Butler at Georgetown Odds, Betting Pick & TV Info

Posted by Michael Hunt on Friday,January 6, 2017 8:33, EDT in

It could be a huge letdown game for No. 18 Butler on Saturday afternoon as the Bulldogs visit Georgetown in an early tip on Saturday. Why a letdown? Because the Bulldogs come off an upset of No. 1 Villanova last time out. So the Hoyas could well steal one here even though they will be college basketball betting underdogs.

Butler at Georgetown Odds, Betting Pick & TV Info

When: Saturday, Jan. 7, Noon ET
Where: Verizon Center, Washington, D.C.
TV: Fox
Stream: Fox Sports Go
Radio: Butler / Georgetown
Opening NCAA Basketball Lines: Butler favored by TBA

Why Bet On Butler?

The Bulldogs (13-2) beat No. 1 Villanova 66-58 on Wednesday. It was the first time in the 89-year history of the historic Hinkle Fieldhouse that the nation’s No. 1 team left in defeat. Of course the fans stormed the court. Kethan Savage came off the bench to score 13 points, and freshman Kamar Baldwin made key plays down the stretch for Butler.

The Bulldogs ended the game on a 15-6 run. After Josh Hart gave Villanova a 52-51 lead with 3:22 to play, Savage responded with the go-ahead basket. A Kelan Martin jumper and Savage three-point play would push the lead to six. A steal and reverse lay-in by Baldwin and free throws down the stretch would seal the victory.

“That’s an unbelievable program and a terrific team, and we have the utmost respect for the way they play,” said Butler coach Chris Holtmann of the top-ranked Wildcats. “For us to stay with it and battle long enough to win says a lot about us too. Players win games and our players did that down the stretch.”

Andrew Chrabascz had 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Butler out-rebounded Villanova, 33-24, which is the team’s largest rebound margin since the season-opener against Northern Colorado. The Bulldogs went a perfect 15-of- 15 from the free throw line and committed only eight turnovers in the game with four of those coming in the first five minutes of the game.

Butler, which had been 0-7 against Villanova, climbed to 2-1 in the Big East. Butler’s three losses to Villanova at Hinkle came by a cumulative 11 points. The Wildcats were the first No. 1 team to visit Hinkle in more than 63 years — or since No. 1 Indiana beat Butler 76-57 on Dec. 12, 1953. It was the Bulldogs’ second victory ever over a No. 1 team; the other was over Indiana 88-86 (overtime) in the Crossroads Classic on Dec. 15, 2012.

Why Bet On Georgetown?

The Hoyas (8-7) come off a 76-70 loss at Providence. Georgetown battled back from a seven-point halftime deficit to take a lead early in the second half, but could not hang on as Providence used a late run to break open a close game in the Hoyas’ third straight loss.

Sophomore forward Marcus Derrickson scored 26 points, including 21 in the second half, and grabbed six rebounds to lead Georgetown, while graduate student guard Rodney Pryor added 16 points and junior forward Akoy Agau registered his first career double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. But LJ peak was held to just six points.

Georgetown shot 41.5 percent from the floor (27-of- 65), hit 30.8 percent of its 3-point attempts (8-of-26) and struggled from the free throw line, hitting only 50.0 percent of their shots (8-of- 16). The Hoyas were out-rebounded 40-36.

Pryor, who has been named Big East Player of the Week once and selected to the honor roll twice, has scored in double figures 14 times this year and has eight games with at least 20 points. He leads the team, and ranks second in the Big East at 20.0 points per game, while adding 5.2 rebounds, which ranks third on the team. Peak is second on the team in scoring, (16.1 ppg), fifth in rebounding (4.4 rpg) and leads the team in assists (3.4 apg). Peak ranks among the Big East leaders in scoring (11th), assists (ninth), free throw percentage (11th), assist/turnover ratio (12th), rebounding (29th) and minutes played (9th, 32.8 mpg).

The Hoyas are a good free-throw shooting team, hitting 76.4 percent of their shots. GU has scored 25.5 percent of its points this season from the free throw line. The Hoyas rank tied for No. 30 in the country in free throw attempts (342), tied for No. 14 in free throws made (279) and No. 20 in the country in free throw percentage (76.4%). With 19.9 free throws made per game, Georgetown ranks tied for No. 7 in the country in that category.

Butler at Georgetown Betting Pick: Georgetown Hoyas

Butler beat GU twice last season, including 90-87 in OT in D.C. But I like the Hoyas and the points here in a trap game for the Bulldogs.