The good news for Georgetown Basketball is that they’re 3-0 to start the season, including a good win over Maryland. The bad news is that the talk is the near upset against Delaware State, trailing by 10 points at the half to one of the worst teams in all of college basketball.
But the Hoyas did ultimately win by five points. But they’ll have to play a lot better to beat their next opponent, Clemson. The Tigers have yet to play anyone of note so this will be their first true test of the 2026-27 season. This will be an important game and a Quad 1 opportunity for the Hoyas. Here are some keys to the game for the Big East program.
1. Vince Iwuchukwu vs Dylan Faulkner inside
The hero for the Hoyas in the comeback win over Delaware State was Iwuchukwu, who went for a career-high 28 points and 13 rebounds on the win. The 5th year big is off to a career-high start and has turned into a legit focal point for the Hoyas. He’ll be going against Falkner, a 6’10 big man and transfer from Samford who is producing 13.3 ppg and 7.7 rpg for Clemson, shooting 68% from the field. With Carter Welling (ACL) still out, the Tigers don’t have a ton of depth but neither do the Hoyas inside. So if either big man has a clear advantage in the matchup, so could their respective team.
2. Double-digit production from Elmarko Jackson and Kayvaun Mulready
Jaland Lowe (18.3 ppg and 8.3 apg) is the lead guard for the Hoyas without question. The debate is whether or not there’s enough among the supporting cast for them to be a good team. In the win over Maryland, both Jackson (17 points) and Mulready (15) each had big games to help out in the box score. But the struggles against Delaware State right after shows they’re not proven commodities yet. Georgetown will need at least one to be in double figures to match Lowe to pull off the win against another high-major foe.
3. Three-point defense
So far, Georgetown’s defense has been fine, even with the Delaware State issues. But the thing they have to deal with on Clemson is its perimeter shooting, with the ACC team ranking top-20 nationally with 44% from deep. Of the six rotation players who have attempted at least one three-pointer, four are over 43%, led by starting guard Liutauras Lelevicius with 9/14 made shots from deep. Georgetown will need to run him and the others off the line or risk this being a true shootout.
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