GAME NOTES: The seventh-ranked Georgetown Hoyas begin defense of their Big East title today, as they take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at the Louis Brown Athletic Center. The Hoyas are off to a good start thanks to solid play and a non-conference schedule that didn't exactly feature many heavyweights. The one and only ranked team Georgetown faced during its non-league slate was Memphis and it was delivered an 85-71 setback in that meeting on December 22nd. It stands as the only loss of the season for the Hoyas, who have posted 10 victories, including two in a row. The most recent of the team's triumphs came on a Monday, an 82-55 trouncing of Fordham. Georgetown now turns its focus to Big East play, where it won both the regular season and conference tournament title a season ago. The Hoyas are 17-11 all-time in Big East openers and they have won their last six lid-lifters. As for Rutgers, it opened the Big East portion of its schedule on Wednesday with a 68-45 beating at the hands of South Florida. It was the third loss in the past four outings for the Knights, who dropped to 8-6 overall. On a positive note, the team now returns back home, where it has posted seven wins against just two losses this season. As for the all-time series, Georgetown holds a 22-15 edge over Rutgers and it has won the last five meetings.

The Hoyas are one of the premier defensive teams in the nation, as they are limiting their opponents to a mere 55.2 ppg and a dismal 35.2 percent shooting from the floor. At the other end of the court, Georgetown has also been effective, shooting an efficient 52.6 percent from the floor and an equally as good 41.0 percent from long range. DaJuan Summers is the team's top scorer at 12.5 ppg and he is also collecting 6.0 rpg. Roy Hibbert, a 7-2 center, is an intimidating force in the low post and he turns in 12.1 ppg and a team-high 6.2 rpg. Jonathan Wallace chips in with 10.3 ppg and he is dangerous from behind the arc, hitting on 47.9 percent of his attempts. In the team's last game, Wallace made 4-of-5 three-pointers and he finished with 19 points in leading the Hoyas to an easy win over Fordham. Summers logged 15 points and nine rebounds, while Hibbert finished with 11 points. Georgetown sank 12-of-23 three-point attempts, and it also held Fordham to a pathetic 27.3 percent shooting effort from the floor.

The Knights were simply horrific from three-point range (2-of-16) as well as at the foul line (1-of-8), as they were blown out at South Florida on Wednesday. The team made just 38.9 percent of its field goal attempts and it was also outrebounded 39-31. Anthony Farmer guided Rutgers in defeat with 14 points, while J.R. Inman had eight points and 14 rebounds. For the season, Inman paces the Knights with 15.5 ppg and 8.8 rpg and he is also shoot 38.3 percent from three-point range. Corey Chandler ranks second to him with 14.1 ppg, but he has been out of action with a foot injury and is listed as questionable for today's bout. Farmer chips in 11.4 ppg for the Knights, who haven't exactly thrived on offense this season, scoring just 64.6 ppg behind 40.2 percent shooting from the field.

Georgetown is clearly the pick here and with an efficient shooting day and another solid performance on defense, it should have no trouble getting past the fading Knights.