Syracuse men’s basketball vs. Georgetown: TV/streaming, time, odds, history & more

Teams: Syracuse Orange (5-4, 1-1) vs. Georgetown Hoyas (6-3, 0-0)

Date & Time: Saturday, December 14 at 1 p.m. ET

Location: Washington, D.C., Capitol One Arena

Extended Forecast: High of 53 and rain.

TV/Streaming: FOX

Odds: No line right now, but ESPN’s matchup predictor says Syracuse only has a 38.3% chance to win this one.

Radio: Cuse.com, TK 99/105, WAER 88.3

Rivalry: 51-43, Syracuse

Current Streak: 2, Orange

First Meeting: Syracuse and Georgetown met all the way back in 1930, with SU blowing out the Hoyas 40-18. In that game, Ev Katz led the way for Syracuse basketball with 14 points, with Slim Elliot chipping in for 8.

Last Meeting: The Orange stunned the Hoyas on a last-second dagger from Tyus Battle to win the game, 72-71. Syracuse trailed by 13 at the half that game, but Battle scored 21 of his 26 points, including the go-ahead bucket with three seconds left to lead the Orange to their second straight epic collapse by the Hoyas. Let’s hope this year’s game has just as much excitement and a similar outcome, though I wouldn’t be adverse to a Syracuse basketball blowout victory either... because screw Georgetown.

Head Coaches: Syracuse - Jim Boeheim (44th year; 1,050-383 at SU) | Georgetown - Patrick Ewing... feels dirty even typing it (3rd Year, 40-32 at Georgetown)

Coach Bio: I’m pretty sure most of you are familiar with Patrick Ewing. The third-year coach has had a tumultuous start to this season, losing two of his players to the transfer portal, and two more are named in an ongoing robbery investigation. He also had a 2020 prospect re-open their recruiting. Great stuff.

In spite of all that, Ewing has guided the team to a 6-3 record with quality wins over Texas and Oklahoma State (yes, the same State that blew out the Orange — though the Cowboys were minus their star guard Isaac Likekele).

Prior to his coaching days, Ewing was a member of the New York Knicks for a bunch of seasons and a Georgetown Hoya in the early 1980s where he routinely tormented Syracuse and the rest of the Big East with... let’s call it “very physical” play. Who could forget the windmill swing he took at Earl “the Pearl” Washington in 1985? I certainly don’t. Let’s hope his coaching against the Orange is as bad as his aim was against the Pearl.

Last Year: The Hoyas got off to a 7-1 start last year before losing to the Orange (never gets old saying it). After that, they had an up and down season — mostly down — finishing at 19-15 with an embarassing blowout loss to Seton Hall in the Big East Tournament and a first round exit in the NIT to Harvard.

Last Game: Georgetown blitzed SMU, 91-74 in surprising fashion. The Hoyas had three players score at least 19 points, including Omar Yurtseven, Matt McClung, and Jahvon Blair. It was an impressive win over a previously unbeaten Southern Methodist squad.

Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images

”Fear Me, I’ve Killed Hundreds of Timelords”: With James Akinjo no longer on the team, it’s a two-man race for this spot. I’m going to give it to Omer Yurtseven, who narrowly edges out Mac McClung here. I’m giving it to Omer because I think he poses a bigger threat to the zone.

Yurtseven is a 7-foot, 260 pound terror who’s averaging 16.3 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks per game. Remember Luka Garza? He’s basically a taller, slightly less efficient version of him. And if you recall, Garza absolutely obliterated the Orange. Omer will be a huge problem for Syracuse basketball all game, and if we can’t effectively contain him, it could lead to another long night for the Orange.

If Syracuse Wins: A cause for celebration simply because it is Georgetown. But more than that, it will start a positive trend for Syracuse basketball to build on. It would be a second consecutive quality win, and would help to alleviate some of the pains caused by that 0-3 stretch against non-conference P5 teams.

If Syracuse Loses: Gross. Just gross.

But if you watched the Iowa game, it shouldn’t be a huge shock if we lose this in similar fashion. Georgetown has a similar team, and even without Akinjo and others, they are still a tough matchup for the Orange. Going 1-4 in this five-game stretch is not good. It would mean the Orange would have even more work to do against the ACC to even sniff the bubble, something that could be tough sledding.

Plus, it’s Georgetown. I repeat, gross.

Fun Fact 1: In fitting fashion, the Syracuse Orange and Georgetown Hoyas were 36-36 during their time in the Big East. They also were a dead even 7-7 against each other in the Big East tournament.

Fun Fact 2: Patrick Ewing is 0-2 against the Orange in his time as the Hoyas head coach. Why does this matter? Because it’s Patrick Ewing. He and the rest of the Hoyas can go kick rocks.