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Preview: Wright State at Georgetown
After facing nationally ranked Oregon in South Korea in its season opener, Georgetown will resume its usual practice of playing mostly inferior competition in the first month when it hosts Wright State on Wednesday. The Hoyas lost to the 18th-ranked Ducks 82-75 in the Armed Forces Classic, but they should find the Raiders, who have never won a NCAA Tournament game, more to their liking. If his first game is any indication, UCLA transfer Joshua Smith should be a force in the middle as head coach John Thompson III looks to replace All-American Otto Porter.
After going 32-33 in Billy Donlon’s first two seasons as head coach, the Blazers jumped up to 23-13 last season and have nine players returning. Senior A.J. Pacher made all nine of his field goals and scored 21 points in a blowout against Mount St. Joseph in the opener, but others will need to step up if the team wants to score more than the 62 points per game it averaged last season. JT Yoho, a sophomore, had 17 points in the victory, which is more than any one player averaged last season.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1.
ABOUT WRIGHT STATE (1-0): Butler’s loss is Wright State’s gain as junior Chrishawn Hopkins is expected to be eligible to play for the Raiders at the conclusion of the fall semester. Hopkins was dismissed prior to last season by former Butler coach Brad Stevens for repeated rules violations. The junior averaged 9.1 points in 23.2 minutes as a freshman with the Bulldogs.
ABOUT GEORGETOWN (0-1): Smith had 25 points and made 10-of-13 field goals, but he didn’t come up with a single defensive rebound in the loss. The Hoyas were undone by their 3-point shooting, which was a miserable 1-of-15, and 31 personal fouls, which led to 36 made free throws by the Ducks, but Thompson was pleased with the overall experience. “It was a privilege to play in this environment and a privilege to play in front of the soldiers,” he said. “It was an unbelievable experience and now we have to grow from it.”
TIP-INS
1. After Wright State, the Hoyas play Northeastern, Lipscomb, High Point, Colgate and Elon.
2. The Hoyas have seven 20-win seasons and three Big East regular season titles in Thompson’s nine years.
3. The Blazers finished 10-6 in the Horizon League last season, three games back of Valparaiso.
PREDICTION: Georgetown 77, Wright State 54
