Tourney Time–Georgetown v. Belmont

(AP)

A traditional Big East power takes on the Atlantic Sun champs in a 3 vs. 14 match up

By Joe Diglio 


It’s the typical David versus Goliath contest that March always gives us. In the second round of the NCAA Tournament, the third seeded Georgetown Hoyas will take on the 14 seed in the Midwest Region, the Belmont Bruins.


Tipoff is scheduled for Friday at 3:10 pm at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH, and can be viewed on truTV. The Hoyas, who will be traveling from Washington D.C., will not enjoy the geographical advantage most high seeds usually have, as they are about the same distance from Columbus as the Bruins, who hail from Nashville, TN. However, Georgetown will still be a considerable favorite.


Picked by many to finish in the bottom half of the Big East, the Hoyas overachieved this season, finishing with a 12-6 league record (23-8 overall), good enough for fourth in the conference. They are led by Jason Clark, who’s averaging 13.9 points per game, and Hollis Thompson, who led the Big East in three point shooting percentage at 44.4 percent. However, the X-factors to the Hoyas’ success have been the addition of freshman Otto Porter and the emergence of senior Henry Sims. Porter, a 6’8” forward, averaged 9.5 points and 6.7 rebounds in his first season. And Sims has broken out after three unimpressive years, averaging 11.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, and a team-high 3.5 assists as the big man in coach John Thompson’s III Princeton-style offense.


The Bruins, though, are no slouches and have an upset on their minds. Belmont boasts a 27-7 record, including 16-2 in the Atlantic Sun conference. They rolled through their league, winning their last 14 games en route to both regular season and tournament championships. The Bruins feature a balanced attack, with four double-digit scorers leading the fourth highest scoring offense in the nation. Guard Kerron Johnson leads the team in both scoring (14.1 per game) and assists (5.2 per game). They had a promising start to the season, losing to Duke by just one point. However, their only other game against a tournament team was a loss to Memphis, so the Bruins have yet to beat quality competition. 

The NCAA Tournament will give them a chance to do just that.