Georgetown vs USC/VCU: Preview & Prediction
Southwest Region - Chicago
March 18 - 9:50 TNT
Dayton is where this subregional will begin with USC meeting VCU on Wednesday night with the winner moving on to face Georgetown. Both teams have had their credentials questioned with the Rams being a frequent whipping boy along with UAB. But Shaka Smart has a very good basketball team that doesn't lack for experience, led by point guard Joey Rodriguez and forward Jamie Skeen. USC has a good frontcourt comprised of Alex Stepheson and Nikola Vucevic, and wing Marcus Simmons was the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year. Tempo will likely determine the matchup with a quicker pace favoring VCU. As for Georgetown, the question is how rusty will point guard Chris Wright be after missing the last two weeks with a broken hand. It was painfully obvious how much the Hoyas missed him offensively with Austin Freeman getting little in the way of consistent help. Can Georgetown duplicate last year's first round exit? Sure, but they can also win a game or two if all members of the rotation contribute in some way.
Stars to Watch:
G Austin Freeman (Georgetown)
F Nikola Vucevic (USC)
G Joey Rodriguez (VCU)
Vegas Odds:
USC -4.5 (vs VCU. No line for subsequent game vs Georgetown yet.)
Predictions:
RealTimeRPI: VCU 67 - USC 65
KenPom: USC 68 - VCU 63
CollegeHoops.net Betting Pick: VCU
Faces Winner Of: Purdue vs St. Peter's
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About Raphielle Johnson
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Assistant Editor
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raphiellej@aol.com
Background
College sports has always been a source of excitement for Raphielle Johnson, be it through watching, writing, or taking a shot in the dark and walking onto a college football team just to live the life (Arizona Football, 2001). Raphielle is the assistant editor, providing his own work in addition to helping out with the site operations. When not writing for CHN, you can usually find him in front of a television set watching one of many pay-per-view sports packages that he owns. He can be followed at twitter.com/raphiellej.
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