KSR Staff Predictions: Kentucky vs. Georgetown

by: KSR11 hours ago

kentucky-vs-georgetown-ksr-staff-predictions — Feb 11, 2023; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Georgetown Hoyas mascot Jack the Bulldog against the Marquette Golden Eagles during the first half at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-Imagn Images

Kentucky Basketball wraps up its preseason tonight vs. Georgetown — not the Georgetown Tigers, from down the road, but the Georgetown Hoyas, the Big East blueblood that produced legends like Patrick Ewing, Dikembe Mutombo, Alonzo Mourning, and Allen Iverson in the ’80s and ’90s.

Georgetown isn’t quite as good as they were back in John Thompson’s days, but Ed Cooley is trying to turn things around in year three. Kentucky thrilled in its first exhibition, running Purdue off the floor last Friday night. The Hoyas aren’t expected to present the same challenge as the No. 1 Boilermakers; however, it’ll still be a good test for the Cats as they get ready for the real games to begin next week.

How will it unfold? The KSR crew is ready to weigh in with our predictions.

Nick Roush

Patrick Ewing ain’t walkin’ through the door. Instead, it’s Ed Cooley, and his Dogs don’t stand a chance.

There were plenty of reasons to be delighted by Kentucky’s first exhibition. The Wildcats’ defense and the pace of play were what popped most for me. We were told all offseason about how Mo Dioubate has more to his game than just a bruising, athletic rebounder. His ability to lead the break was eye-opening in all of the right ways. That tempo is going to pose problems for teams all year as Kentucky attacks in waves.

That relentlessness will create easy scoring opportunities. Jasper Johnson found ways to put the ball in the bucket even when they weren’t easy. History and his style of play suggest that it won’t happen consistently. The guards will rotate between standout performers. The shot selection wasn’t great for Denzel Aberdeen on night one, but I think this is his night where he settles in and gets buckets to become the player we’re all talking about afterwards.

Score: Kentucky 88, Georgetown 70

Drew Franklin

I still haven’t come down from the high of last Friday night, when Kentucky blew out preseason No. 1 Purdue in Rupp Arena with a shorthanded roster. Haters will tell you that the game didn’t matter, but I was there, and it mattered to me. The Wildcats looked incredible.

So, there’s no way I am predicting anything but another beatdown in Lexington for the second preseason exhibition. The Hoyas may have a pair of preseason All-Big East guards against a thin Kentucky backcourt, but Kentucky still has a stacked roster and a home crowd that should fill the place like it is a Saturday night in February.

Otega Oweh will lead Kentucky in scoring, like he did many times a year ago, while Collin Chandler finishes right behind him in the scoring column. How about a pair of 3s from Andrija Jelavic? Let’s throw those in, too. Trent Noah will hit three of them. Cats win again to wrap up the preseason.

Score: Kentucky 85, Georgetown 71

Tyler Thompson

Like the others, I’m still riding the high of the win over Purdue, a game that had visions of Kentucky’s ninth national championship dancing in my head. I’ll be back on the couch tonight instead of Rupp Arena, but the excitement will still be the same to see this team in action again.

Georgetown is a considerable step down in competition from Purdue, still rebuilding under Ed Cooley; however, Cooley is a heck of a coach, and will wring every ounce of effort out of the Hoyas, who were picked to finish sixth in the Big East. It won’t be enough. Kentucky’s depth and defensive pressure will overwhelm Georgetown as it did Purdue. Jaland Lowe will once again sit out, giving Kentucky’s makeshift backcourt a chance to gel against preseason All-Big East guards KJ Lewis and Malik Mack.

Collin Chandler only scored two points vs. Purdue, filling the stat sheet in other ways en route to MVP honors from Mark Pope. I think he’ll light it up tonight, one of five Cats in double figures. Kam Williams will be another one, catching fire after a relatively quiet debut vs. Purdue.

Score: Kentucky 84, Georgetown 69

Zack Geoghegan

Ed Cooley is dealing with a significant amount of turnover in year three at Georgetown. There is talent on the roster, but this isn’t a Purdue situation where most of the top contributors have played together for multiple seasons. Kentucky is the obvious favorite here, but exhibitions so far this preseason have proven to be unpredictable. Don’t be shocked if the Hoyas keep this close or even sneak out with a win.

I won’t be calling for that, though. Even if Jaland Lowe is out once again, there is too much depth on this Kentucky squad. The Wildcats’ non-stop attack, improved defense, and high levels of conditioning eventually wore Purdue down to the point that they couldn’t even hit an open shot. UK will spread the scoring love across the board before running away with the win late. I do think Georgetown makes this a game early before Kentucky’s talent and depth overwhelm the Hoyas.

Score: Kentucky 79, Georgetown 71

Adam Luckett

Ed Cooley is now in year three of a slow rebuild at Georgetown. The Hoyas have an intriguing backcourt with some good size, but perimeter shooting is a question mark. Meanwhile, the frontcourt has a lot to prove this year. There are also a lot of unknowns about this bench.

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Malik Mack, KJ Lewis, and Langston Love will be a good athletic and physical test for a short-handed Kentucky backcourt but UK’s pace, depth, and talent advantage in the frontcourt should give the home team at Rupp Arena a big advantage in this contest even with the Hoyas having multiple 7-footers on the roster.

If Kentucky is hot from three, this one could be a blowout victory. Some of the athletic advantages that the Cats had against Purdue won’t exactly be there tonight. However, the interior group of Andrija Jelavic, Brandon Garrison, Mo Dioubate, and Malachi Moreno could all have a big impact on this game. I’m very interested to see how Collin Chandler and Trent Noah perform against a backcourt with an SEC athletic profile.

This one could be a bit of a grinder if Kentucky doesn’t hit perimeter shots, but I think this is the kind of game where the Cats could get a lot of opportunities from the three. If the math does indeed math from long-distance, Mark Pope’s squad will distance themselves for a comfortable win.

Score: Kentucky 81, Georgetown 66

Jacob Polacheck

Man, Kentucky looked good against Purdue, didn’t they? Well, now they’re facing a Georgetown team in the middle of a rebuild under Ed Cooley.

Even with injuries to Jaland Lowe and Jayden Quaintance, and potentially Denzel Aberdeen, Kentucky should be in good shape to take care of business. UK’s depth is a strong suit, and after the play of Mo Dioubate, Jasper Johnson, and others, Kentucky has plenty of firepower to get this done.

Georgetown has a backcourt with plenty of high-quality players, including Malik Mack, KJ Lewis, and Langston Love. However, UK still has the depth to combat this, even with Lowe sidelined. My prediction: Kentucky cruises to victory at home.

Score: Kentucky 86, Georgetown 70

Jack Pilgrim

Georgetown is actually pretty interesting this year, losing six of its seven leading scorers from last season while bringing back a key starter and Preseason All-Big East member in Malik Mack — plus six high-major portal additions, including five former four-star, top-100 prospects. Of those, three were former top-40 recruits, and the worst (No. 81 overall) happens to be the biggest prize of all in KJ Lewis, named to the Preseason All-Big East Second Team.

It’s a lot of puzzle pieces to put together, but they’re talented pieces with real upside if they mesh as planned under Ed Cooley. Can they? Tonight will be a real test against, in my opinion, the deepest team in college basketball. Kentucky is coming off a dominant performance against the No. 1 team in the country with both Jaland Lowe and Jayden Quaintance out and Otega Oweh still on a pitch count.

I like the Hoyas this year, but I do not like the Hoyas inside of Rupp Arena to wrap up the exhibition schedule. They keep it respectable early before the depth becomes overwhelming in the second half, allowing for the lead to balloon en route to the blowout 19-point victory ahead of regular season action. Oweh looks the part as the SEC Preseason Player of the Year in an MVP effort, followed by Collin Chandler, Brandon Garrison and Kam Williams to round out double-figure scorers.

Score: Kentucky 87, Georgetown 68