Ben Burns comp
Game: Cincinnati at Georgetown Feb 23 2008 12:00PM
Prediction: Georgetown
Reason: The Bearcats have fared well against the lower tier teams in the Big East recently, earning wins vs. Rutgers, St. John's and South Florida. That gives them three straight conference wins for the first time since they joined the Big East in 2005. That's quite an accomplishment for a team which was picked to finish 12th in the Big East after finishing 2-14 in the league last season. However, the last time that they faced a "quality" opponent (vs. Marquette on 2/2) they lost by 15 points. That was at home too. This afternoon, they'll take on an arguably better team and they'll be doing so on the road. While the loss vs. Marquette came at Cincinnati, the Bearcats are also certainly capable of getting blown out on the road. The last time they played a road game against one of the better Big East teams (at Notre Dame on 1/15) they lost by 17 points. They've also lost by double-digits at St. John's and Illinois State, while losing by a whopping 19 at UAB. While the Bearcats did manage a 1-point win (as -7 favorites) vs. South Florida last time out, it's worth noting that they're an ugly 4-14 ATS the last past three seasons when coming off a victory over a conference opponent.
The Hoyas bounced back from a loss at Syracuse with a 10-point win at Providence last time out. That snapped a streak of pointspread losses and I look for them to build off that effort with another convincing victory this afternoon. The Hoyas won both last season's meetings by double-digits, including a 15-point win here at Georgetown. Looking back further and we find that they?ve won all three meetings with Cincinnati - by an average of 14.7 points - since the Bearcats joined the Big East. The Hoyas have also won 18 straight at the Verizon Center, holding foes to a mere 56.1 points in 13 games here this season. I expect them to continue that homecourt dominance this afternoon and am laying the points.