It’s been another disappointing season for the Georgetown Hoyas. One of college basketball’s bluebloods continues to struggle this decade, and the Hoyas look set to miss out on the NCAA Tournament for a fourth straight year. The program’s greatest star has had a hard time turning around his school’s fortunes, but he has done well in one area — he has turned center Jessie Govan into one of the best big men in the nation. Govan has taken his game to new heights under Patrick Ewing, and the Hoyas will count on him in a potential upset bid of the Villanova Wildcats on Wednesday night. The Wildcats have been led by senior guard Phil Booth, and that has led BetDSI to ask the question of which player will score more points?
Who will score more points in Villanova at Georgetown?
Phil Booth (Nova) -115
Jessis Govan (Georgetown) -115
Booth has been a part of two national championship winning teams during his time at Villanova, but he was a role player on those squads. Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, and Donte DiVincenzo were the team’s leaders last year, but with all three of those guys now in the NBA, Booth has become the team’s leader.
Booth went from averaging 7.4 field goal attempts per game in 2017-18 to 13.5 field goal attempts per game this season, and he has nearly doubled his scoring average as a result. Booth was averaging 10 points per game last year, but is now averaging 18.3 points per game. What’s been particularly impressive is that he has been just as efficient now that he is the main man. Booth sunk 44.1 percent of his field goals last year, and he is hitting 44 percent this year and his three-point percentage is nearly identical too. It’s not often that role players grow into their role as leaders so well.
No one has benefited more from Ewing coming to Georgetown than Govan. The NBA Hall of Famer was known as one of the best assistant coaches in the NBA for his ability to develop young big men, and Govan has flourished under his watch. He was averaging 10.1 points as a sophomore, but he averaged 17.9 points last year and is averaging 18.1 points this season.
This is the second meeting between these teams this year, and Govan has to do better than what we saw from him last time. Govan had the worst game of his career against Villanova on February 3, going 0-9 from the field with just two rebounds and he fouled out after 13 minutes. He has only scored in single digits once this season, so the goose egg is a huge black mark he will look to erase.
Booth had his share of struggles too. He wasn’t as bad as Govan, but he got into foul trouble and ended up shooting just 33 percent from the floor. Eric Paschall and Collin Gillespie had to lead the way with 54 of Nova’s 77 points, and Booth will look to contribute more this time.
I think Govan will have more points than Booth here because he has a point to prove. Govan will want to establish his presence early on, and the Hoyas will have another advantage too. They have had a week off prior to this game, while Nova went on the road to take on St. John’s on Sunday.
