Georgetown may be at the bottom of the Big East standings, but Villanova must not take its opponent for granted when the Hoyas visit the Wildcats on Wednesday.
Georgetown (9-9, 1-6 Big East) is looking to snap a five-game losing streak, but the team suffered two hard-fought defeats against quality opponents last week. The Hoyas fell at Creighton 86-83 in overtime before hanging with then-No. 3 UConn all the way to the end in an eventual 64-62 setback.
Vince Iwuchukwu had 12 points and 14 rebounds against the Huskies, while KJ Lewis also had 12 points for the Hoyas. Lewis shot just 5 of 13 and is in a bit of a slump (19-of-52, 36.5%) over his last four games.
Still, Hoyas coach Ed Cooley hasn’t lost confidence in Lewis — or any of his players.
“The one thing I can tell you is I believe in our group. I trust our group. I’ve seen us get better without a win,” Cooley said. “I like our competitive spirit right now. The ball’s just not bouncing our way in certain instances. I don’t want our men to lose their confidence. I don’t want our men to doubt what we’re doing because we’re right there at the doorstep.”
On top of their feisty play of late, Georgetown is aiming for its third straight win over Villanova. Prior to defeating the Wildcats twice last season, the Hoyas had lost 23 of the last 26 meetings between the teams.
Villanova (14-4, 5-2) is aiming to bounce back from an 86-79 defeat against St. John’s. The team has yet to lose back-to-back games this season, but it will need improved efforts from starting guards Acaden Lewis and Bryce Lindsay in order to avoid a second straight defeat.
Lewis shot 1 of 7 on 3-pointers and committed six turnovers against the Red Storm. Lindsay, the team’s leading scorer at 14.9 points per game, was held to 11 points on 3-for-8 shooting. He is shooting just 10-of-38 (26.3%) in his last four games.
“I think the younger guys are all still trying to figure out how to play against a physically dominant team,” Wildcats coach Kevin Willard said. “We’ve struggled against physically dominant teams for that reason.”
