Southern Methodist @ Georgetown

Who will WIN this matchup?

Southern Methodist Mustangs (6-4)

@ Georgetown Hoyas (7-2)

Current odds:

Southern Methodist Mustangs: (+170)

Georgetown Hoyas: (-200)

• The line for this game is Georgetown by 5 points.

• With a week off to process a difficult loss, Georgetown will return to action Saturday in a non-conference game against visiting SMU. The Hoyas and senior Jessie Govan took former archrival Syracuse down to the wire before succumbing 72-71 but will have a chance to close out 2018 with four straight victories if they can beat the Mustangs. Govan had a huge game with 22 points, 12 rebounds and four assists and made two big buckets in the final two minutes but the Hoyas had no answer for Syracuse’s Tyus Battle (26 points).  Ewing must be encouraged by the play of freshman Mac McClung, who after some early season struggles has scored in double figures in three straight games – including a career-high 18 points against the Orange.

• Jahmal McMurray averaged 20 points as the Mustangs won four straight games, a streak that came to an end Wednesday when outscored 38-24 in the second half of a 67-59 loss to TCU.

• While not obvious by looking at his statistics, the return of Jarrey Foster has had a positive effect on the Mustangs. The 6-6 senior guard from Houston, who missed the first six games because of a lower body injury, returned to help the Mustangs win three games while averaging 21 assists, 8.5 more than they put up in the games he missed. Tim Jankovich’s team had only 12 assists in the loss to TCU but that was more a product of shooting a season-low 36.1 percent from the field, including 4-of-25 from 3-point territory.

• Josh LeBlanc has gone three straight games without scoring in double figures, a stretch that has caused his average to drop a full point, but is still doing yeoman’s work down low. The 6-7 freshman forward from Baton Rouge, La., played a season-high 29 minutes against Syracuse and came up with career-best 12 rebounds, his second straight double-digit rebound game and fourth of his career. Another freshman – James Akinjo – will be happy to put the Syracuse game behind him after he produced a season-low four points while committing five turnovers, bringing his season total to 38 miscues.

• SMU is averaging 13.7 offensive rebounds, nearly four more than Georgetown and the second most in the American Athletic Conference.

• The Hoyas have faced the Mustangs once previously, a 37-36 victory in the second round of the 1984 NCAA Tournament en route to their only national championship.

• After scoring 23 points in his first six games with the Hoyas, William & Mary transfer Greg Malinowski has scored 25 in the last three games, including 11 against Syracuse.