The Washington Times - TAKE YOUR PICK: No. 2 Memphis vs. No. 5 Georgetown

The Washington Times

TAKE YOUR PICK: No. 2 Memphis vs. No. 5 Georgetown

Memphis: The Tigers play host to this season's first matchup of top-five teams Saturday at FedEx Forum, where they boast the nation's longest winning streak (32 games). Unlike the Hoyas, who are still learning to play without Jeff Green, the Tigers return all five starters from last season's Elite Eight team and added Derrick Rose.

Georgetown: Even without Green, the Hoyas are coming into their own as arguably the deepest and most versatile team in the nation. Georgetown leads the nation in field goal percentage defense (34.5) and ranks sixth in field goal percentage (51.9), making the Hoyas the nation's best defense-offense combination.

Our take: This isn't the best matchup for the Hoyas in that Memphis has two of the long, athletic guards who give Georgetown fits. That said, Memphis has a slightly overrated frontcourt that should have difficulty with Georgetown's Roy Hibbert. And few teams have had success playing man-to-man defense against the Hoyas since John Thompson III's arrival. In the end, the Hoyas are a considerably more efficient team on both ends and should win if they can force Memphis to play at their pace and keep the Tigers off the offensive glass.