Protective teams Georgetown and Xavier meet in Big East clash

Two of the better teams in the nation at avoiding self-inflicted mistakes will square off Saturday night when Georgetown meets Xavier in a Big East Conference game at Washington, D.C.

Georgetown (8-3, 1-0) has committed an average of just 8.8 turnovers per game, tied for the second-best mark in the nation with Penn State. Xavier is ninth at 9.3.

Protecting the basketball was key when Georgetown committed nine turnovers in a 78-69 road victory against Marquette on Wednesday in the Big East opener for both teams. The Hoyas also went 20 of 23 from the free-throw line, which was the difference in the victory.

"Big East basketball, it's great any time you can win on the road," Georgetown coach Ed Cooley said. "Really interesting to see what's going to happen in the Big East, because at any given time, anybody can beat anybody. We were just fortunate. We made some free throws and didn't turn the ball over."

Hoyas center Julius Halaifonua continued his growth into the conference schedule with 21 points and six rebounds. The 7-foot Halaifonua has averaged 15.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game since fellow big man Vince Iwuchukwu was shut down to undergo a medical procedure.

Malik Mack (14.6 ppg) and KJ Lewis (14.2) lead the Hoyas in scoring. Lewis, who had been questionable Wednesday with an undisclosed ailment, played 13 minutes off the bench and did not score on six shot attempts.

Xavier (8-4, 0-1), meanwhile, was crushed 98-57 at home by Creighton in the Musketeers' Big East opener Wednesday. Malik Messina-Moore scored 14 points and Roddie Anderson III added 12 off the bench to lead Xavier, which shot 36.4% from the floor and was outrebounded 42-28.

Xavier saw its five-game winning streak end, a run that included a spirited 79-74 victory over cross-town rival Cincinnati on Dec. 5.

"We were as bad as we have been all year," Musketeers coach Richard Pitino said of the Creighton game. "We had been practicing well, we had been playing well, and everything that got us to that, we totally abandoned."

Tre Carroll leads Xavier with an average of 16.1 points per game but was held to seven against Creighton on 3-of-7 shooting as he failed to score in double digits for the first time this season.

--Field Level Media