Sliding Fast
Cincinnati, OH – After beginning January among the nation’s elite teams, Georgetown is on the verge of its longest losing streak in nearly four years.
The No. 25 Hoyas look to avoid dropping four straight for the first time since the 2004-05 season Wednesday when they visit Cincinnati.
Oddsmakers from Online Sportsbook Sportsbook.com have made the Georgetown –5.5 point spread favorites for Wednesday’s game against the Cincinnati. Current College Basketball Public Betting Information shows that 67% of more than 135 bets for this game have been placed on the Memphis –14.5.
It’s been a tumultuous month for Georgetown (12-6, 3-4 Big East), which rose as high as No. 9 in the rankings after a 10-1 start. Since then, though, it’s dropped five of its last seven, including three in a row.
The first three of those losses came against ranked teams, but the last two defeats to unranked Big East opponents have dropped the Hoyas into the middle of the conference standings.
"We’re in a rut. We’re in a bad situation right now," coach John Thompson III said following a 65-60 loss at Seton Hall on Sunday. "We have to figure how to get everyone in that locker room out of it. There’s a lot of time left but in this league we have to quickly regroup."
Regrouping with a young team could be difficult, however.
The Hoyas have only three upper classmen on their roster and fatigue may be setting in. In the first 11 games this season, they averaged 75.8 points, but since then they are scoring just 68.0. They’ve also shot below 40.0 percent in their last two games – 32.7 against the Pirates – and have committed 36 turnovers in those contests.
"We may be in a slump but more important is the decision to take those shots," Thompson said. "Our decision-making in certain situations has to change, has to get better."
Junior DaJuan Summers will look to bounce back from one of the worst shooting performances of his career. Summers, who leads Georgetown with 15.1 points per game, had 12 against Seton Hall, but was just 1-of-8 from the field. He shot 4-of-14 in a 75-58 loss to West Virginia in the Hoyas’ previous game.
Georgetown hasn’t lost four straight since a five-game skid Feb. 16-March 5, 2005.
Cincinnati (13-7, 3-4), meanwhile, has won three of its last four, beating St. John’s 71-60 on the road last Thursday.
Deonta Vaughn scored 18 of his team-high 23 points in the final 17 minutes to help Cincinnati overcome the loss of Rashad Bishop, who was leading the Bearcats with 15 points before being ejected after picking up his second technical foul.
Vaughn, Cincinnati’s leading scorer at 15.4 points per game, was coming off a 3-of-9 shooting performance in a 72-63 loss at Providence three days earlier. He finished 6-of-16 against the Red Storm while committing six turnovers.
"At halftime I told him we can’t win without him having at least a good game," coach Mick Cronin said. "In the first half that was not the all-Big East guard we know. We know he has no quit in him and it’s tough on him being a scorer playing the point. Sometimes he fights when to pass or shoot but he made adjustments to get to the free throw line."
Georgetown has won all four meetings with Cincinnati by an average of 16.0 points since the Bearcats joined the Big East in 2005-06, including one game in Cincinnati.
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Posted: 1/28/09 5:30AM ET
