The Gavitt Tipoff Games start Wednesday night when Georgetown visits Piscataway, New Jersey, to face Rutgers. The Gavitt Tipoff Games pits teams from the Big East against teams from the Big Ten. It is time to continue our college basketball odds series with a Georgetown-Rutgers prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.
Georgetown is 1-1 under new head coach Ed Cooley. The team expected to be 2-0 heading into this matchup with Rutgers, but a surprising loss to Holy Cross on Saturday night changed their plans. Georgetown had an 11-point lead with eight minutes remaining in the second half but blew the lead and lost 68-67. Georgetown played a disciplined game, only having four turnovers against Holy Cross. However, they shot just 11-32 from inside the arc. Georgetown lacks offensive chemistry, starting four transfers and a freshman. Rowan Brumbaugh, a transfer from Texas, is Georgetown's leading scorer with 15 points per game. Jayden Epps, their transfer from Illinois, had 22 points to lead the team against Holy Cross.
Rutgers are 2-1 entering this matchup, coming off two consecutive victories over Boston University and Bryant. They opened the season with a disappointing 68-61 loss to Princeton on a neutral floor. The loss to Princeton ignited a fire in Rutgers, as coach Steve Pikiell said, “After the Princeton game, we really made a concerted effort the last two games — we're really gonna be a good rebounding team.” Rutgers is led by 6-foot-11 inside force Clifford Omoruyi, averaging 10 points and nine rebounds per game. Gavin Griffiths is also beginning to make a name for himself in his first season, scoring 25 points in the 69-45 victory over Boston University.
Here are the college basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Basketball Odds: Georgetown-Rutgers Odds
Georgetown: +10.5 (-115)
Rutgers: -10.5 (-105)
Over: 133.5 (-110)
Under: 133.5 (-110)
How to Watch Georgetown vs. Rutgers
Time: 8:30 PM ET/5:30 PM PT
TV: Fox Sports 1
Stream: FuboTV (Click for free trial)
Why Georgetown Will Cover The Spread
The Georgetown program is no stranger to visiting New Jersey to take on Rutgers. These teams are former Big East rivals but will meet each other for the first time since 2013. Ed Cooley left the Providence program because he saw big things happening for the Georgetown Hoyas, but he could never have imagined they'd lose as 17.5-point favorites to Holy Cross. The Hoyas had a poor shooting performance against Holy Cross, hitting just as many shots from three-point range as from two. Cooley is trying to mesh together a relatively new team this season, as his top scorers so far are all transfers. The Hoyas will only get better this season, and it's unlikely that we will get them at this high of a point spread against Rutgers if it were later in the season.
Rutgers are 1-7-1 against the spread in their past nine games as a favorite and have lost outright six times. The Hoyas have a big swing here after being 17.5-point favorites against Holy Cross, but they will be good enough to keep this game close. This would have been a good number for Georgetown had they won against Holy Cross on Saturday night. However, the fact they are coming off an embarrassing loss will only fuel Cooley's fire to make a statement in New Jersey tonight.
Why Rutgers Will Cover The Spread
There are no doubts that Ed Cooley will turn Georgetown into a competitive team in the Big East. The only question is how long it will take him to get the players gelled together enough to start stringing together wins. The oddsmakers are making it challenging to back Rutgers here, as 10.5 points seem lofty with two seemingly even-matched teams.
Rutgers' strength is in their defense, coming off a game where they held Bryant to 57 points. They are limiting opponents to 36.3% shooting and 56.7 points per game. They are also +33 in the rebounding battle and average 4.3 blocks per game.
Rutgers also wins the experience battle, with two of their leading scorers being seniors. Aundre Hyatt and Clifford Omoruyi will be a big reason for Rutgers' success. The issue for Rutgers is that they are averaging just 65.3 points per game and pride themselves on defense and slow pace. If Rutgers continues scoring and allowing points at the same clip, will they be able to cover by double-digits?
Final Georgetown-Rutgers Prediction & Pick
Rutgers is 1-7-1 against the spread as a favorite over their last nine games. They fell to Princeton in their opening game and barely covered the 22-point spread against Boston University. They were trailing by three with under 12 minutes remaining in regulation against Bryant but outscored them 25-13 for a nine-point victory. Despite the comeback victory, Bryant still covered the number. Georgetown is still discovering its identity as a team with a new head coach and roster, but they have the talent to keep this game close. Rutgers has struggled to pull away from below-average teams and are in for a much tougher test against the Hoyas. Nothing we have seen from Rutgers this season gives us a reason to believe they can cover a double-digit spread over Georgetown, which is why Georgetown +10.5 is the best bet in this game.
Final Georgetown-Rutgers Prediction & Pick: Georgetown +10.5 (-115)
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