FIGHT FOR FIFTH: Sorber, Georgetown Visit Xavier on Tuesday

Thomas Sorber earns sixth BIG EAST Freshman of the Week

Your Georgetown Hoyas are set to face off against the Xavier Musketeers in a pivotal Big East showdown on Tuesday, February 4, at 8:30 p.m. EST in Cincinnati. Both teams hold a 5-6 record in the conference, making this game a critical contest as they vie for a spot in the top half of the Big East standings. The game will be broadcast on FS1, with Connor Onion and LaPhonso Ellis. Radio coverage will be on Team 980 and SiriusXM (Ch. 384), with Rich Chvotkin, in his 51st season as the Voice of the Hoyas, calling the game.

Georgetown’s freshman standout, Thomas Sorber, is heading into this game with considerable momentum, having been named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Week for the sixth time this season. Sorber has been a consistent force for the Hoyas, averaging 13.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game over the past week. In Georgetown’s recent 73-70 victory against Butler, Sorber led all scorers with 19 points on 8-for-14 shooting. He also matched a game-high 3 steals.

Sorber’s ability to score and rebound effectively makes him a key player to watch. His confidence is clearly growing as he states, “I like expressing myself to my teammates and showing that I’m having fun on court. I just try to keep my mentality straight and just continue to be able to put points on the board to help my team”.

Micah Peavy is also coming off a strong performance, having also scored 19 points in the win against Butler. Peavy is averaging 15.2 points over the past 10 games. He also grabbed a squad-best 9 rebounds and added 3 steals in the win against Butler.

Malik Mack also had a solid game against Butler, with 14 points and a game-high 6 assists. Jayden Epps missed the Butler game due to illness. Epps is a key outside threat for the Hoyas, shooting 37.4% from beyond the arc and making 1.9 three-pointers per game.

Xavier is coming off a recent loss to Creighton, 86-77, where Ryan Conwell led the Musketeers with 20 points. Xavier is fifth in the Big East with 32.1 points per game in the paint, led by Zach Freemantle, who averages 8.9. However, Xavier was out-rebounded by Creighton, 36-32 in their recent loss. Xavier’s three-point shooting is a strength, as they rank 17th nationally at 38.3%, while Georgetown ranks 276th at 31.7%. However, Xavier averages 8.2 made three-pointers per game, only 0.8 more than the 7.4 per game that Georgetown gives up.

Georgetown is averaging 70.8 points per game and outscoring opponents by 5.5 points per game. The Hoyas defeated Butler 73-70, outscoring them in the paint 52-38. Georgetown averages 70.8 points per game, 0.6 more than the 70.2 Xavier gives up.

Xavier is 10-2 on their home court and Xavier’s Ryan Conwell is averaging 15.4 points over the last 10 games, and Zach Freemantle is averaging 16.5 points and 7.4 rebounds.

The Hoyas will need to limit the Musketeers’ three-point shot opportunities, while taking advantage of their inside scoring game and recent rebounding successes.

Here are the links:

Georgetown Men’s Basketball Travels to Cincinnati to Face Xavier | Georgetown

Mack paces the offense dishing out 4.6 apg, which ranks eighth in the BE.

Peavy is tied for 18th in the country and ranks second in the BIG EAST in steals per game, picking 2.3 pockets per game.

Sorber has seven double-doubles to his name, ranking first in the league. The seven double-doubles rank first nationally among freshmen, outpacing Cooper Flagg (Duke), Ace Bailey (Rutgers), Jayden Quaintance (Arizona State), Donnie Freeman (Syracuse), Derik Queen (Maryland) and Elijah Price (Fresno State) who each have six.

Defensively, the team is second in the league in scoring defense, allowing an average of 65.3 ppg. GU ranks second in the BIG EAST and 26th in the nation in field goal percentage defense (39.9%). The Hoyas are third in the league in steals per game (8.2) and are forcing opponents to commit 13.86 turnovers per game, which ranks fourth in the conference.

Men’s Basketball Returns Home To Host Georgetown On Tuesday Night | Xavier University Athletics

Xavier has four players that are averaging double figures in scoring: graduate student Zach Freemantle (fifth in the BIG EAST at 16.5 ppg.), junior Ryan Conwell (seventh in the BIG EAST at 16.3 ppg.), graduate student Dayvion McKnight (10.3 ppg.) and sophomore Dailyn Swain (10.0 ppg.).

Xavier is third in the BIG EAST and 20th in the nation in free throw percentage at .778. XU has three players ranked in the top 15 in the BIG EAST in free throw percentage: Dailyn Swain (fourth at .831), Ryan Conwell (sixth at .821) and Dayvion McKnight (11th at .779).

Xavier leads the BIG EAST in fastbreak points (ninth in the nation in at 16.2 ppg.) and is second in 3-point percentage (19th in the nation at .383). XU is third in the BIG EAST in free throw percentage (20th in the nation at .778), assist-to-turnover ratio (44th in the nation at 1.45) and assists per game (39th in the nation at 16.5 apg.).

Xavier sophomore Dailyn Swain has averaged 13.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game over the last four games. Swain, who is averaging 11.0 ppg. and 5.5 rpg. in BIG EAST play, is fourth in the BIG EAST Conference free throw percentage at .831. He had a career-high 16 points and a career-high tying five assists vs. St. John’s on Jan. 22 at Madison Square Garden.

Sorber Named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week For Sixth Time | Georgetown University Athletics

The awards come after a 1-1 week for GU that saw the Hoyas fall to St. John’s before defeating Butler 73-70 on Friday evening. This is the sixth time this season Sorber has garnered BIG EAST Freshman of the Week honors…

Thomas Sorber averaged 13.5 ppg on 47.8% (11-23) shooting to go along with 7.0 rpg in a 1-1 week for the Blue & Gray.

He added 3.5 spg over the two games, a squad best, while dishing out 2.0 apg.

Against No. 15 St. John’s, he pulled down a squad-high nine rebounds.

In the 73-70 win over Butler, he tallied a game-best 19 points on 8-for-14 (57.1%) shooting.

The Trenton, New Jersey native is the lone leader nationally among freshmen with seven double-doubles to his name.

Xavier Falls to Creighton in Omaha | Xavier University Athletics

Zach Freemantle had seven early points to help the Musketeers lead by as many as five in the opening minutes of the game. Creighton chipped away at the lead and the two teams traded baskets until a 7-0 run gave the Bluejays a seven point lead. CU built the lead out to as many as 10, going into the final minutes of the first half, but Xavier closed the half on a 5-0 run to go into the break down five, 40-35. Freemantle led the Musketeers with nine first half points.

The Bluejays built the lead out to as many as nine in the first five minutes of the second half, before a 10-2 run for Xavier pulled the Musketeers within one, 53-52, with 13 minutes to play. Xavier pulled even with Creighton at 61-61 with just under 10 minutes to play, but a 4-0 Bluejay run put CU in front for good, leading by as many as 11 before Creighton won by a final score of 86-77.

Ryan Conwell finished with a team-high 20 points after scoring 17 in the second half, connecting on four three pointers.

Zach Freemantle added 16 for the Musketeers after leading Xavier with nine points in the first half. He also matched three others for team high with six rebounds.

The BIG EAST Conference Honors The Black Fives | Big East Conference

For the fourth consecutive season, the BIG EAST Conference will partner with the Black Fives Foundation, a nonprofit public charity dedicated to inspiring excellence in youth by preserving, teaching, and honoring the pre-NBA history of African Americans in basketball.

This year’s theme, “Pioneers of Change,” will shine a spotlight on the early African American trailblazers who revolutionized the game and left an indelible mark on the sport.

“This season, we are once again honored to spotlight the powerful and inspiring stories of African American pioneers who laid the groundwork for the game of basketball as we know it today,” said BIG EAST Commissioner, Val Ackerman. “Their legacy inspires our athletes and communities, and we’re proud that the BIG EAST platform will be used to celebrate and elevate their impact in a meaningful way.”

BIG EAST players will wear shooting shirts emblazoned with the phrase “Pioneers of Change” alongside the team logos of historical Black Fives basketball teams. From the early 1900s through the 1940s, these teams played in ballrooms and gymnasiums located within the same geographic footprint as many of the BIG EAST schools today.

Georgetown visits Xavier following Conwell’s 20-point game | AP News

Xavier takes on Georgetown after Ryan Conwell scored 20 points in Xavier’s 86-77 loss to the Creighton Bluejays.

The Musketeers are 10-2 on their home court. Xavier is fifth in the Big East with 32.1 points per game in the paint led by Zach Freemantle averaging 8.9.

The Hoyas have gone 5-6 against Big East opponents. Georgetown scores 70.8 points while outscoring opponents by 5.5 points per game.

Xavier’s average of 8.2 made 3-pointers per game this season is only 0.8 more made shots on average than the 7.4 per game Georgetown gives up. Georgetown averages 70.8 points per game, 0.6 more than the 70.2 Xavier gives up.

Xavier v. Georgetown: preview, matchups, keys to the game | Banners On The Parkway

Today’s game is neither tier A nor B according to Pomeroy. Georgetown started the season 12-2; they’re now 14-8. After briefly validating the frankly incomprehensible number of media members who apparently live to do tricks on it for Ed Cooley, they’ve come screaming back to earth in catastrophic fashion since the calendar turned. They’ve compiled -2.0 WAB in the last 8 games and played like the 128th-best team in the nation according to Bart Torvik dot com. That’s not horrible in the context of 360+ D1 teams, but it’s fairly poor for a high major squad…

The worst offense in the Big East. They’re 11th in the league in free throw rate, 10th in turnover rate, and 9th in EFG%. They are 4th in OReb%, which is obviously a concern for anyone who has watched Xavier play at all this season. Oh, they’re also 11th in FT%, making 65% of their attempts from the stripe in league play. They don’t play fast or shoot a lot of threes, they just grind Ed Cooley’s take on the flex offense and score less that a point per possession.

Xavier, Georgetown in must-win mode to keep at-large hopes alive | Deadspin

The Musketeers (13-9, 5-6 Big East) are coming off an 86-77 loss to Creighton on Wednesday and have had five days of rest to prepare for their first of nine remaining regular-season games.

Xavier has little room for error to try to make a push for an NCAA Tournament berth, barring a championship run at the Big East tournament in New York in mid-March.

“We could really take off over the next four or five weeks,” Musketeers coach Sean Miller said. “Whether we’re able to do it or not, that remains to be seen. We have the ability to play at a very high level. We’ve shown that. We’ve got to turn it into high gear now.”

Xavier continues to be powered by Zach Freemantle and Ryan Conwell. Freemantle leads the team in scoring (16.5 points per game) and rebounding (7.4 rpg) while Conwell is scoring at a clip of 16.3 points per contest.

Preview: Keys for Xavier Musketeers to get Big East win over Georgetown at Cintas Center | Cincinnati.com

As vital as wins from the top two quadrants are for an NCAA Tournament resume, it’s equally as important to avoid any brutal losses from the bottom two quadrants. For a team narrowly on the wrong side of the NCAA Tournament bubble as the calendar flips to February, Xavier can ill-afford an untimely slip-up down the stretch.

The Musketeers have played seven of their eight games against the clear-cut top four teams in the Big East. Now, the schedule lightens up over the final four weeks of the regular season and Xavier must take advantage, starting Tuesday when Georgetown visits Cintas Center.

With Georgetown’s NCAA NET Ranking (No. 85), it’s a Quadrant 3 contest for Xavier. Outside of staying unbeaten (7-0) in the bottom two Quadrants, Xavier is fighting for a first-round bye in next month’s Big East Tournament. Xavier and Georgetown make up two of the four teams currently tied for fifth with a 5-6 conference record.