Georgetown travels to New Brunswick to take on Rutgers In Gavitt Games matchup

The new look Georgetown face a real test against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, what matchups are there to look out for? And who will come out with the win?

The Georgetown Hoyas will be making an extra trip to the Garden State of New Jersey this season, as they take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in New Brunswick. The Hoyas are know this trip well as they usually go there to take on Seton Hall, but they’ll be heading to Jersey Mikes Arena rather than the Prudential Center.

Georgetown leads the all-time series against Rutgers 29-16, but they are under .500 against them on the road at 10-11. These teams haven’t met in about a decade, with the last coming in March of 2013 where Otto Porter Jr. Led the way for Georgetown with 28 points in the win back in the old Big East days.

The Scarlet Knights kicked off their season on the wrong foot with an opening loss to in state opponent Princeton, 68-61. The Tigers took down Arizona as a 15 seed last year, and their upset run continued into the regular season with a win against Rutgers.

Rutgers has rebounded though, picking up back-to-back wins, and they look for their third in a row against former fellow Big East opponent Georgetown. The home court advantage is also huge for Rutgers, they went 14-6 on their home floor last season and that relatively small arena gets quite loud.

This is a Rutgers team with very high expectations this season, they boast a top recruiting class, quality transfers and some decent returners including Clifford Omoruyi, who had a 15-point, 15 rebound outing in their win against Bryant. The 6’11 big man has gotten better year after year, and his physicality is going to be tough to handle for Georgetown.

Georgetown has had their struggles over the past few seasons excluding their run at a Big East Championship, but Ed Cooley hopes to turn the tide for the program. They fell to Holy Cross in their last game, but they hope to capitalize off Jayden Epps’ 22-point performance in that loss.

A win against Rutgers would put their season back on track, but it would be a tough upset for this growing unit to pull off. It’s going to be a matter of if the Hoyas can handle Rutgers down low, and prevent open looks at the rim. The Scarlet Knights play a game that leads to low scoring, grueling affairs, and the Hoyas will have to match that energy.

Forwards Supreme Cook and Drew Fielder, who put in decent rebounding efforts against Holy Cross, will need to put their best effort forth against Big Ten opponent Rutgers. They may be outmatched physically, but anything can happen in the Gavitt Games. However, Hoyas will have their work cut out for them against these Scarlet Knights who hope to make a run at the NCAA tournament this season.