The Georgetown Hoyas left the makeshift court on board the USS Bataan in Jacksonville, Fla. Friday night trailing the Florida Gators 27-23 at halftime. When they came back out for the second half, they found a hardwood better suited for a Slip n’ Slide contest. After conferring with Florida Head Coach Billy Donovan and game officials, Georgetown Head Coach John Thompson III agreed to cancel the second half due to extreme condensation on the court.

“I’ve never had a contest that’s been ended [under these circumstances], at any level,” Thompson said. “This would’ve been really dangerous, we couldn’t play in these conditions.”

It’s true – Vox tested the conditions and we nearly fell flat on our faces. Every time game staff and others (including sophomore Otto Porter Jr., pictured) worked to clean an area of the court, moisture would reappear a couple of minutes later. Officially, the game was marked as “no contest”, as if it never happened.

For Porter Jr. and company, it is a disappointing result, especially because they were ready to come out and amend their first half blemishes.

“We were going to adjust to some things a little and come out with more energy,” the sophomore said. “Try to keep the same gameplan we had in the first half – seemed to work a little bit. They were missing shots.  We just wanted to contain them.”

The main problem with that first half was poor shooting from the Hoyas. They shot just 37 percent from the field, a result of far too much stagnation on the offensive end. The Blue and Gray struggled with the Gator zone for much of the half, relying on three-pointers and forcing rushed jumpers at the end of the shot clock on multiple occasions.

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Playing basketball on boats is the newest trend, and Georgetown has decided to be a trendy team this season. The Blue and Gray will open its 2012-13 season against Florida tonight at 9 p.m. (on NBC Sports Network) in the inaugural Navy/Marines Corps Classic, which will be played aboard the USS Bataan in Jacksonville, Fla. Vox will be providing live coverage from Jacksonville tonight, so be sure to follow our in-game tweets from our newest Twitter, VoiceSportsGU.

Gator backcourt in upheaval 

The Gators reached the Elite Eight last year and were ranked 10th in both the preseason Coaches’ Poll and Associated Press Poll two weeks ago. Although they lost Bradley Beal to the NBA, Florida has one of the best guards in the country in all-SEC senior guard Kenny Boynton, who averaged 15.9 points per game and 2.7 rebounds per game in 2011-12.Yesterday, Head Coach Billy Donovan suspended starting junior point guard Scottie Wilbekin, which leaves talented but unproven freshman Braxton Ogbueze to start in the backcourt next to Boynton.

A speedy backcourt like theirs will certainly make their presence felt on the offensive end, but the Gators’ penchant for presses and traps on the defensive side of the ball could spell trouble for an inexperienced Hoya squad. They will need junior point guard Markel Starks in top form to counteract the pressure.

The X Factor 

With the conditions predicted to be in low 50s with some slight wind, both teams could find shooting conditions a bit rough. Head Coach John Thompson III doesn’t feel it will be much of a problem considering both teams have to deal with the same elements.

“…They are young, they are used to it,” Thompson said of his players. “Everyone goes and plays in the park.  Florida’s guys have to do the same thing.  Is it going to be your normal basketball conditions? Obviously not.”

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