GAME NOTES: On the outside looking in as far as the national rankings are concerned, the Georgetown Hoyas aim to put their best foot forward on Tuesday as they host the Marquette Golden Eagles in Big East Conference play at the Verizon Center.

The Hoyas managed to break into the Top-25 recently, but a 70-53 thrashing at the hands of Xavier in the conference opener on New Year's Eve ended up being the dagger that pushed Georgetown back out into the field with everyone else. However, the Hoyas did respond in a positive manner by thumping Creighton over the weekend in a 76-61 final.

As for the Golden Eagles, who are under the direction of first-year head coach Steve Wojciechowski, they seem to have shaken off their stunning loss to Nebraska-Omaha back in November by winning five of the last six outings. Over the weekend, Marquette took out Providence at home by a final of 75-60, just three days after bowing to DePaul in Chicago by three points.

In a series that dates back to World War II, but didn't begin to take place in earnest until the 2005-06 campaign, Marquette owns a slight 9-8 advantage over the Hoyas after winning both meetings last season and four of the last five overall.

In a game that featured five ties and three lead changes, the Golden Eagles forced Providence into 17 turnovers, erasing a seven-point deficit in the first few minutes of the first half and eventually grabbing the win. Juan Anderson was one of four players in double figures for the hosts as he dropped in 18 points, followed by Sandy Cohen III with 12 points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting from the floor. Luke Fischer and Matt Carlino chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively, followed by Jajuan Johnson who came away with nine points, 10 rebounds and five assists off the bench.

Fischer, who has started just one of the six games in which he has appeared, is responsible for 13.2 ppg thanks to a whopping 79.1 percent accuracy from the floor. Responsible for 5.8 rpg and a team-best 16 blocked shots, Fischer is shooting only 61.1 percent at the free-throw line. Carlino, a transfer from BYU, accounts for 12.0 ppg as someone who is shooting better behind the 3- point line (.397) than he is the floor overall (.373).

The Georgetown defense went after the Bluejays over the weekend, holding the visitors to just 30.8 percent shooting from the floor, including a disappointing 5-of-25 behind the 3-point line, making it that much easier for the Hoyas to survive with just four offensive rebounds and a deficit of 33-24 on the glass overall. Joshua Smith was one of five players in double figures with his 16 points, followed by L.J. Peak with 14. Tre Campbell scored a career-high 13 points off the bench, while Jabril Trawick and Paul White tacked on 12 and 10 points, respectively.

D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera, who scored a total of just five points versus Creighton, leads the program overall with his 14.2 ppg and is also first with 45 assists and 19 steals. Smith checks in with 12.8 ppg as he shoots 63.4 percent from the floor and clears a team-high 6.0 rpg for a group that is beating opponents on the boards by 3.6 rpg.

Even though Marquette is on the road, the talent is still there to overcome any advantage the Hoyas may have playing in front of the home crowd. If the Golden Eagles can hold Smith-Rivera in check, as a losing Creighton team did, the visitors will be that much closer to victory.