No. 9 Georgetown Vs. No. 15 Notre Dame: Big-Time Big East Opener

GAME NOTES: Big East Conference play begins tonight for the ninth-ranked Georgetown Hoyas and the 15th-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish in what promises to be a highly competitive affair.

Georgetown has won three straight games since suffering its only defeat, a three-point setback to Temple on the road. The Hoyas are 11-1 overall and are coming off an 86-69 victory over a solid Memphis squad on the road. The schedule has been a bit soft to date, but Georgetown will face many challenges in Big East play.

Like Georgetown, Notre Dame has bounced back strong from its lone defeat with three consecutive wins, and the Irish own the same overall record (11-1) as the Hoyas. The only setback came against a loaded Kentucky squad, but with wins over Wisconsin, California, Georgia and Gonzaga, Notre Dame has certainly been impressive. The club is a perfect 8-0 at home to date and figures to play with a wealth of confidence tonight.

Georgetown holds a 14-12 edge in the all-time series with Notre Dame, which includes wins in five of the last seven meetings.

Austin Freeman has been tremendous for Georgetown through the first 12 games of this season, as he is scoring 18.9 ppg on 56.8 percent shooting from the floor, including 49.2 percent from three-point range. Chris Wright and Jason Clark are both netting 13.7 ppg for the Hoyas, and Wright paces the club with 76 assists and 23 steals. Georgetown is racking up 81 ppg on 52.8 percent shooting from the floor, and the team is limiting opponents to 66.3 ppg on 41.6 percent field goal efficiency. A positive rebounding differential of 6.6 rpg has certainly helped the cause. In the 17-point win over Memphis last time out, Freeman scored 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the floor. Wright tallied 19 points in that affair, while Julian Vaughn added 15 points and 10 rebounds. The Hoyas made good on 56.9 percent of their field goal attempts and limited the Tigers to 39.4 percent shooting. Also, Georgetown posted 18 assists while committing a mere 11 turnovers.

There are four Notre Dame players that have started all 12 games thus far, and all four individuals own double-digit scoring averages. Tim Abromaitis leads the pack with 16.1 ppg, and he is tops with 7.5 rpg as well. Ben Hansbrough, one of the nation's truly elite pure shooters, checks in with 15.3 ppg thanks to 48.5 percent accuracy from three-point range. Carleton Scott (12.8 ppg) and Tyrone Nash (10.2 ppg) round out the foursome for Notre Dame, which is generating 81.3 ppg while allowing a mere 63.5 ppg on 38.9 percent shooting by opponents. The most recent outing for Notre Dame took place last Wednesday and resulted in a 93-53 thrashing of UMBC. In that win, Abromaitis led the way with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Scott Martin checked in with 15 points for the Irish, who posted 22 assists with only 10 turnovers and earned a 19-5 advantage in points from the foul line. A 53-32 rebounding advantage also helped the cause.

There is little doubt that tonight's Big East showdown will go down to the wire. Give Notre Dame a narrow advantage based solely on the homecourt advantage.

GAME NOTES: Big East Conference play begins tonight for the ninth-ranked Georgetown Hoyas and the 15th-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish in what promises to be a highly competitive affair.

FACTS & STATS: Site: Joyce Center (11,418) -- South Bend, Indiana. Television: ESPN2. Home Record: Georgetown 5-0, Notre Dame 8-0. Away Record: Georgetown 2-1, Notre Dame 0-0. Neutral Record: Georgetown 4-0, Notre Dame 3-1. Conference Record: Georgetown 0-0, Notre Dame 0-0. Series Record: Georgetown leads, 14-12.

Notre Dame 77, Georgetown 74