Word is trickling out of New York that Jermaine Dixon could return to play for Pitt tonight.
It’s a pretty light news day, so why not throw up a quick preview on the ESPN doubleheader that puts a bow on Jimmy V Week.
Andy Katz has spoken with the Pitt coaching staff and they have told him Jermaine Dixon will play his first game of the season tonight … probably.
The only returning starter from last year’s top-seeded Tournament team has been out after he broke his foot a few months back.
That news going to drive you to watch Pittsburgh-Indiana? Yeah, probably not. You won’t recognize one player in this game. Try and flip over to the game around 10:20 to see if it’s close and both teams have piled up more than 50 points through 20 minutes.
Butler-Georgetown is a game worth watching, though. It’ll be methodical and test your attention span nearly as much as the second game, but chances are you haven’t gotten to watch either of these teams yet this season.
Butler is, well, Butler: a team that doesn’t turn itself over a lot and remains incredibly successful in very close games. If you, as a team, find yourself in a 54-52 game with a minute to go against the Bulldogs, chances are you’ll be walking back to the locker room staring at the floor.
Three players you should already know about: Matt Howard, Shelvin Mack and Gordon Hayward. With their talent, a 6-2 record seems like an underachievement right now. No longer is this team considered the overwhelming favorite to win the Horizon. Beating Georgetown would go a long way and be a quintessential “Butler” kind of win to put on the resume.
An aside: Chris Mack is a coach worth following on Twitter.
Georgetown’s only other worthy opponent came in the ugliest national game of the season so far, that 46-45 win over Temple in the ESPN 24-hour fest.
The Hoyas can play Butler’s game, though. It’s deliberate and will never veer from the Princeton style of offense. Greg Monroe will be the best player on the floor but will have issues with Butler’s can’t-bully-me attitude down low. Monroe is averaging 14 and 10 so far this season; numbers that are a little lower than they should be, actually, but the Hoyas have four guys averaging double-digits in scoring. It’s not a deep team. That doesn’t matter much, as Georgetown won’t try and run itself to death.
Predictions: Butler 60, Georgetown 55 / Pittsburgh 67, Indiana 54.
