NCAA BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT / SOUTHEAST AND MIDWEST REGIONALS : TODAY’S MIDWEST REGIONAL GAMES : Georgetown Presents Tall Task for Xavier

Once upon a time, John Thompson was a backup center to Bill Russell with the Boston Celtics. Coach Red Auerbach kept Thompson on the bench much of the time, figuring--rightly so--that Russell needed little help.

Now Thompson coaches at Georgetown, where he has 6-10 Alonzo Mourning and 7-2 Dikembe Mutombo.

Times have changed.

“It was obvious that both of them, eventually, were going to have to play together, and then I talked with Red Auerbach during the summer,” Thompson said.

Thompson said Auerbach pointed out that Georgetown opponents would prefer he not play Mourning and Mutombo together.

When the eighth-ranked Hoyas (24-6) face No. 25 Xavier of Ohio (27-4) today in the Midwest Regional second round, the Musketeers will have to deal with Mourning and Mutombo playing side-by-side. With them, the Hoyas have led the NCAA in rebounding margin, getting 12.1 a game more than their opponents. Georgetown is among the leaders in scoring margin at 19.5 points per game.

Mourning, who led the nation in blocked shots last season, is the team’s No. 2 scorer at 16.5 points per game, and his 8.5 rebound average is second to Mutombo’s 10.4. Mutombo had 18 points and 16 rebounds in Friday’s win over Texas Southern and averages 10.7 points. He averages 4.2 blocked shots, second in the nation.

The game is coupled with a matchup between second-seeded Purdue (22-7) and 10th-seeded Texas (22-8). Purdue features the inside play of Stephen Scheffler, a 69.4% shooter for his career.

Texas features the outside play of Travis Mays, who holds the Southwest Conference career scoring record with 2,211 points.