Georgetown comes into the NCAA tournament having lost five of its last seven contests, while Princeton enters riding a 10-game winning streak.
That won't matter much Sunday when the fifth-seeded Hoyas and 12th-seeded Tigers square off in a Philadelphia Regional first-round game in College Park, Md.
Georgetown (22-10) finished the regular season in disappointing fashion, but much of that can be attributed to a difficult schedule. Two of the Hoyas' final five losses came to top-ranked Connecticut, while they also suffered setbacks to No. 10 DePaul, St. John's and South Florida, which is the only one of the group not in the NCAAs.
"You look at it and say you didn't finish off too well, but I think you also have to look at the opponents we played," coach Terri Williams said.
Princeton's schedule wasn't nearly as difficult. The Tigers (24-4) finished with just one loss in 14 Ivy League games to finish first and receive the conference's lone NCAA bid.
The Ivy League hasn't fared well at all in the NCAAs, however, going 1-18 all-time. Princeton, making its first ever NCAA tournament appearance last season, lost to St. John's 65-47 becoming the 12th straight Ivy League team to lose in the NCAAs.
The Tigers aren't too concerned.
"History doesn't mean much to this group,'' coach Courtney Banghart said. "We're here to win, and Princeton expects it.''
The Hoyas should expect to face a stout defense that ranks fifth in the nation allowing 51.3 points.
That defense was especially strong down the stretch, giving up an average of 44.7 points on 29.4 percent shooting during the 10-game winning streak. The Tigers are outscoring teams by an average of 26.1 in the last 10, but Banghart know better than to look too much into a winning streak over lesser opponents.
"We'll take whatever advantage we can get,'' she said, "but I don't know that momentum is one of them.''
Banghart's defense needs to figure out a way to slow down Georgetown's Sugar Rodgers, who finished second in the Big East in scoring at 18.2 points.
Princeton features a balanced offense, with Addie Micir averaging 12.1 points, followed by Devona Allgood (12.0) and Lauren Edwards (11.7).
This is Georgetown's third NCAA tournament berth and second straight as a No. 5 seed.
The Hoyas advanced to the second round last season before losing to fourth-seeded Baylor, and if they can win in their NCAA opener again it will likely set up a matchup with Maryland. Georgetown defeated the Terrapins 53-45 on Nov. 16, but it knows better than to look ahead.
"Really, we're just mentally preparing for Princeton and not worrying about the next game,'' junior forward Tia Magee said.
