Georgetown @ Southern Methodist preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 15, 2018 ) Southern Methodist 81, Georgetown 73

Mac McClung may very well have saved the season for Georgetown, which wraps up its two-game road trip Saturday at SMU. The sophomore exploded for 33 points in an upset of No. 25 Oklahoma State and will look to show some consistency against the Mustangs, who face perhaps the stiffest challenge to their unblemished record.

"Hell of a game. Mac stepped up and played, to me, one of his best games as a Hoya," Georgetown coach Patrick Ewing, whose season looked in jeopardy following the departure of James Akinjo and Josh LeBlanc, told the media. "I thought my guys showed they have a lot of character and talent." Consistency has never been a strong suit for McClung, at least not when it comes to following up 20-point games. The 6-2 guard from Virginia has scored 20 or more points eight times, including 30 or more twice, but the average fall off from the previous seven 20-point outbursts has been 14.7 points, including a high of 22 points shaved off in the game following his career-high 38 points set last season. Ethan Chargois is expected back after a two-plus game absence, but the Mustangs haven't missed a beat without him in three straight blowouts, including the latest Tuesday over Northwestern State 77-51.

TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU

ABOUT GEORGETOWN (5-3): Terrell Allen got inserted into the starting lineup and got his first extended playing time for the Hoyas since coming over from Central Florida. The senior guard, who spent two seasons with UCF after playing his freshman season at Drexel, scored 15 points - one fewer than he had in the first seven games - and also dished out a team-high five assists in the win over Oklahoma State. The five assists give Allen, who had 142 helpers last season at UCF, 350 in his career to go along with 733 points and 136 steals.

ABOUT SMU (8-0): Kendric Davis' impact on the Mustangs has been immediate after he was granted a waiver to transfer from TCU. The sophomore guard won the Most Valuable Player in the Southwestern Showdown, in which the Mustangs went 5-0, by averaging 18 points, 7.3 assists, 3.7 rebounds and two steals while shooting 55.9 percent from the field. Davis doesn't yet qualify for national rankings as he would need to play 75 percent of his team's games, but his 7.5 assists per contest would rank firmly in the top 10 in Division I for the Mustangs, who will have 13 days off prior to its next game at Georgia.

TIP-INS

1. The Mustangs rank in the top 18 nationally in free throw percentage (78.9), field goal percentage defense (36.2) and rebounding margin (plus-9.3).

2. Chargois and Isiaha Mike scored 17 points apiece as the Mustangs defeated the Hoyas 81-73 in Washington, D.C., last season.

3. SMU is 45-10 in non-conference regular season games under coach Tim Jankovich, including 37-3 at Moody Coliseum.

PREDICTION: SMU 82, Georgetown 77