Dec. 22, 2006
NAVY (9-3) at GEORGETOWN (8-3)
Saturday, Dec. 23, 2006 • 1:00 pm (EST)
Verizon Center (20,600) • Washington, D.C.
TELEVISION: MASN (Mid-Atlantic Sports Network
RADIO: WNAV (1430 AM), WFED (1050 AM), SIRIUS (Channel 110)
INTERNET: www.wnav.com, www.federalnewsradio.com, www.yahoosports.com
Tipping It Off
Navy will face its toughest challenge to date on Saturday, as it travels to the Verizon Center for a 1:00 pm (EST) tip-off against Georgetown. The Mids own a 9-3 mark overall after beating up on a pair of D-III foes, while Georgetown is 8-3 and winners of four in a row. The game will be televised regionally on MASN (Mid-Atlantic Sports Network) with Mark Tillmon and Charlie Neal calling all the action. Bob Socci will call the game on the airwaves on WNAV (1430 AM, Annapolis) and WFED (1050 AM, Washington), as well as on SIRIUS Radio (Channel 110).
About Georgetown
Georgetown enters Saturday's game with an 8-3 overall record, having won four in a row after a slow start. During the Hoyas' current four-game winning streak, John Thompson III's squad has won by an average of 30.8 points per game over James Madison, Oral Roberts, Winston-Salem State and Towson. The Hoyas, who entered the season ranked in the top 15 but stumbled out of the gates to a 4-3 record, have lost to Old Dominion, Oregon and Duke. The ODU and Oregon losses were at home, as Georgetown has played just three games away from Washington, D.C.
Leading the charge for Georgetown will be a pair of potential NBA draft picks in Roy Hibbert and Jeff Green. Hibbert, a 7-2 junior center, is averaging 11.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg and 3.0 bpg, while shooting a sizzling .649 (50-of-77) from the field. Hibbert torched Navy for 23 points last year in the season opener for both teams. Jeff Green, the other potential NBA draft pick, is a 6-9 junior forward who averages 11.1 ppg, 6.4 rpg and 3.6 apg.
As a team, the Hoyas are shooting a red-hot .517 from the field and are holding foes to just 56.4 ppg. Opponents are shooting just .391 from the field against Georgetown.
Navy Against the Big East
The Mids are 0-2 so far this year against the Big East, falling to St. John's (72-49) and Villanova (70-61). The Mids haven't played three Big East schools since the 1985-86 season (DePaul, St. Johns and Syracuse twice). Navy's last win against a Big East team came on Nov. 26, 1996, a 60-49 win over Pittsburgh. Since that win over the Panthers, Navy has lost 15 straight games against foes from the "power conferences", including four in a row to Big East teams.
Washington (Md.) Leftovers
• Navy cruised past Washington (Md.), 83-37, on Wednesday night, posting its most lopsided win since Dec. 14, 2002, and the 10th-largest victory in school history. It was also the second-largest victory in Alumni Hall history.
• Greg Sprink outscored Washington (Md.) in the first half by himself, 21-19. Sprink finished with 27 points in just 22 minutes.
• Navy's +22 rebound margin was the largest for a Navy team since a +27 margin against Morgan State on Dec. 8, 2005.
• The Navy bench scored 28 points against the Shoremen, the second-highest bench total of the year (Stony Brook - 40).
• The Mids are 8-0 when at least three players score in double figures this year.
• Navy is now 7-0 this year when shooting over .700 percent from the free-throw line, and 5-0 when shooting over .450 from the field.
Defense Rises To The Occasion
Last year, Navy's defense allowed 71.3 ppg, the 10th-highest total in school history. With a new focus on defense, Navy has responded by having a memorable five-game defensive stretch.
Over the last six games, just two teams have reached the 70-point mark (Penn - 79, Howard - 75). However, Howard needed two overtimes to reach that total, as it ended regulation with just 57 points. If looking at just regulation (first 40 minutes), Navy has given up an average of 54.3 points per game.
Over the last six games, foes are shooting 118-of-315 (.375 percent) and 28-of-99 (.283 percent) from long distance.
The Last, And Most Important, Defensive Note
Lastly, Navy has held two straight foes to 40 or fewer points in back-to-back games for the first time since the 1948-49 season. That team limited Pennsylvania Military and Harvard to 30 and 33 points, respectively, on Dec. 8-11, 1948.
The Mids also held consecutive opponents to under .300 percent shooting since Dec. 14-20, 2002, when Gettysburg shot .239 and Ohio U. shot .276, respectively.
Three-Point Streak Continues to Climb
Navy enters the Georgetown contest contest having connected on at least one three-pointer in 106 consecutive games. The last time Navy did not make a trey came in the Jan. 26, 2003, contest against Colgate (0-3). Navy's longest consecutive-games streak with a three-pointer is 134 games (12-23-98 to 1-24-03).
The Same Five
Navy started the same five players (Corey Johnson, Kaleo Kina, Greg Sprink, Trey Stanton and T.J. Topercer) in the first 10 games of the season. Last year, Navy used nine different starting line-ups, with no lineup starting 10 games. In fact, just one lineup since the 2001 season has started more games than this current starting group. That group started 12 games together in 2004-05.
Lange changed up the lineup in Navy's 11th game (against Delaware Valley), inserting Teague for Topercer, which was also the lineup for the Washington (Md.) contest.
Not So Much Against Georgetown...
Navy dropped a 72-49 decision in the season opener last year to a Georgetown squad that reached the Sweet 16. Navy shot just .353 percent from the field and committed 16 turnovers in the loss, Georgetown, meanwhile shot .538 percent, and committed 15 turnovers. The Hoyas only out rebounded the Mids, 36-33, in the game played at Alumni Hall.
...But Success At The Verizon Center
However, Navy had success last year at the Verizon Center as part of the BB&T Classic. The Mids rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit with a barrage of three-pointers en route to a 82-73 win over Howard on Dec. 5. Navy shot .474 from the field, including .550 percent (11-of-20) from three-point range and .773 (17-of-22) from the free-throw line, showing that the cavernous backdrop of the Verizon Center may not be a big issue for the Mids.
On the Leaderboard
Navy is atop the league in free throw percentage, three-pointers made per game, three-point field goal percentage defense and assist-to-turnover ratio. As a team, the Mids are in the top four in 15 of 20 statistical categories.
# GO NAVY #
