Georgetown next for Lady Cards

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FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE...

-Watson looks at Georgetown

-BIG EAST WBB update and weekend

(David Watson is a special correspondent for CARDINAL COUPLE. He may never win any popularity contests, but...knowing him...he'd ask for a recount and wouldn't accept one if he did...)

David likes Splenda
not Sugar.

Hoya paranoia. Yes, readers it is real. When one thinks of the Georgetown squad, Sugar Rodgers comes to mind first - unless you're a mascot junkie and go with that ugly dog, monster or whatever it's supposed to represent. You could consider Sugar as a monster as well. She's atop the BIG EAST scoring leaders with 19 points per game. If she isn't the top guard in the BIG EAST, I'll demand a recount. Arguments will be made for Diggins, Hartley, and maybe Shoni. I will still disagree. The previously mentioned three are all part of the larger scheme on their teams. It's Sugar in the morning, Sugar in the evening, Sugar with a cup of tea for Terri Williams-Flourney's team. (Apologies to the McGuire sisters.)

Of course, she's not the lead singer, guitarist, drummer and roadie all rolled into one for the Hoyas. They do put four people out on the court with her. Rubylee Wright is the set up guard, piling up assists by the truckload - fifth in the conference. Tia Magee and Adria Crawford rebound. Brown helps out where she can. McBride scores when Sugar doesn't. But, it's pretty much Sugar Rodgers and four or five girls named Mary when the final analysis comes into play. ( A Rick Pitino non-sequiter, altered for Cardinal Couple purposes.)

So, how do the Lady Cards defeat these Hoyas? Feed Sugar misinformation about game time and site is my suggestion. Or, study the DePaul game film (they beat Georgetown back on Jan. 3rd.) Glance at the Notre Dame, Maryland and LSU DVD's also - they put "L"s in the Georgetown win-loss slate. Survive their full-court, in your face, relentless pressure. Rebound. Send them to the line - they're 14th in the conference in free throws. And, keep Sugar out of the recipe.

Both teams are 15-4. Both teams are 4-2 in the BIG EAST. They may look even at a statistical glance, but this one isn't being played on paper. It's a ESPN2 game, so viewers will probably get Beth Mowins and someone like Kara Lawson or Rebecca Lobo getting a Sugar rush. Maybe they could get 70's pop-icons The Archies to sing thier bubble gum classic "Sugar, Sugar" at halftime. Maybe the Cards could counter with the Guess Who crooning "No Sugar Tonight". Maybe I listen to too much of the "oldies" station.

Good luck, Lady Cards. Bring some Splenda, a great sugar substitute. Let's hope the ugliness that occurred two years ago in the pre-game doesn't rear its ugly head again Sunday. This bunch of Lady Cards are bigger, stronger and meaner than the bunch that travelled up there in 2010 and would wipe the table clear of Sugar and the other Georgetown condiments.

-- David Watson puts salt in his coffee, pepper on his strawberries and oregano on his cereal. We call him 'Sweetness' (behind his back.)

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Skylar and Natalie still
sit atop the standings.

Going into the weekend, the BIG EAST race remains pretty much the same as it was last week. All Notre Dame, all of the time. Rutgers took a surprising conference loss Tuesday night, so the Irish sit atop the conference standings. Here's the deal.

Notre Dame                6-0
Connecticut                5-1
Rutgers                       4-1
Georgetown               4-2
St. John's                    4-2
Louisville                   4-2
DePaul                       3-2
WVU                          3-2
USF                            3-2
Marquette                  3-3
Villanova                   2-3
Providence                2-3
Syracuse                    1-4
Cincinnati                  0-5
Seton Hall                  0-5
Pittsburgh                  0-6

Good games ahead for the weekend. Here's the line-up and predictions. We're 8-1 this week, only blemish was St. John's upset win over Rutgers.

Saturday action:

Villanova at Notre Dame. Irish in a rout. Only question here is if they can hit 100 points against the Wildcats. 
West Virginia vs. Pitt. The WBB version of the 'backyard brawl' Pitt hasn't won yet in the BIG EAST. We're not seeing it happen here. 
St John's at Cincy. The Red Storm has hit hurricane strength as it heads inland to blow away the winless in conference Beermats. Poor Cincy...their last three have been Notre Dame, UConn and now the Red Storm. Someone call in the Red Cross. 
Rutgers at USF. This is the pick of the week in "games we wish we could attend." Rutgers is reeling from the St. John's loss. USF strong like bull after beating DePaul. We'll go with the Russian Rocket and take USF. 
Connecticut at DePaul. With Keisha Hampton, we'd be tempted to predict an upset. Keisha isn't walking through that door, though. UConn wins. Anna Martin goes for 20+ for Doug Bruno.
Providence at Marquette. Another toughie to pick. Providence is 0-3 on the road in the BIG EAST, so we choose Plouffe-quette .


Sunday action:

Syracuse at Seton Hall. (Yawn...) The "Q" gets a road win over the Pirates. Syracuse wins. Next?
Louisville at Georgetown. We're divided on this one. Paul taking the Hoyas, Sonja sticking by her Lady Cards...so we're not including this one in our picks. (sue us).
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