Delaware State Hornets vs Georgetown Hoyas Prediction, Odds, Best Bets - Week 2

Georgetown is 2-0 behind Jaland Lowe and hosts a Delaware State team that has defended well through two games. The Hoyas are the clear favorite in Washington, but the Hornets have already shown they can keep a game in the half court and make a favorite work for its points.

The Matchup

Delaware State visits Georgetown on Tuesday evening at Capital One Arena in Washington, on ESPN+, with Georgetown a 27.5-point favorite, a total of 142.5, and the Hoyas priced at -50,000 on the moneyline against Delaware State at +4,000. Georgetown expects a comfortable night, and the Hornets' job is to make comfortable take as long as possible.

Georgetown is 2-0, scoring 83.0 points a game and allowing 66.0. Jaland Lowe has carried the Hoyas early, leading them at 22.5 points and 5.0 assists a game, and Vince Iwuchukwu leads them at 6.5 rebounds a game, giving Georgetown a guard who creates the offense and a big who finishes possessions on the glass. Delaware State is 1-1, scoring 73.0 points a game and allowing just 59.0, the stronger defensive start of the two teams. Nehemiah Reedus leads the Hornets at 18.0 points and 6.0 rebounds a game, and Nasir Muhammad leads them at 4.5 assists a game, so the Hornets run their offense through two players Georgetown can identify and still have to stop.

Two games is a thin read on Georgetown, and last season is the necessary check on both sides. The Hoyas went 16-18 last season, scored 73.6 points a game, and allowed 72.9, a team that played close games all winter rather than burying opponents.

Delaware State went 8-23, scored 61.2, and allowed 70.5, which is the profile of a team that loses often but rarely gets run off the floor, because its defense travels even when its shooting does not. The Hornets' two games this season, allowing 59.0 a night, look like that same identity with a better start.

Key Factors

Lowe is the matchup problem Delaware State has to solve first. He scores and he creates, and when a guard leads his team in both points and assists the defense cannot simply load up on one action. Muhammad will spend long stretches chasing him, and if Lowe gets into the paint early, Georgetown's shooters and Iwuchukwu's putbacks turn a controlled game into a parade to the rim.

Delaware State's defense and pace are the counterweight. Allowing 59.0 points a game through two games is partly the schedule, but the Hornets defend in the half court and make teams play late into the shot clock, and Reedus gives them a scorer who can answer a run with a basket of his own instead of a rushed shot. Every Hornets possession that ends with 25 seconds gone is a possession Georgetown cannot use to build the margin this spread requires.

The honest counterpoint is depth and size. Georgetown can rotate fresh bodies against a MEAC roster, Iwuchukwu is a hard cover for the Hornets inside, and Capital One Arena on a weeknight is still a long way from the gyms Delaware State usually plays in. If the Hornets' shots stop falling the way they did in stretches last season, when they scored 61.2 a game, a defense-first team with no scoring fallback gets covered late by a favorite that keeps running.

Every pick is published with its line before the game. Odds via consensus sportsbooks at time of writing and move constantly. Must be 21+. If gambling is a problem, call or text 1-800-GAMBLER.