Texas @ Georgetown preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 4, 2012 ) Texas 41, Georgetown 64

Georgetown will be back at one of its old haunts Thursday to take on unbeaten No. 22 Texas in the 2K Empire Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York. The Hoyas have played roughly 100 games at the Garden - most of them in the Big East Tournament - but this time around they will get a crack at the Longhorns, who are back in the polls for the first time in nearly a year.

Sophomore Mac McClung, mired in a two-game slump, broke out in a big way with 25 points as the Hoyas pulled away from Georgia State on Sunday. McClung was perfect from the foul line on 11 attempts and the Hoyas made 51 trips to the stripe, cashing in 40 times. "I think every player goes through those types of slumps and I just kept my head right and I got in the gym," McClung, who was a 2-of-17 from the field and 0-of-7 from deep in the previous two games, told the media. "I'll never quit in those situations. I always continue to work and I kind of got out of it tonight." The Longhorns have gotten by on defense, a trademark of fifth-year coach Shaka Smart, holding all four of their opponents to 66 or fewer - the total they gave up in a victory over then-No. 22 Purdue on Nov. 9.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2

ABOUT TEXAS (4-0): Matt Coleman III entered his junior season as a mediocre shooter at best, making 39.9 percent from the field and 30.9 percent from beyond the arc in his career, but this season has been a different story. The Virginian's hot start extended to a fourth game last week against Prairie View as he scored 17 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field and 6-of-7 from the line. All told, the 6-2 guard's shooting percentage is up better than 25 points and his 3-point shooting has climbed 26 points over his career average this season.

ABOUT GEORGETOWN (3-1): Omer Yurtseven has become an automatic double-double for the Hoyas as the junior is already more than halfway to matching the seven such games he had in two seasons at North Carolina State. The 7-footer from Turkey was one of six players in the nation entering Wednesday averaging at least 12.5 rebounds and none of the other five are putting up as many points per game (17) as he is this season. Of his 13 rebounds against Georgia State, 11 came on the offensive end as Yurtseven leads the nation with 6.25 offensive boards per contest.

TIP-INS

1. The Hoyas were in the top 24 nationally in free throws made (88) and attempted (113), and 33rd in free-throw percentage (77.9).

2. Top-ranked Duke and California meet in the other semifinal. The championship and consolation games are Friday.

3. Georgetown and Texas have met previously at Madison Square Garden with the Hoyas taking a 64-41 victory in the Jimmy V Classic in 2012.

PREDICTION: Texas 78, Georgetown 65