Both squads will tip off minus a key player. Georgetown’s absentee is its headliner, Thomas Souter, the Hoyas’ scoring and rebounding leader. G-Town closed the season with a single outright win in six games — a two-pointer over Villanova, which fired its coach. Wash State finished on a better note: on a three-game roll before falling to San Francisco, which landed an NIT berth. It plays up-tempo, an ideal style for this loosey-goosey tournament. The scheduled 11 p.m. (ET) start favors the west coast school over the one from D.C.