Big East Tournament 2013 Bracket: Charting Georgetown's Path to a Championship

The Georgetown Hoyas entered this year's Big East Tournament as the No. 1 seed, and actually have a fairly clear path to the championship game. In fact, one can argue that they have what it takes to get there and walk away the winner.

Let's have a look at the team's first battle, set to take place on March 14 at noon. That game will be against the No. 9-seeded Cincinnati Bearcats, which the Hoyas defeated on the road 62-55 on Feb. 15.

All in all, this game shouldn't be much for the team to worry about, even though Cincinnati ranks seventh in the nation in rebounding compared to Georgetown, who ranks 250th. The fact that Georgetown blew a 12-point lead in their game against the Bearcats could be cause for concern, but their superior defense and better effectiveness at scoring should give them the upper hand.

While Georgetown ranks 53rd in the nation in field goal percentage, Cincinnati ranks 306th.

Thus, there is little reason to believe that the Hoyas won't make the semifinals.

Just what team meets them there is another story.

The Hoyas' potential semifinal opponent is going to be one of two teams: Syracuse or Pittsburgh. Georgetown has already defeated the Orange twice this season—on Feb. 23 and March 9—but their fortunes against the Panthers were not so fruitful.

The team's sole game against Pittsburgh was a 73-45 blowout loss at home on Jan. 8, and Georgetown committed 16 turnovers while shooting just 35 percent from the field. It was a bad loss, but the team is still capable of beating the Panthers in the semis.

Pittsburgh may rank higher than Georgetown in most major categories, but consider that head coach Jamie Dixon's offense relies heavily on guard Tray Woodall having a good shooting night, both from beyond the arc and in the lane.

If the Hoyas' defense can slow him and his teammates down, then the Panthers are basically sunk unless Georgetown also has a bad scoring game.

However, head coach John Thompson III is a great basketball mind who almost definitely has his men preparing for the possibility of facing Pittsburgh.

Tape of that loss has probably been watched fairly regularly, and the Hoyas will be better prepared for a potential match. Whether they face Pittsburgh or Syracuse (who Pitt beat on Feb. 2), a semifinal victory is definitely achievable.

That leaves the championship game, where Georgetown will face one of six potential teams: Louisville, Notre Dame, Marquette, Rutgers, St. John's or Villanova.

I won't go into major statistics for each squad, but consider that the Hoyas' record against all of those teams this season was 7-2, the only losses being a stunner against Marquette on Jan. 5 (which was avenged on Feb. 11) and a 10-point loss to Villanova on March 6, where 22 turnovers buried the team.

These teams can only face Georgetown in the title game, and history suggests that fate is definitely on the Hoyas' side. Their Princeton offense may not provide much in terms of scoring opportunities, but their strong and tough-as-nails defense more than makes up for the team being lacking in that area.

The fact of the matter is that the Big East Tournament is Georgetown's to lose. With a fairly favorable draw, it's hard to see them not coming away with the trophy.