Duke vs. Georgetown
Free Pick: Georgetown +1.5 (January 30th 2010 – Matt Fargo)

Georgetown will have had five days to lick its wounds following a beatdown it took in Syracuse on Monday night. The Hoyas lost by 17 points but even that does not tell the full story as they jumped out to a 14-0 lead and it looked as though an upset was in the making. However, Georgetown could do nothing right after that as it was outscored by 31 points the rest of the way as the Orange 2-3 zone made things really frustrating for the Hoyas. It does not get any easier here as they welcome Duke who is coming off a home win against Florida St. on Wednesday. Duke defeated Georgetown last season by nine points at home so this sets up a revenge situation for the Hoyas on top of trying to regroup from the ugly loss on Monday. Duke was able to right the ship on Saturday as it did not have much of a problem with Clemson on the road. The Blue Devils were able to sweep the Tigers by winning the two games by 21 and 13 points and that victory helped make up for the lackluster effort at NC State prior to that. It also may have given the Blue Devils some confidence on the road as they went into Clemson with a 1-3 record in true road games but still under .500 away from, this is a team that in my opinion still cannot be trusted when not playing in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Georgetown was clearly outmatched by Syracuse in height as the Orange were able to collapse the zone and prevent anything taking place down low. Duke presents the same disadvantages but the Blue Devils are not as athletic and playing at home is a big bonus. The Hoyas are 9-1 at home, losing only to Old Dominion which was just one of those games that they could not get anything going consistently. All three Big East losses have been on the road, and the biggest margin of defeat had been five points against Villanova before the 17-point rout by the Orange. The games played this week also give Georgetown an edge. Both teams were involved in physical matchups against their opponents and the edge has to go to the Hoyas. Duke played Wednesday with the game not ending until after 11 ET so the quick turnaround could be a big disadvantage while the Hoyas have had two extra days. Based on that Hoyas loss, we get some excellent value on them and they will be more focused to try and get back on track. 3* Georgetown Hoyas

Related posts:

1. Free College Basketball Pick: Georgetown vs. Syracuse: January 25th 2010
2. Free College Basketball Pick: Duke vs. Clemson: January 23rd 2010
3. Free College Basketball Pick: Georgia Tech vs. Duke: February 4th 2010
4. Free Pick: Syracuse Orange vs. Georgetown Hoyas: February 18th 2010
5. Free College Basketball Pick: Duke vs. Virginia Tech: February 21st 2010