Georgetown (23-10)
COACH: John Thompson III, six years at Georgetown, seven years in NCAA Tournament
HOW THEY GOT IN: At-large bid
MATCHUP BREAKDOWN: Ohio came out of nowhere to win the MAC tournament, but that doesn't mean the Bobcats don't have NCAA Tournament experience. Armon Bassett played at Indiana when the Hoosiers were going to the NCAAs, and is the team's top player coming off a scorching week that was capped with him winning the MAC Tournament MVP award. D.J. Cooper had been struggling, but broke out of that with 23 points in the championship game and is another player to watch. The big question is how the Bobcats will match up with Greg Monroe underneath.
GO-TO GUYS: Georgetown relies on three players for most of its offense: Greg Monroe, Austin Freeman and Chris Wright. Monroe is the inside force, while Freeman leads the team in scoring. Wright has the quickness to distribute the ball and the shooting ability to put the ball in the net. Monroe is a solid passer and the team as a whole is eager to share the ball.
THEY'LL KEEP WINNING IF: The big three keep playing well. Monroe, Freeman and Wright are as talented a trio as there is in college basketball, and when all three are clicking the Hoyas can beat any team in the tournament. Part of that is Monroe staying out of foul trouble and another is Wright avoiding falling into a "live by the 3" mindset. Georgetown left NYC a confident team despite a gut-wrenching loss to West Virginia in the conference tournament championship game.
STRENGTHS: Georgetown is efficient on both ends of the court, holding 22 opponents to less than 45 percent from the field and shooting 49.9 percent on offense. The Hoyas are a matchup problem for opponents, since Greg Monroe is hard to guard with a single opponent, but can pass out of a double-team and find Austin Freeman and Chris Wright on the perimeter. An undisciplined team is going to find it hard to run its offense, or fight through the screens it needs to stop the team defensively.
WEAKNESSES: Think of Georgetown like a three-legged stool. If one of the legs breaks, everything topples. The Hoyas need Monroe, Freeman and Wright to play well, because apart from Jason Clark there isn't another scorer to replace them, and the three total 64 percent of the team's points. Freeman was diagnosed with diabetes late in the season, and although he looked fine at the Big East tournament the Hoyas need him on top of his game. When the Hoyas start to slide, they have a hard time snapping out of it, so jumping top of Georgetown early may shake their confidence.
