post a link. Dan Steinberg interviewed Pat Ewing Jr. about the series of elaborate handshakes that he's developed for each of his teammaters. It's a pretty entertaining piece, and not only for the insights about the various handshakes (i.e. "The Ewing-Tyler Crawford shake is some sort of homage to a Dave Chappelle skit.").
My favorite part is the "[o]ther notes," which include a variety of things that Jonathan Wallace is afraid of. Included in J-Wal's lists of fears are scary movies and bridges.
Hibbert on Wallace: "Freshman year we were walking across the Key Bridge, he was afraid of walking across the key bridge. He doesn't like bridges very much."You know what, Jon? I don't like bridges either...or scary movies. To me this is just further proof that you're the smartest guy on the team.
Wallace on bridges: "I'd rather not. Heights, water, that's not me."
Monday, February 11, 2008
Villanova Point Spread
It looks like the sports books are predicting that the Hoyas will take out some frustration on Nova after Saturday night's forgettable second half. Georgetown is a 12 point favorite tonight, with an over/under of 134.
Point spreads/odds provided for recreational purposes only
Point spreads/odds provided for recreational purposes only
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Louisville Point Spread
It looks like Las Vegas isn't giving Georgetown much love vs. Louisville either. The #6 Hoyas are a 3.5 point underdog in tonight's game and the over/under is 123.5.Point spreads/odds provided for recreational purposes only
Friday, February 08, 2008
Hoyas Getting No Love Against Loo-ville
Despite the fact that the Hoyas are currently ranked #6 in both the AP and ESPN/USA Today polls, it seems that pretty much everyone is picking unranked Louisville to beat Georgetown in this Saturday's big match-up.
But I can't say that I'm surprised. The Cardinals have been on a roll. They struggled a bit at the beginning of the season because they were missing key players. But let's not forget, this is the team the coaches picked before the season to contend with Georgetown for the Big East crown. On the other hand, the Hoyas have been struggling. We've been winning, but often it's by the skin of our teeth. Going on the road against a good team is often a recipe for a loss.
That's why I think tomorrow's game at Freedom Hall is the most important we've played this season. The games against Memphis and Pitt were big, but I think those are games we were supposed to lose. Memphis is the best team in the country and Peterson Event Center is an impossible place for road teams. But this is a game we should win. If we want to be counted among the natoin's elite you have to go on the road and beat good teams.
I have to believe that JTIII knows this and will have the team prepared. So, I'm going to go against the grain and say the Hoyas will win this one.
Keep your fingers crossed.
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
The Hoyas Newest Fan -- John McCain
Salon.com ran this fantastic story yesterday linking John McCain's political fortunes to the success of the Georgetown Hoyas. In a year when polling has been highly suspect, maybe this is the true barometer of performance that we should be following.
Hoyas for McCain?
If you want to look at the same early indicators for how the night will shape up in the GOP race that the McCain campaign will turn to, forget exit polls. Just check the score of the Georgetown University basketball game.
John McCain and his senior strategists are among the most superstitious people in politics, and over the course of this primary season, the Hoyas have become something of an omen to Mark Salter, McCain's longtime speechwriter/Senate chief of staff/intellectual alter ego. A Georgetown alum, Salter has season tickets in the front row at the Verizon Center; about the only thing that gets him more fired up than Mitt Romney is Big East basketball. (At the bar after the Super Bowl Sunday night, he cursed at the TV when the Boston Fox affiliate compared the Giants' win to Villanova's 1985 NCAA tournament upset win over Georgetown).
As it happens, the Hoyas have been a near-perfect predictor of McCain's fortunes this year. The last time Georgetown lost a game was the night before the Michigan primary, when Pitt beat them 69-60; the next day, Romney beat McCain. The day of the South Carolina primary, where McCain narrowly beat Mike Huckabee to avenge his 2000 loss to George W. Bush, the Hoyas crushed Notre Dame.
When Florida Gov. Charlie Crist endorsed McCain three days before the primary there, Salter was marooned in a ballroom without a TV to watch the Georgetown-West Virginia game. Tracking the score online while at a Rudy Giuliani speech (I'm a fan, too; my wife went to Georgetown, and we have our own tickets nowhere near as good as Salter's), I sent Salter updates by e-mail as the Hoyas prevailed on a last-second blocked shot by Patrick Ewing Jr. By then convinced the team's results were linked to his own, McCain called Salter afterward to tell him about the play. A few days later, he had won Florida and become the GOP front-runner.
So who do the Hoyas play tonight? Big East bottom-dwellers South Florida. Playing in D.C., the Bulls are probably bigger underdogs than Romney is (though his loss to Huckabee in West Virginia, orchestrated by McCain strategists at the last minute, doesn't bode well for him). If they can pull off the upset, surely Romney can, too. But if the Hoyas hang on to win, as expected, McCain might do the same. Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m. Eastern -- just in time for the polls to close.
― Mike Madden
Georgetown-South Florida Recap
Our guest contributor "The Iceman" has come through again with a stellar, top-notch recap of tonight's game against South Florida. See below for your reading enjoyment. The IPB would like to personally extend his thanks to "The Iceman" since I wound up missing the game entirely because I got stuck at work. The Iceman's recap is the only thing I've read about the game and I'm not even sure I need to look at the Post's recap tomorrow. Thanks Iceman! On another note, the IPB would like to apologize to our readers for my absence last month. January turned out to be a very bad month for me health-wise but rest assured I am back! I have several ideas for new and interesting content, so look for that soon. And now the South Florida recap....
The Hoyas dismissed an early scare from the University of South Florida Bulls with a combination of an historic performance from recently-injured DaJuan Summers and excellent team rebounding.
Georgetown looked lethargic early, but DaJuan kept them in the mix, shooting 4 for 5 to start while the team shot a dismal 1 for 11. Meanwhile, everything was dropping for USF who leapt out to an early ten-point lead. The game’s momentum shifted, however, on a charge taken by the team’s energizer, Patrick Ewing Jr. Following the foul, Georgetown scored four straight and never looked back.
USF stuck around and made it close down the stretch, but the Hoyas never appeared to be in danger during the second half. Sapp and Summers stepped up into their leadership roles and simply played better basketball than the other team. Roy Hibbert, ineffective for most of the first half, turned it on as well, blocking a number of shots and ripping rebounds off the glass at will.
High Points:
*
DaJuan Summers. The Baltimore native was responsible for Georgetown’s first 11 points, including three straight threes. He finished the night with 24 points, a career high. Numbers aside, Summers looked like the star we all know he is capable of being, drawing a number comparisons to Jeff Green during the game.
*
Offensive rebounds. Usually a low point for Georgetown, the entire team was absolutely ferocious on the boards. At one point, the Hoyas were out rebounding USF by an 11-1 margin.
*
Confidence. Even when down, Georgetown simply played their game until it started working. They kept calm (with the exception of a Ewing tussle) and followed the offense in which they have been trained. It might seem easy or even self-explanatory to just “do what you know,” but after watching Memphis throw our scheme off-kilter in December, it’s nice to know the team still has it in them.
Low Points:
*
Early sloppy play. Hey, it’s fine against USF to come out looking like you need a nap, but in the tournament, Georgetown will get blasted in the second round if they look that de-energized.
*
Ball handling issues. Everyone from Jon Wallace to Roy Hibbert had their fair share of problems tonight. Most of the errors came when attempting Randy Moss-like grabs. Stick to the two-handed catch, Hoyas!
*
An announcer talking about Jon Wallace being from a farm and going to Georgetown Law. A required statement in the last few televised games, and now the subject of a story in the NY Times, Wallace’s story has been everywhere. Yes, he’s impressive and no, I don’t need to hear it again.
Questions That Remain
*
Are our three point attempts hurting more than helping? Typically known as a team that shot excellently from three point range, the Hoyas have been out of sync since the Pitt game, going just 4-13 in the first half of tonight’s game.
*
Why can no one shoot free throws? They don’t call it the charity stripe for nothing. Vernon Macklin has yet to take advantage of the free points, shooting an embarrassing 24% on the season. Even our hero of the night, DaJuan Summers, missed a pair during the game.
*
Should JTIII be using Hibbert and Macklin as a tandem? When put together, the 7 footers were an imposing force, helping each other on blocks and scoring points at will. It’s a combination we’ve rarely seen but it seems to work well.
It was over when…
*
DaJuan Summers emphatically dunked a USF turnover to take a 51-39 lead. The dunk also represented a career high in points for the 6’8” forward.
Player of the game…
*
See: High Points, #1
The Hoyas dismissed an early scare from the University of South Florida Bulls with a combination of an historic performance from recently-injured DaJuan Summers and excellent team rebounding.
Georgetown looked lethargic early, but DaJuan kept them in the mix, shooting 4 for 5 to start while the team shot a dismal 1 for 11. Meanwhile, everything was dropping for USF who leapt out to an early ten-point lead. The game’s momentum shifted, however, on a charge taken by the team’s energizer, Patrick Ewing Jr. Following the foul, Georgetown scored four straight and never looked back.
USF stuck around and made it close down the stretch, but the Hoyas never appeared to be in danger during the second half. Sapp and Summers stepped up into their leadership roles and simply played better basketball than the other team. Roy Hibbert, ineffective for most of the first half, turned it on as well, blocking a number of shots and ripping rebounds off the glass at will.
High Points:
*
DaJuan Summers. The Baltimore native was responsible for Georgetown’s first 11 points, including three straight threes. He finished the night with 24 points, a career high. Numbers aside, Summers looked like the star we all know he is capable of being, drawing a number comparisons to Jeff Green during the game.
*
Offensive rebounds. Usually a low point for Georgetown, the entire team was absolutely ferocious on the boards. At one point, the Hoyas were out rebounding USF by an 11-1 margin.
*
Confidence. Even when down, Georgetown simply played their game until it started working. They kept calm (with the exception of a Ewing tussle) and followed the offense in which they have been trained. It might seem easy or even self-explanatory to just “do what you know,” but after watching Memphis throw our scheme off-kilter in December, it’s nice to know the team still has it in them.
Low Points:
*
Early sloppy play. Hey, it’s fine against USF to come out looking like you need a nap, but in the tournament, Georgetown will get blasted in the second round if they look that de-energized.
*
Ball handling issues. Everyone from Jon Wallace to Roy Hibbert had their fair share of problems tonight. Most of the errors came when attempting Randy Moss-like grabs. Stick to the two-handed catch, Hoyas!
*
An announcer talking about Jon Wallace being from a farm and going to Georgetown Law. A required statement in the last few televised games, and now the subject of a story in the NY Times, Wallace’s story has been everywhere. Yes, he’s impressive and no, I don’t need to hear it again.
Questions That Remain
*
Are our three point attempts hurting more than helping? Typically known as a team that shot excellently from three point range, the Hoyas have been out of sync since the Pitt game, going just 4-13 in the first half of tonight’s game.
*
Why can no one shoot free throws? They don’t call it the charity stripe for nothing. Vernon Macklin has yet to take advantage of the free points, shooting an embarrassing 24% on the season. Even our hero of the night, DaJuan Summers, missed a pair during the game.
*
Should JTIII be using Hibbert and Macklin as a tandem? When put together, the 7 footers were an imposing force, helping each other on blocks and scoring points at will. It’s a combination we’ve rarely seen but it seems to work well.
It was over when…
*
DaJuan Summers emphatically dunked a USF turnover to take a 51-39 lead. The dunk also represented a career high in points for the 6’8” forward.
Player of the game…
*
See: High Points, #1
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
South Florida Point Spread
Georgetown was an 18 point favorite tonight, with an over/under of 129. They didn't cover, moving to 8-10 against the spread this season.
Saturday, February 02, 2008
Seton Hall Point Spread
Georgetown is a 14.5 point favorite today against Seton Hall. This line strikes me as high - it's probably a little inflated after the dominating performance against St. John's and Seton Hall is coming in having won 5 straight conference games (going 4-1 against the spread during that stretch). Another interesting fact is that Georgetown in 2-7 against the spread in their last 9 Saturday games. My guess is that Georgetown wins the game no problem, but covering the spread might be a little more difficult.Point spreads/odds provided for recreational purposes only
Friday, February 01, 2008
A Report From The Hilltop: An Unpdate On DaJuan Summers' Injury
The Van Buren Boys are a giving bunch. So, when we were recently approached by a Georgetown undergrad who wanted to contribute to the blog, we said, "why not?" We gave the eager young man an assignment and told him to report back. He did.
Below is a guest post from the lad, who I'll call "The Iceman." We have no way of confirming the kid's story, so for now we'll take him at his word. But who knows, if this story proves to be accurate, and if The Iceman keeps on delivering quality guest posts, maybe we'll add him to the hallowed list of Van Buren Boy contributors.
Without further adieu...
Below is a guest post from the lad, who I'll call "The Iceman." We have no way of confirming the kid's story, so for now we'll take him at his word. But who knows, if this story proves to be accurate, and if The Iceman keeps on delivering quality guest posts, maybe we'll add him to the hallowed list of Van Buren Boy contributors.
Without further adieu...
The Hoyas looked just fine without DaJuan Summers as they cruised to a record-breaking 74-42 win over the St. John's Red Storm on Wednesday night. Senior Patrick Ewing, Jr. filled in amply for the injured sophomore starter, who sprained his ankle during the waning moments of Monday's thriller against WVU.
While Ewing filled the shoes of Summers in this game, impressively controlling the tempo of the offense and being effective on both sides of the floor, his enthusiasm and athleticism won't be enough when conference rivals like Villanova and Syracuse come rolling into town. It's encouraging that the Hoyas played well without one of their stars, but let's be honest – we need the guy back.
According to a Washington Post report, Summers wasn't practicing and was listed as day-to-day. The Van Buren Boys decided to dig a little deeper, finding out that the report given by JTIII wasn't exactly complete.
Our source, a member of the men's basketball team, admitted to us that "DaJuan has been practicing on and off. He'll probably practice today."
When asked if Summers had been limping, our source admitted that "yeah, he's limping, but he's got that boot on. He'll take that off soon, though – he's a tough dude."
Finally, the Van Buren Boys pushed for what we all are dying to know – when's #3 coming back? "No idea, man."
We'll keep you updated on DaJuan's status as the injury progresses.
-- The Iceman
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