No. 10 Georgetown (14-3, 4-2 Big East)
at DePaul (10-7, 1-4)
Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Ill. Tuesday, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
Whittington breaks out: Greg Whittington had eight points and eight rebounds against St. John’s, signaling marked improvement for the freshman forward, who had averaged 1.6 and 1.8, respectively, in five previous Big East games. During a 6-minute 40-second stretch in the first half, in fact, the 2011 All-Met Player of the Year grabbed four rebounds, blocked a shot and made one of his two shot attempts as the Hoyas turned a 13-12 deficit into a 25-17 lead they would not relinquish. “He definitely was the reason we righted the ship in that first half,” Coach John Thompson said Monday in suburban Chicago before adding that Whittington has more to give. “We need Greg to be even more aggressive at the defensive end — pursuing rebounds — and offensively.”
Hoyas’ front court vs. Cleveland Melvin: Containing Melvin will be a top priority for the Hoyas, who are aiming to extend their winning streak over DePaul to 11. Melvin, a 6-foot-8 forward from Baltimore, scored 29 points in the Blue Demons’ 86-75 loss at Verizon Center last January and is the team’s leading scorer at 18 points per game. “As we’ve done with most people this year, [Melvin] won’t be any one person’s responsibility. We’ll switch it up,” said Thompson, who added that keeping Melvin off the free throw line also figures to be key. “He has a knack for drawing fouls.”
Moses returns, and more: Moses Ayegba, sidelined since August after surgery to repair a torn ACL in his right knee, joined his teammates for a portion of practice Monday. The sophomore center has been cleared for controlled, supervised, non-contact drills but there’s no timetable for his return to the lineup. . . . Freshman forward Otto Porter has grabbed 30 offensive rebounds. He’s put back 13 of those for scores. . . . Hoyas reserves are averaging 15.3 rebounds, the highest total in Thompson’s tenure. . . . The Hoyas are back in the AP top 10 for the sixth straight season, joining Duke, North Carolina and Pittsburgh as the only schools to accomplish the feat.
— Tarik El-Bashir
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