Basketball: TCU travels to Georgetown for Big 12/Big East Battle
After winning their first six games of the season, all of which were at home, the Horned Frogs are hitting the road for the first time this season to take on the once proud Georgetown Hoyas.
Jameer Nelson Jr drives to the basket against Houston Christian.
It's been a rough couple of years for the Hoyas, but Ed Cooley and his staff are doing what they can to restore the storied program. Georgetown is 5-2 to start the year, but much like TCU, none of its wins have come against solid opponents. Where the Hoyas differ from the Frogs is in the loss column; TCU is loss-less. Georgetown lost a one-point game to Holy Cross, statistically one of the worst teams in the country, and fell to a good Rutgers squad on the road.
The team has not looked great yet, but Cooley's roster has talent. Sophomore Illinois transfer Jayden Epps has made himself comfortable quickly on his new team. Epps is averaging 18.4 points per game (team leader), two rebounds per game, and four assists. Not only is he scoring a lot of points, but he is doing so with 45/47/80 shooting splits. He has scored at least 30 points twice this season (34 versus Jackson State, 31 versus American) and reportedly dropped 46 points in a "secret" preseason scrimmage against Wake Forest. To put it plainly, Epps is far and away one of the best scorers in the entire country.
Dontrez Styles, a junior transfer from North Carolina, is not too far behind Epps in the scoring department. He averaged just 1.7 points in two seasons with the Tar Heels but has jumped all the way up to 16.1 points per game with his new team. Styles, 6'6", is also averaging seven rebounds per game. In Georgetown's 3-0 stretch from Nov. 18 to Nov. 25, he averaged 23.3 points per game.
Georgetown boasts one of the top backcourts in the country, which will be a great test for the Horned Frogs' perimeter defense. Jameer Nelson Jr is averaging 3.2 steals per game, Avery Anderson is averaging 2.3 steals per game, and Micah Peavy, one of the country's best defenders, is averring 1.2 steals per game. The matchup between the Hoyas' guard scoring and TCU's guard defense will be fascinating to watch and will ultimately decide the outcome of the game.
For both teams, this will be the biggest test of their seasons. The Frogs rank dead last in the country (362 of 362) in strength of schedule, and Georgetown ranks 358th. Both teams are looking to get a quality win.
TCU at Georgetown tips off at 4:30 p.m. CT on Saturday and is available to watch on FS1.
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