Following another heartbreaking loss Tuesday night to Villanova, the Bearcats head out for their final true road game of the season.  They head to take on the suddenly free-falling Georgetown Hoyas (19-9, 9-8), who seemingly are a lock to make the NCAA Tournament despite losing four of their last five games and two straight (by 14 to Notre Dame and 13 to West Virginia).

Not only have the Hoyas struggled mightily lately, but they might be without their best player, Austin Freeman, Saturday.  Freeman missed the West Virginia game Monday with what was previously believed to be a stomach virus.  In actuality, he has been diagnosed with diabetes and his status is up in the air.  He did practice with the team this week and could play, but the doctors might hold him out for precaution.  The Bearcats will no doubt prepare as if Freeman is going to play.

If Freeman does play, he'll likely be 100% and ready to do his thing.  The doctors won't clear him if he's not fully fit.  So, he would bring his 17.0 points with him.  The 6-3 junior shoots an excellent .542 from the field and sizzling .473 (52-of-110) from three-point range.  Prior to the Notre Dame game when he scored just five points, Freeman had gone 20 consecutive games in double-figures and had a season-high of 33 against Connecticut.  The game prior to Notre Dame might have been Freeman's best all-around game this season.  In 38 minutes, he scored 29 points on 9-of-12 shooting, including 6-of-6 from the foul line and 5-of-6 from three-point range.  He isn't a big rebounder at 3.6 per game but can help out at times.  His season high is just seven.  And he isn't a big passer either.  His average is 2.4 with a season high of six against Marquette and Villanova.  Last year in the Hoyas' two losses to UC, Freeman scored 14 (at UC) and 10 (at the Verizon Center).

Greg Monroe will give the Bearcats fits if they don't lock him down.  The 6-11 sophomore can act as a point-center at times he is so good with the ball in his hands.  While he averages 15.9 points per game, he also leads the team with 9.4 rebounds, and also averages 3.6 assists per game.  Not bad for a 6-11 center.  In fact, Monroe's season high for assists in a game is 12 against Providence.  While that is his only double-figure assist game, he has six double-figure rebound games.  Last season, Monroe only took six three-pointers, this year he has increased it to 24, but with not a lot of success.  He is connecting on .250 of them, but he's not a huge threat outside and the Bearcats would welcome him shooting more from outside.  In last year's two games, Monroe struggled to 10 and 13 points but shot just 8-of-23 from the field.  For the Bearcats to have a chance in this one, they're going to need to bottle Monroe up again.

Point guard Chris Wright is sometimes a mystery for the Hoyas.  The 6-1 junior will either score 20 or won't even get into double-figures for the most part.  Over his last nine games, Wright has scored 20+ four times, been held to just 10 or less the other five times.  It varies from game to game how much he factors in the offense.  He will go from taking 15 shots in one game, down to four the next.  It's a true rollercoaster.  On the season, he is averaging 14.1 points and 4.0 rebounds.  But, again, he is up and down in terms of shooting.  Over the nine-game stretch, he is shooting only .420 (40-of-96).  He will make up for that by getting to the free throw line, however - his 106 attempts are second-best on the team behind Monroe's 174.  Last year, Wright scored 15 and nine in the two losses to the Bearcats.

Jason Clark is the fourth double-figure scorer for the Hoyas at 10.3 points per game.  The 6-2 sophomore leads the team with 129 three-point attempts and 56 made (.434 accuracy).  His season-high point output is 24 against Villanova, but he has only scored double-figures in one of his last six games and has really struggled finding his shooting stroke.  Clark isn't as highly-regarded as Freeman, Monroe, or Wright, but he is the silent assassin who can kill you if you don't pay attention to him.

Power forward Julian Vaughn has really improved this season.  Last year, he averaged just 1.8 points per game.  This year however, he is up to 8.0 and is shooting a very solid .572 from the floor.  The 6-9 junior like the rest of his teammates has struggled of late.  He has gone five games without scoring double-figures and in one game - against Syracuse - he was held scoreless.  Vaughn averages 4.6 rebounds per game which is up from the 1.7 he averaged last season, but at 6-9 you'd think he'd grab more rebounds.  However, nearly half of his total rebounds are on the offensive glass so he can be pretty active if a body isn't on him.

John Thompson III only plays seven guys significant minutes.  Hollis Thompson and Jerrelle Benimon are the two key reserves for the Hoyas.  Thompson, a 6-7 freshman, averages 4.4 points and 2.4 rebounds in 19.6 minutes.  Of late, Thompson has picked up his scoring to 6.7 in his past seven games, including three double-figure games.  Despite being 6-7, Thompson likes to shoot the three - over half of his overall shots are from three-point range - and he's connecting at a .400 rate, so he is dangerous out there.

Benimon, another 6-7 freshman, has been seeing increased playing time of late.  On the season he averages just 12 minutes per game, but he has eclipsed that in each of his last four games.  His scoring, however, is still not much.  On the season he averages 1.5 points and hasn't scored over four points in a single game all year.  He won't be much of a scoring threat on Saturday either.

With some experts still giving the Bearcats a chance to somehow sneak into the NCAA Tournament, now is a perfect time for them to rise to the challenge.  While the Cats haven't won much on the road this year, they won at the Verizon Center last year, so perhaps that will bring back some positive memories and allow history to repeat itself.  It's going to be a stiff challenge, especially if Freeman comes back and ignites his team and the crowd.  After so many close calls recently, now is the time to get over that hump and bring home a big win.