ARCHIVES
 
 

The story of the Patrick Ewing Era has once again traveled through Chicago. He's been here before.

It may still be 1985 inside the basketball office, but the mileposts of the decline of men's basketball at Georgetown University runs along the elevated tracks of the worst program in Big East history, beginning with a stunning 101-69 loss to the Blue Demons in 2019 that cost Ewing and the Hoyas an at-large NCAA berth and a 20-win season.

"We didn't come ready to play," Ewing said.

Or in 2020, entering Wintrust Arena with a 15-12 record and an outside shot at the post-season, Georgetown fell to DePaul team that had lost 13 straight entering the game, 74-68.

"I think they were more ready for us." he said.

Two years later, just ten months ago, the teams met again in the Near South Side, carrying a combined Big East record of 2-19 between them. The Blue Demons outscored the Hoyas 26-0 in a second half run and won by eight, 82-74.

"We just didn't give the effort," Ewing said.

And yet, the Big East schedulers offered Georgetown yet another reprieve, a game nestled against an NFL game on Amazon Prime and two college bowl games on ESPN to quietly end the most embarrassing year by any major conference program in recent history, in the relative television anonymity of Fox Sports 2, no less. DePaul entered the game with two starters injured and two just returning from injury, having dropped four of five, including a 37 point loss to Northwestern and a 15 point loss Christmas Day at Creighton. In its six previous games, DePaul had trailed by ten or more points during the game.

Surely, the plate was being set for Georgetown to end 2022 with a deserved victory.

Instead, DePaul's 83-76 win Thursday before an announced crowd of 4,097 continues a year long run of futility for the University's flagship athletic team and a growing sense of institutional denial. Once again, a humbling loss did not come at the hands of a Final Four entrant or a presumptive Big East champion, but an downtrodden basketball brand which hasn't seen the NCAA tournament in 18 years, and has not finished above 8th place in the Big East conference since 2007. In the last 14 years, DePaul has lost an astounding 194 Big East games, but not tonight.

All the old verities of a calendar year's worth of bad basketball were on display Thursday. Georgetown gave up two turnovers in the first 64 seconds of the game, allowing a shaky DePaul team to race to an early 15-5 lead, posting five assists on its five made field goals, including three three pointers. It was a deficit the Hoyas could not make up in a first half where defense had taken a holiday. Georgetown closed to 20-16 and 22-19 before the Demons answered with eight straight, a 31-30 scored pushed back to four.

With a season's best first half from sophomore Murray, who scored 10 of the next 13 and 16 by halftime, Georgetown shot 6 for 7 down the stretch and closed to 39-38 on a Bryson Mozone layup at the 3:33 mark. As if by clockwork, the Hoyas' guns went silent, as the Blue Demons ended the half on an 8-2 run and hit its crescendo on a remarkable three pointer from guard Umoja Gibson from the 224 area code to plant a 47-40 lead at the break.



The Blue Demons feasted from outside, hitting nine threes against a disinterested perimeter game from the Georgetown defense. DePaul guards Umoja Gibson and Javan Johnson combined to go 9 for 11 from outside, yet even this would not have been enough to take a lead at the break were it not for the careless, emotionless play exhibited by the Hoyas who gave up 11 first half turnovers which led to 21 of DePaul's 47 points. That any Big East team could shoot a season's best 62 percent in the first half, out rebound one's opponent 20-13 and still trail by seven was endemic of a lack of defensive effort which was stunning in its delivery and deflating in its appearance, game after game.

Brandon Murray and Jay Heath combined for 24 of the Hoyas' 40 points by halftime but an undisclosed injury to Heath sidelined him shortly after the second half began. Murray continued his hot hand as the Hoyas entered the second half, opening the half with a three as Georgetown scored six straight to close to 47-46 two minutes into the game. Over four possessions, Georgetown had a chance to take the lead and missed on all four, but the Demons started the second half cold and stayed icy for the first ten minutes thereafter. Shut down from outside and saddled with foul trouble inside, DePaul hung on with baskets from Johnson and Jason Terry, but neither could stop Murray.

A Murray three pointer gave GU its first lead at 53-51 with 15:08 to play, answered by a Jalen Terry three, then checkmated by a Murray three, 56-54. Despite having a game high 28 by this time, Murray took only two shots the remainder of the game, missing both, and no attempts in the final seven minutes.

With the DePaul middle open for the taking, Qudus Wahab made his presence felt, with nine points and nine rebounds after halftime, including seven from the line. A pair of Wahab free throws extended the Georgetown lead to 61-58 with 9:42 to play, when the familiar return of lax defense resuscitated yet another opponent.

To this point, DePaul had shot just 25 percent after halftime. It began with DePaul forward De'Sean Nelson, slogging through a fitful 1 for 9 shooting effort and struggling to contain Murray defensively, broke past Murray for a jumper, 61-60. Primo Spears, who had disappeared through much of the game, launched an ill-advised shot that Javan Johnson cashed in in the paint, 62-61. A Murray turnover begat a Nelson dunk, a Murray shot was blocked and deposited for a dunk on the break. Murray's last shot of the game was then sent down the court for an uncontested layup by Jason Terry and a 68-61 DePaul lead heading into the final seven minutes of the game, a 10-0 run. By itself, it was not the clincher, but it was ten points the Hoyas could not afford to give up so easily, and ten points which proved decisive down the stretch.



Having scored on just one of its last nine attempts, Georgetown trailed 72-65 with 5:19 to play, but began to work the interior to get back in the game. Baskets from Mozone and Wahab closed to three, 72-69, only to see Gibson connect on only the second three for the Blue Demons in the second half, 75-69.



Georgetown wasn't through, but time was tightening. Back to back jumpers from Primo Spears brought the Hoyas to 75-73 with 1:48 left. Free throws by Gibson, a 91 percent shooter, pushed the margin back to 77-73. On its next two trips to the line, Wahab and Murray both split a pair at the line, closing to no less than two when a tie was in range, now just 77-75 with 1:00 left. Gibson went 6 for 6 from the foul line, while a Murray turnover and a Wayne Bristol in-and-out three failed to close the gap.

From a 62 percent first half, Georgetown shot just 11 for 31 after halftime (35 percent), while DePaul carried a steady 46 percent total after the break. Gibson and Terry combined for 24 of DePaul's 36 points after the break and 8 for 8 from the line, all in the final two minutes.

It should not have come to this, of course. Murray was gassed midway through the second half, playing all but 30 seconds of the game. Ewing, who continues to ride the starting five for every last moment of the game, won no support when he inserted sophomore Jordan Riley in for the final nine seconds of the game, down six, when Murray needed a breather seven minutes earlier. Riley, the New York State Player of the Year in 2021, has played a grand total of six minutes in the last eight games.

For the second half, Georgetown outrebounded DePaul 24-14 and 44-27 on the game, but rebounds weren't enough when one reads the statistic which reads: "points off turnovers". DePaul gave up six points on seven turnovers. Georgetown gave up 25 points on 18 turnovers.

"The only thing I'm disappointed by is that we had 15 offensive rebounds but we only got 12 points out of it," said Ewing, perhaps losing focus on the numerous other disappointments in plain sight:

  • Murray and Spears combined to go 7 for 15 in the second half. The remainder of the team shot 4 for 16.
  • In a game where Georgetown was within three points on 12 second half possessions, it missed 6 of 17 attempts from the foul line after halftime. Both teams finished with 18 fouls, but DePaul was a net +5 at the line, and won by seven.
  • Primo Spears led all Georgetown players with a season's best 11 assists. No one else had as few as one.
  • Georgetown's defense gave up a combined 66 points from guards Javan Johnson, Jason Terry, and Umoja Gibson, shooting a combined 63 percent from the field. That same trio scored just 39 combined points on 36 percent shooting against Creighton.
Georgetown's sixth loss to DePaul in six seasons pales in comparison to its predecessors, much less other Big East teams. Georgetown teams from 2005 through 2017 were 16-2 versus the Blue Demons, with the two losses by a combined six points.

As it now stands, Georgetown enters 2023 having lost four straight, six of seven, and maintains two numbers which boggle the collective mind of college basketball: 23 straight losses to Big East opponents, and 28 consecutive losses to teams in conferences above the mid-major level. Its highest ranked win this season, Siena, ranks 186th.

It was pointed out on a national podcast that in the lowest point of Craig Esherick's tenure at Georgetown, Georgetown was ranked not lower than 124th in the RPI Index, a statistic that still exists even if it is not used by the NCAA for tournament selection, As of Thursday evening, Georgetown ranks 181st in the RPI and 230th in the NET.

Earlier this summer, Patrick Ewing cautioned that "With the way that things happened last year, it can never happen again on my watch." If the basketball office sufficiently insulates Ewing from what he called "outside noise", rest assured that Lee Reed, Jack DeGioia, and a couple hundred thousand alumni are hearing it.

Butler University awaits at Capital One Arena on Sunday, the start of three home games in ten days. What awaits Georgetown?

The Georgetown half of the box score:


            MIN   2FG   3FG   FT  REB  A  PF  PTS
Starters:    
Spears       34   4-10   0-1  0-0   3  11   4   8
Heath        19   4-6    0-0  0-0   1   0   1   8
Murray       39   6-12   5-5  2-4   4   0   1  29
Akok          6   0-0    0-1  0-0   1   0   0   0
Wahab        33   3-7    0-0  7-11 16   0   4  13
Reserves:  
Anglin        4   0-0    0-1  0-0   1   0   2   0
Riley         1   0-1    0-0  0-0   0   0   0   0
Mozone       34   3-6    1-3  0-0   7   0   2   9
Ezewiro       6   0-2    0-0  0-0   4   0   1   0
Bristol      23   2-2    1-3  2-2   2   0   3   9 
Wilson        1   0-0    0-0  0-0   0   0   0   0
Team Rebounds                       5 
DNP: Mutombo, Bass, Muresan 
TOTALS      200  22-44  7-14 11-17 44  11  18  76

 

Georgetown may not have a better week to end its 22 game losing streak against Big East opponents in games Thursday with DePaul and Sunday versus Butler.

The Blue Demons have lost four of five and are 0-2 in Big East play following a 80-65 loss to Creighton on Christmas Day in Omaha. "The Georgetown offense most definitely should have the upper hand on the DePaul defense in this matchup." writes Haslametrics.com, which nonetheless has DePaul as a one point favorite based on turnovers and home court advantage. The Blue Demons have won three of the last four meetings between the schools at Chicago's Wintrust Arena, whose per game average of 2,749 a game this season is even less than Georgetown.

Sunday, New Year's Day, the Hoyas welcome Butler to Capital One Arena for what is likely to be another small turnout. The Bulldogs are 0-2 in Big East play with losses to Creighton and Connecticut, and could well be 0-3 after a game Thursday versus Providence. Despite its struggles, however, Butler ranks 73rd nationally in effective field goal percentage, while Georgetown is 233rd. Butler has won six consecutive games at Capital One Arena since the 2015-16 season, three in overtime.

If not this week, the losing streak faces some tougher competition moving ahead. Home games with Villanova (Jan 4) and Seton Hall (Jan. 10) are matched by road games at Marquette (Jan. 7), Villanova (Jan. 16), and Xavier (Jan. 21), three sites where the Hoyas are a combined 1-12 in games under head coach Patrick Ewing.

Georgetown opens the week at a program-low #231 in the NCAA NET rankings.

 

Remembering those members of the extended Georgetown University basketball family that died in 2022:

  • Jan. 20: Dick Williams (C'66), manager of the 1961-62 team, age 77.
  • Jan. 23: Charles ("Buddy") O'Donnell (C'64), letterman from 1961 to 1964, age 79.
  • Jan. 24: Thomas ("Tucker") Dunn (C'57, L'60), letterman in 1954-55, age 86.
  • Jul. 13: Art Bartolozzi (C'48), letterman in 1945-46 and the oldest living player, age 97.
  • Aug. 20: John Wood (C'58, L'61), walk-on in 1956-57, age 86.
  • Sep. 20: Bob Ward (ex'67), letterman from 1964 to 1966, age 76.
  • Oct. 19: Rev. Louis Gigante (C'54), letterman from 1951 to 1954, age 90.
  • Nov. 1: Jim Larkins (C'53), letterman in 1950-51 and 1952-53, age 91.
  • Dec. 15: Bill Storz (C'53), letterman from 1950 to 1953, age 91.
  • Dec. 15: Louis Orr, assistant coach from 2017 to 2022, age 64.
As for Lou Gigante, who died in October, Monday's New York Times provides an unusual discovery: the longtime parish priest raised a son.

"Luigino Gigante was born in 1990 and raised in Somers, N.Y., in Westchester County, an hour drive from Father Gigante's parish, St. Athanasius Roman Catholic Church in the South Bronx," said the Times. "He and his father lived with the boy's mother and were by all appearances an unremarkable suburban family - until the time came every day when Dad put on his Roman collar and returned to being Father."

The discovery was made by a former New York Daily News reporter who searched for his last will and testament in public records. The 32 year old son was the beneficiary of a $7 million bequest, the bulk of which was from Rev. Gigante's work at the South East Bronx Community Organization.

 

Fourteen second half points from grad transfer Joey Calcaterra kick-started a struggling UConn offense to steer clear of the Georgetown Hoyas, 84-73 at Gampel Pavilion this evening.


The Hoyas entered the game underdogs by as many as 23 points, the largest in a Big East game since 1999. Expectations were understandably low but Georgetown made its case early that they would not roll over against the #2-ranked Huskies.

Georgetown opened the game shooting 5 for 5, with points from four of its five starters. Nonetheless, they entered the first media time out tied with the Huskies, who shot 55 percent in the first half but relied on four threes early in the game to provide scoring where its inside game was effectively shut out by the Hoyas inside.

In a TV timeout early in the game, UConn coach Dan Hurley pinpointed the issue at hand.

"We're too nice [to Georgetown], " he told his team. "We're not disruptive."

Georgetown had limited UConn inside, held a 18-10 lead in rebounds, a 22-14 edge on points in the paint, and was 6 for 6 at the foul line, but struggled to contain the Huskies from outside. UConn shredded the Hoyas early with nine first half threes, four in the final 4:11 of the half, to recover from a spotty inside game and take a 47-40 lead at the break.

Down seven, Georgetown needed a better effort on both sides of the floor entering the second half, and they got it. Following a missed dunk from Wahab, Georgetown put together its best four minutes of the game, shooting 5 for 5 in a 13-2 run that gave the Hoyas a surprising 53-49 lead--the first time this season that the Huskies trailed at any time in the second half. Field goals by Jay Heath, Brandon Murray, Primp Spears, and Akok Akok put the Hoyas ahead, but what kept them ahead was a decided step up in defense, holding the hot shooting Huskies in check. UConn shot one for its first five to open the half, missing all four attempts from three, and was outrebounded 8-3 by GU over the first six minutes of the half.

Baskets by Spears and Akok extended the Georgetown lead to 58-51 at the 12:50 mark, having held the Huskies to just two points over the previous six minutes. Following a pair of UConn free throws, a jumper by Bryson Mozone, the only shot taken by anyone on the GU bench in the second half, put the Hoyas up 60-53 with 11:50 to play.

By this point, the Huskies were flat-out cold. Its starters combined to go 0 for 8 from three point range after halftime and were outscored 20-6 to open the second half. Head coach Dan Hurley went to his bench, with Joey Calcaterra and Hassan Diarra needed to help steer the Huskies clear of a national upset alert. The two reserves had combined to go 0 for 4 in the first half, but soon provided the spark that sent the Huskies skyward.

Calcaterra opened the run with a missed three, but on the ensuing Georgetown possession Spears was picked off by Diarra, who fed Calcaterra for a three point play, 60-56. A Spears jumper returned the margin to six, but Calcaterra was just getting started. A spinning Calcaterra layup closed to four, then Calcaterra picked up a steal on Brandon Murray and fed freshman Donovan Clingan for a dunk, 62-60. A Georgetown time out was of little help, as Diarra then scored five straight to retake the lead at 65-62--nine points in just under two minutes of play.

Georgetown returned to the inside to Wahab, but he was stuffed on two consecutive inside drives and on the second rebound, Diarra fed an open Calcaterra for a three, 68-62.



The Hoyas weren't quite done, but neither was Calcaterra. When Wahab split two free throws and missed the front end of a one and one with 7:19 to play, the Hoyas lost a key opportunity to tighten the game, one amplified when Spears then hit a jumper to close to three, but the Hoyas would not get any closer. Calcaterra scored six straight in an 8-0 run that stretched the Connecticut lead to 11 with 4:37 to play, 76-65.



"We had to reach down deep and deal with a second-half deficit," Hurley said in post-game remarks. "But those guys really stepped up. Tonight, we don't win without those guys."

The Hoyas were now shooting 1 for 10, then missed a second front end of a one and one with 4:58 remaining, seemingly unable to adjust late.

The tired legs of the Georgetown starters were in evidence down the stretch, where Georgetown ended the game shooting 2 for 16; despite some poor shooting of its own for UConn down the stretch (2 for 8), the victory was not in doubt.

"They have two very good bigs who can score, then they have guys who can knock down perimeter shots", said head coach Patrick Ewing following the game. "I thought we were doing a good job of not giving them those threes, but we kind of exhaled and started giving them the three and thin it was like a dam just burst."

Tristen Newton led all UConn scorers with 17, though with only one shot after halftime. The Huskies put four in double figures, including 15 from Jordan Hawkins and 14 each from Sanogo and Calcaterra. Of UConn's 30 field goals, 24 were by assist.

Georgetown's starting lineup, which often resembles pick-up basketball, continues to be dominated by individuals, not teammates. The Hoyas got 19 points from Primo Spears and 16 from Qudus Wahab, but Brandon Murray had a season high eight turnovers and GU was held to just 10 points in the paint after halftime. The Hoyas shot 37 percent in the second half and finished 3 for 11 from three point range for the game. Of Georgetown's 27 total field goals, just six were by assist, and only two assists were recorded on 11 second half baskets.

And in case you're following the numbers, Georgetown missed seven free throws in the second half, and lost by 11.

"I haven't been home since June," Spears, a Connecticut native, told the Hartford Courant after the game. "Just the atmosphere and UConn performing the way they are, I knew it would be a dogfight. I thought we were ready."

In the end, Connecticut was ready: it extended its 13 game win streak, all by double figures, and tied a Big East record of same. More importantly, it was a good test for a nationally prominent team who will need to be tested, and learn from it. Georgetown's problems are more elementary: they continue to stagger to the finish of games and seem incapable of having enough left in games to close it out.

The Hoyas return from Christmas break on Dec. 29 to meet DePaul, hoping to end the worst calendar year in Georgetown basketball history with something that has eluded this team for far too long: a Big East regular season win.

The Georgetown half of the box score:


            MIN   2FG   3FG   FT  REB  A  PF  PTS
Starters:    
Spears       38   8-15  0-2   3-4   5  3   2   19
Heath        39   2-5   2-4   0-0   6  0   1   10
Murray       32   5-10  0-2   0-1   4  3   4   10
Akok         35   3-4   1-3   1-2   5  0   3   10
Wahab        30   4-10  0-0  8-11   9  0   2   16
Reserves:  
Riley         2   0-0   0-0   0-0   0  0   1    0  
Mozone       11   1-2   0-0   2-3   3  0   1    4
Ezewiro       8   1-2   0-0   2-2   2  0   1    4  
Bristol       4   0-0   0-0   0-0   1  0   0    0      
Wilson        1   0-0   0-0   0-0   0  0   1    0
Team Rebounds                       5
DNP: Anglin, Mutombo, Bass, Muresan
TOTALS      200  24-48 3-11  16-23 40  6   16  73



 

With the open scholarship following the transfer of Dante Harris, the basketball office has, without comment, returned senior center Malcolm Wilson to the roster.

Wilson averaged 2.5 points and 2.8 rebounds in 25 games last year, but saw his scholarship reassigned when Georgetown overrecruited for the fall 2022 semester. Wilson served as a manager for the fall semester as a result.

 

Comments from Washington Post free lance reporter Patrick Stevens at the 25:11 mark of this podcast:





 

Former Georgetown guard Dante Harris will transfer to Virginia, according to a report at ON3.com.

"I mean, who wouldn't want to play for Virginia? It's one of the best programs in the country," Harris said. "They have guys get drafted almost every year, a place I eventually want to get to. Coach Bennett is a great coach and one of the best in the business. He says he runs his program through God's word, which is very big for me. I'm huge on the scripture and to have a coach that runs his program through the Lord. What else can you ask for?"

Harris played in 55 games over two seasons for Georgetown, averaging 10 points per game, before becoming the 19th transfer of the Patrick Ewing era this fall. He will have three years eligibility with the Cavaliers beginning in the 2023-24 season.

 

Head coach Patrick Ewing was not interested in talking about the elephant in the virtual press room Friday; namely, the continuance of Georgetown's losing streak in Big East conference play.

When asked by Bobby Bancroft about the 21st consecutive loss in Big East play, Ewing replied, "What's our losing streak right now? Two games?"

"I can't worry about outside noise," he continued. "That has served me my whole career. I don't listen to the outside noise. I just worry about what we can do as a group to get better."

Including its loss to Connecticut in the 2020-21 regular season finale, Georgetown's 21 consecutive losses in Big East play across multiple seasons is the third longest overall in conference history:

  1. DePaul (24) lost the last game of the 2007-08 regular season, was 0-18 in 2008-09, and lost the first five games of the 2009-10 Big East season before a 51-50 win over Marquette on Jan. 20, 2010, its only conference win that season en route to a 1-17 finish and 8-23 overall. Coach Jerry Wainwright was fired in mid-season and replaced by interim coach Tracy Webster, who finished 1-15.
  2. Miami (22) was 0-18 in 1993-94 and lost the first four games of the 1994-95 Big East season before a 82-79 win over St. John's on Jan. 11, 1995. The Hurricanes (15-13 in 1994-95) finished 9-9 in Big East play that season.
  3. Georgetown (21) lost the last game of the 2020-21 regular season, was 0-19 in 2021-22, and lost the first game of the 2022-23 season.


 

Defense took a Christmas holiday in Xavier's 102-89 win over Georgetown Friday evening before 5,785 at Capital One Arena.

Rare is the game where Georgetown can score 89 points and never seriously challenge its opponent. The 102 points were the most for Xavier in five seasons, while it was only the fifth time in school history that Georgetown gave up 100 or more points in a regulation game at home:
Georgetown Home Games Giving Up 100 Or More Points:
2/11/1959 LaSalle 102, GU 72, McDonough Gymnasium
2/24/1967 Boston College 103, GU 91, McDonough Gymnasium
12/7/1971 St. John's 107, GU 67, McDonough Gymnasium
2/9/2002 Notre Dame 116, GU 111 (4 OT), MCI Center
12/16/2022 Xavier 102, GU 89, Capital One Arena
 
The Musketeers (9-3) entered the game shooting 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from there point range, and both numbers were in evidence to open the game. Following an opening miss from three, Xavier his their next four shots to open an early 10-2 lead. Georgetown climbed back into the game with six early points from Primo Spears to close to 15-13. A 6-0 run punctuated by consecutive Brad Ezewiro dunks gave Georgetown its only lead of the game at 19-17, but it was short lived. Twenty two seconds later, Xavier tied the score and scored six straight, and really never looked back.

The Hoyas stayed close in the first half, limiting turnovers to just two at the break and shooting 45 percent from the field, but old habits die hard. Georgetown was jut 1 for 7 from there point range and missed seven of 12 from the line, while the Musketeers were largely unchallenged from outside, with five threes in a first half and a significant advantage on the boards. Georgetown closed to 32-31 on a Bryson Mozone three with 3:16 to halftime before Xavier answered with three layups down the stretch en route to a 43-38 led that seemed larger than the score itself.

The second half was a story of ebb and flow, but every time the Hoyas would make a run, Xavier seemed to push it back with ease. Three pointers by Jay Heath and Akok Akok closed the deficit to 47-46, but Xavier answered with an 13-3 run. Shooting 68 percent from the field, Xavier was unchallenged inside and out, pushing the lead to 13 with 12:06 to play before a 6-0 run brought GU to 72-65 midway through the second half. A three pointer from Xavier's Adam Kunkel, who had five on the night, brought the Musketeers back up ten and Georgetown never closed within nine thereafter.

Xavier got an astounding 90 points from its starting five, chief among them UTEP transfer Souley Boum, who opened his scoring with a three pointer two minutes into the game and ended it with a three entering the final minutes of the game en route to a 28 point effort on 11 for 18 shooting and six threes, many from an visibly open corner in the Hoyas' defense. He scored 10 straight during a second half run that put the game out of reach. Boum was ably supported by the inside combo of Jack Nunge and Zach Freemantle, who shredded the defensive efforts of Qudus Wahab by combining for 35 points and 18 rebounds, contributing to a 41-27 Xavier advantage on the boards. It's telling how poor the GU defense was by noting that Xavier scored 50 points in the paint but only had five points from second chance opportunities.

Primo Spears led all Georgetown scorers with 22 points, yet a mere one assist from its nominative point guard was a discouraging sign of a player who is not a distributor and often takes shots for himself and not for the team. Wahab finished with 16 points and seven rebounds as the Hoyas shot a season's best 59 percent in the second half and were still outmatched up and down the court. The Hoyas were a +16 in free throw attempts after halftime but its poor defense gave it no means to make up ground; the margin of the game matched the 13 missed free throws on the evening.



"We let them get hot and when you give up 50 points in the paint, when you let 11 second chance points and 17 fast break points you know all of those things hurt," said head coach Patrick Ewing in post-game remarks.

Xavier's defense allowed Georgetown 51 points after halftime, a number not lost on head coach Sean Miller. "When you watch us play, it's no secret," he said. "I think we have a lot of good things going for us on offense. Certainly we're far from perfect, but from a defensive perspective, we're kind of like a train wreck."

That said, this game was all about the Georgetown defense, which allowed Xavier 59 points after halftime, 60 percent shooting for the game overall and 14 threes, a season high for the Musketeers. Xavier's 1.37 points per possession is a season high as well.

As openers go, it was a sober reminder of what awaits Georgetown in Big East play. Xavier, as some may remember, was only picked fourth in the conference in its pre-season poll.

The Georgetown half of the box score:


            MIN   2FG   3FG   FT  REB  A  PF  PTS
Starters:    
Spears       35   6-13  2-3   4-6   1  1   1   22
Heath        31   3-8   1-3   4-6   4  3   2   13
Murray       36   5-9   0-3   5-9   3  6   0   15
Akok         32   1-1   1-3   1-2   4  1   2    6
Wahab        27   7-10  0-0   2-5   7  0   3   16
Reserves:  
Anglin        3   0-0   0-0   2-2   0  0   0    2
Mozone       17   1-1   1-3   0-1   6  1   1    5
Ezewiro      12   2-2   0-0   0-0   2  0   0    4
Bristol       7   1-1   1-2   1-1   0  1   1    6
DNP: Riley, Mutombo, Bass, Muresan
TOTALS      200  26-45  6-17 19-32 27 13  10   89

 

Former assistant coach Louis Orr died Thursday at the age of 64.

Orr's basketball career closely parallels that of the Big East Conference. As a 6-8, 170 lb. forward from Withrow HS in Cincinnati, OH, Orr was one of the first recruits for Syracuse rookie head coach Jim Boeheim, and at his graduation in 1980 was an first team All-Big East selection, averaging 12.8 points and 7.5 rebounds over a 116 game career. Teamed with center Roosevelt Bouie, the "Louie and Bouie Show" led Syracuse to a 52-8 record over two seasons from 1978 through 1980.

An eight year veteran of the NBA, Orr played six seasons with the New York Knickerbockers form 1980 through 1988, where he gained a lifelong friendship with Georgetown's Patrick Ewing. Following his pro career, Orr went into coaching, serving at five different past and present Big East schools: including three years as an assistant coach at Xavier (1991-94), two years at Providence (1994-96), four years at Syracuse (1996-2000), and five years as head coach at Seton Hall (2001-06). A former head coach at Siena and Bowling Green, Orr joined Ewing's staff at Georgetown in 2017, serving as an assistant for five seasons through 2022. He was reassigned as a special assistant to the head coach six months ago.

A moment of silence was observed before Friday's game with Xavier in his memory.

In a statement to the Washington Post, Ewing noted that "I've known him since my first year with the Knicks. We've developed a great friendship and a great bond. And when his wife called me last night and told me that he had passed...when I got the news, brought me to tears. Because even though we are not blood brothers, we are like brothers."

"Coach Ewing and I were talking pregame [on Dec. 7] when we shook hands and he had told me it was not a good situation," Siena coach Carmen Maciariello said to the Albany Times Union. "He was already in hospice and didn't have long to live, so I was expecting the worst. Obviously, really sad."

"Louis Orr was the greatest man I've had the pleasure to know," said Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim. "He came into my life as my first recruit, became a fantastic coach and colleague, but most importantly, he became a dear friend."

Services are pending.

 

Over the summer, head coach Patrick Ewing recalled last season and offered this promise: "With the way that things happened last year, it can never happen again on my watch." But as Georgetown enters the Big East portion of its schedule, the 2022-23 schedule is closely tracking where it was this time last year.

No, the Hoyas aren't going 0-19. But entering Big East play in 2021-22, Georgetown was just 6-5, with no signature win other than a 5-4 Syracuse team (who finished 15-16) and double digit losses to South Carolina and San Diego State. A season opening loss to Dartmouth set in motion the dark cloud that followed the Hoyas all season.

A year later, and the cloud seems even darker. Georgetown won its opener, but needed overtime against a Coppin State team that was 9-23 the year before. Since its second game versus Green bay, Georgetown has not won a single game by double figures against lesser opponents such as LaSalle, UMBC, or Siena. Losses to Northwestern and Loyola Marymount were a struggle, but a loss to American was the low point to date. Subsequent losses to Texas Tech, South Carolina, an Syracuse have further raised concerns that another poor finish is in store.

Entering Big East play, how does 11 games in 2022-23 compare against this same point in 2021-22?

Statistic 2021-22 2022-23 Pct. Margin
Points Scored 77.0 73.9 Down 3.1 pts
Points Allowed 73.0 74.2 Up 1.2 pts
Avg. Margin of Victory +4.0 -0.3 Down 4.3 pts
Field Goal Percentage 0.443 0.442 Largely even
Field Goal Percentage Defense 0.424 0.425 Largely even
3-FG Percentage 0.392 0.327 Down 16.6%
3-FG Percentage Defense 0.354 0.333 Down 6%
Free Throw Percentage 0.706 0.740 Up 4.8%
Free Throw Pct. Allowed 0.659 0.757 Up 14.8%
Rebound Average 41.4 37.3 Down 4.1 reb.
Rebounds Allowed 35.9 38.1 Up 2.2 reb.
Rebound Margin +5.3 -0.8 Down 6.1 reb.
Assists Per Game 16.4 12.1 Down 4.3 ast.
Turnovers Per Game 14.3 12.8 Down 1.5 TO
Assist/Turnover Ratio 1.24 0.89 Down 28.3%
Avg. Home Attendance 5,748 4,792 Down 16.6%


Three statistics are telling:

  1. Shooting: Team shooting is virtually identical to 2021-22 but its three point shooting is significantly less, and its three point defense is allowing opponents, on average, an extra nine points a game outside the arc.
  2. Rebounding: Georgetown is getting hammered on the boards, down over six rebounds from last season despite the advertised upgrade with Qudus Wahab and Akok Akok over Malcolm Wilson and Timothy Ighoefe. In the last five games, GU has been outrebounded in four of them.
  3. Assist/Turnover Ratio: The ratio is down nearly 24 percent as Brandon Murray and Jay Health combine for less than four assists a game. Opponents average three more assists per game.
How have the starting lineups fared? Ewing promised a significant talent upgrade but the starting guards (Spears, Heath, and Murray) are largely tracking with their predecessors (Harris, Carey and Mohammed). Qudus Wahab is tracking ahead of the combination of Malcolm Wilson and Timothy Ighoefe, but Bryson Mozone significantly trails Kaiden Rice in outside scoring. Through 11 games last season Rice had 43 three pointers compared to just nine for Mozone.

Position 2021-22 2022-23
Point Guard Dante Harris (13.6) Primo Spears (17.2)
Shooting Guard Donald Carey (12.8) Jay Heath (14.4)
Three Guard Aminu Mohammed (14.6) Brandon Murray (15.1)
Power Forward Collin Holloway (8.5) Akok Akok (6.8)
Center Malcolm Wilson (3.8) Qudus Wahab (10.3)
Sixth Man Kaiden Rice (14.5) Bryson Mozone (6.2)
Backup Guard Tyler Beard (3.6) Jordan Riley (3.7)
Backup Guard   Denver Anglin (1.2)
Backup Forward   Wayne Bristol (2.6)
Backup Center Timothy Ighoefe (2.6) Bradley Ezewiro (3.2)
Backup Center Ryan Mutombo (5.2)  
Deep On The Bench Jalin Billingsley (1.9) Ryan Mutombo (3.0)
Deep On The Bench Kobe Clark (0.0) Dante Bass (0.7)
Deep On The Bench Victor Muresan (0.0) Victor Muresan (0.0)
Deep On The Bench Chuma Azinge (1.0)  
Injured Jordan Riley (3.2) None
Already Transferred Tre King Dante Harris
 
 

In many ways, Georgetown enters the 2022-23 Big East schedule weaker, not stronger, than it was a year ago. That's a dangerous place to be.

 

With Saturday's game being the last scheduled game between the schools in a four game extension signed in 2019, it appears the Hoyas will return at least once more to the Onondaga Valley.

The Syracuse Post-Standard reports that a two year extension will be completed by the schools, which would extend the series to a 100th game in 2024-25.

 

Jesse Edwards led the Syracuse Orangemen to an 83-64 win over Georgetown at the Carrier Dome (aka JMA Wireless Dome) Saturday, its largest margin in the series in 26 years.

In the 97 prior iterations of this series, there were remarkable moments and great finishes that stand the test of time. This game had neither. True to the fact that the teams entered a combined 10-9 record into the Carrier Dome before 20,357 (the smallest crowd in Syracuse to see the Hoyas since 1981), expectations were tempered, and fans saw battles of attrition in lieu of the stuff of highlights.

The Carrier Dome audience prefers to stand until the Orangemen make its first basket, but few would have considered the prospect that they would wait almost three minutes after the tip-off to do so. A three pointer by Primo Spears opened the game, followed by back to back baskets by Akok which caused Jim Boeheim to call a unusually quick time out 99 seconds into the game. Syracuse did not see the bottom of the nets until the 17:15 mark, quickly answered by a Brandon Murray three, 12-2.

Seven minutes in, the score was wholly unpredicted: Georgetown had shot 70 percent from the floor and led 17-6, with Syracuse shooting 3 for 10 and 0 for 5 from three point range. The Orangemen tightened its defense and began to play to its strengths inside, feeding center Jesse Edwards as part of a 10-0 run that closed to 18-17 with ten minutes until halftime.

Early foul trouble limited play for both Brandon Murray for Georgetown and Jesse Edwards for Syracuse, but while the Hoyas found no good alternative for Murray, Syracuse got some big efforts in the first half from little used centers John Bol Ajok and Mounir Hima.

In 27 games over three seasons, the 6-10 Ajok had not scored more than three points in a game, but matched it with a drive and foul shot that put Syracuse up 21-20 and stabilized what was a shaky defensive effort in Edwards' absence. Hima, a sophomore from South Sudan, had four points and three blocks in limited first half action, but he provided a layup, block, and dunk in a key sequence with 4:06 to halftime that sparked a 16-4 Syracuse run to end the first half, with the Orangemen turning the early 11 point deficit into an 11 point lead at the break, 45-34.

A key to the comeback was Syracuse's zone defense. Of Georgetown's nine first half turnovers, seven came from steals. The Orangemen picked up 15 points off second chance opportunities and 22 points overall came in the paint, led by 12 from senior Joe Girard. Excepting its poor three point shooting, Syracuse was shooting at will from two, making 75 percent of its shots inside the arc.

The home crowd didn't have to wait long to sit down to open the second half, as the Orangemen scored 11 seconds into the second half and quickly extended the lead to 50-34 with 19:21 remaining. Six points between Primo Spears and Brandon Murray brought the deficit back to 10, 50-40, where it began a war of attrition for the next 15 minutes of play. The Orangemen never led by more than 14 nor less than eight during a stretch which saw Syracuse shoot just 33 percent from the field, but which also saw the Hoyas miss nine consecutive attempts from three point range.

The play of Edwards was vital in this half for the Orangemen. He had 12 points, nine rebounds, and three blocks in a second half when the Hoyas seemed ready on multiple occasions to bring the margin to single digits, but Edwards answered with dunks on three possessions over a five minute run midway in the half to keep the Orangemen comfortably in the lead.

Memorable, it was not. The teams traded defensive stops over a five minute stretch in which they combined for all of five points. It was not until the 6:09 mark where Georgetown's Jay Heath hit a three pointer to close to seven, 62-55. Sophomore Judah Mintz answered with a layup, and the teams traded more free throws into the final five minutes, each hoping for a turning point.

That point may have been reached at the 4:38 mark, where a second Heath three was blocked by Edwards, Spears missed a short jumper, and Qudus Wahab fouled out. A pair of free throws took the lead to 67-57, whereupon Georgetown failed to score on its next three possessions. A dunk by Akok closed the gap back to 10 with 2:44 remaining but the Hoyas were now out of gas, as Syracuse outscored the Hoyas 12-3 down the stretch.

Twenty points, 11 rebounds, and five blocks from Edwards led the Orangemen, with a season's best 16 points and 10 assists from Gonzaga grad and SU freshman Judah Mintz. Georgetown, shooting 29 percent in the second half and 37 percent overall, was led by 22 points from Primo Spears.

Second half adjustments were understated but allowed Syracuse to control Georgetown's offensive sets. Jay Heath, who was 4 for 8 in the first half with a pair of threes, was locked down after halftime and shot just 1 for 7 thereafter. Akok Akok, with six points early in the game, had just one shot in the second half. Head coach Patrick Ewing played three of his starters the full 20 minutes after halftime, and each were the worse for wear at the end.

Despite the presence of Wahab and Akok, Georgetown continues to get pummeled inside. The Orangemen got 46 points in the paint, including six dunks and 13 layups. Syracuse collected 11 offensive rebounds en route to 20 second chance points.

Equally disappointing, but perhaps expected by Ewing's reliance on his starters: just two points were contributed from the Georgetown bench, as four reserves combined to shoot 1 for 8.

"They play zone. We don't face zone very much, especially not the entire game," said head coach Patrick Ewing in post-game remarks. "I just thought we got impatient at times."

The Hoyas enter Big East play with its first sub-.500 record in the non-conference in the Big East era (1979-present) and have now lost 25 consecutive games against major conference opponents dating back to its win against Syracuse on December 11, 2021.

The Georgetown half of the box score:


            MIN   2FG   3FG   FT  REB  A  PF  PTS
Starters:    
Spears       39   5-8   1-6   9-9   3  5   3   22
Heath        39   2-5   3-10  1-2   1  0   2   14
Murray       23   1-3   2-3   0-0   2  3   5    8
Akok         37   4-7   0-1   0-0   8  2   2    8
Wahab        31   3-8   0-0   4-5  11  0   5   10
Reserves:  
Anglin        5   0-1   0-1   0-0   1  1   0    0
Mozone       11   0-0   0-3   0-0   0  1   0    0
Ezewiro       6   1-2   0-0   0-0   0  0   2    2
Bristol      10   0-0   0-1   0-0   2  0   0    0
DNP: Riley, Mutombo, Bass, Muresan
Team Rebounds                       6 
TOTALS      200  16-34  6-25 14-16 34 12  19   64



 

For years, Georgetown has said "we can't". Another school said "we can."

On the 71st anniversary of the opening of McDonough Gymnasium,this story from Matt Brown's Extra Points web site discusses the basketball program at Fairfield University, which moved to a new on-campus arena this fall.

Twenty years ago, the Stags moved home games from its 2,500 seat Alumni Hall to the 10,000 seat Total Mortgage Arena in nearby Bridgeport. "The arena was too big for the fanbase, so the atmosphere faltered," he wrote. "The school ran marketing campaigns and offered shuttle service, but trying to convince fans to hop on a bus to go to downtown Bridgeport to watch a (mostly) meh basketball team was a tough sell...School officials told me they'd average around 200 students a game, even when the team was good or hosting a quality opponent. If Fairfield wanted to rebuild that atmosphere, they'd need to find a way to come back home."

"Paul Schlickmann, the school's AD, stressed to me the true importance of both the student experience in what the department is trying to build...both for the athletes, and non-athlete students," said Brown. "Building a modern, and local arena, to hear them explain it, is less about trying to optimize financial returns, and more about providing a pathway for athletes to play in front of their friends, for generations of Stags to come back and reconnect, and to foster that true community."

Brown writes that "it won't generate $50 million in new revenues or guarantee a Big East invite, or lock down future NBA starters. But it will give you a place that students can walk to, so they can wear sunglasses indoors, chant with their friends, make silly signs, and yell at officials. Enough people felt so strongly about their experience doing that at Fairfield that they donated all [$51 million] needed to build this new arena.

"So those experiences matter. On some level, they're really the only thing that matters."

Meanwhile, there are no confirmed plans to address any future for McDonough Gymnasium, one of the 15 oldest facilities in Division I.

 

Three Georgetown guards combined for 54 points as the Hoyas ended a two game losing streak in a 75-68 win over Siena before 3,526 at Capital One Arena today.

Despite four threes to open the game, Siena shot poorly all evening and never established a rhythm on offense. Leading 12=8 four minutes in, the Saints missed its next six shots as the Hoyas, staying close to the basket, shot 7 for 11 and tied the score midway in the first half.

Despite its clear advantage inside, led by eight first half points by Qudus Wahab, Georgetown had no outside shot, shooting 1 for 8 by halftime. Wahab and Jay Heath combined to score 12 of the Hoyas' final 14 points of the first half, taking a one point lead into the break, 37-36.

Neither team led by more than five points for the first nine minutes of the second half, which saw the Hoyas lead 50-48 before the Saints converted on back to back three point plays to lead 56-50 at the 10:45 mark. Led by back to back three pointers from Brandon Murray, a 12-0 run pushed the Hoyas up six, 62-56.

The Hoyas never trailed thereafter, although both teams shot poorly down the stretch and Georgetown's lead was only three at the 3:05 mark before a Jay Heath three extended the lead to six and the Saints never threatened.

The game bore a passing resemblance to Georgetown's 79-70 win over UMBC on November 26. Georgetown shot 49 percent from the field but just 29 percent from three. GU feasted in the paint against a smaller and less physical Siena team, but could not extend a lead. The Saints had opportunities but simply could not capitalize. Outside of center Jackson Stormo's 15 second half points and 21 overall, the Siena starting lineup proceeded to shoot 3 for 14 after halftime, denying them the opportunity for a late run with which UMBC had executed late in that game. Andre Platek, the Siena guard with four early threes in the game, took just one shot after halftime and was not a factor for a Siena team with one three pointer in the final 13 minutes of the game.

Brandon Murray led all Georgetown scorers with 20, followed by 18 from Primo Spears and 16 from Jay Heath, all of whom head coach Ewing continues to run the entire game, combining to average 37.3 minutes between them. Qudus Wahab was held to just two points after halftime and Akok Akok finished with only two points, though Georgetown saw a spirited effort from Bradley Ezewiro off the bench, with four points and four rebounds in ten minutes of action.

The Georgetown half of the box score:


            MIN   2FG   3FG   FT  REB  A  PF  PTS
Starters:    
Spears       38   6-10  1-1   3-5   4  8   2   18
Heath        36   5-10  1-6   1-2   5  2   0   16  
Murray       38   5-10  2-4   4-6   6  4   1   20
Akok         30   1-1   0-3   0-0   7  0   1    2
Wahab        29   5-11  0-0   0-1  12  0   3   10
Reserves:  
Anglin        2   0-0   0-0   0-0   0  0   1    0  
Mozone       11   1-2   1-1   0-0   0  0   0    5
Ezewiro      10   1-1   0-0   2-2   4  0   5    4
Bristol       3   0-0   0-1   0-0   1  0   1    0
DNP: Riley, Mutombo, Bass, Muresan
Team Rebounds                       2                     
TOTALS      200  24-45 5-16  10-16 41  14 14   75

 

Dante Harris is no longer on the men's basketball roster.

There had been no confirmation from the basketball office following reports from On3.com and VerbalCommits.com; however, as of Tuesday afternoon his player information no longer appears on its web site or in the media notes in advance of the Siena game.

The junior guard has not been with the team this season for what the basketball office referred to as "personal issues." As noted here in October, Harris had started 50 games from 2020 through 2022 after graduate transfer Jalen Harris (no relation) left the team in December 2020 for what Ewing called at the time a "family issue". He never returned to Georgetown and did not exercise his final year of eligibility elsewhere.

Harris joined the Hoyas in 2019, starting 21 of 26 games with an 8.0 points per game average and received the Dave Gavitt Trophy as the most valuable players of the 2021 Big East Tournament. As a sophomore, he started all 29 games with an 11.9 points average, and was the only starter that did not transfer or leave school early. His career high was 23 points in two games this past season. His place in the Georgetown backcourt was in question following a quote from sophomore transfer Amir (Primo) Spears which said "Coach has expressed that I need to be a leader for this team...playing the one."

 

Dante Harris was the last man remaining from an eight man recruiting class in 2020. Two years later, none remain, and none graduated.

Name Seasons Hometown Degree
T.J. Berger 2021 West Chester, PA Transfer
Chudier Bile 2021 Denver, CO No degree
Donald Carey 2021,22 Upper Marlboro, MD Transfer
Kobe Clark 2021,22 St. Louis, MO Transfer
Dante Harris 2021,22 Alcoa, TN Transfer
Jalen Harris 2021 Wilson, NC Left school
Collin Holloway 2021,22 Baton Rouge, LA Transfer
Jamari Sibley 2021 Milwaukee, WI Transfer
 
 

Down 11 at the half, South Carolina upset Georgetown 74-71 at Capital One Arena today.

The Gamecocks arrived at Capital One Arena having lost four of five to the likes of Colorado State, Davidson, Furman, and George Washington, the latter in a 79-55 blowout Tuesday at the Smith Center. Poor shooting was a common refrain in the box scores, and it followed the Gamecocks into this game. The two teams combined to shoot 1 for 7 to open the game, leading Fox Sports 1 announcer Scott Graham to observe that "points are scarce" amidst the 5,391 in attendance. Back to back threes put USC up briefly in the first half, but the advantage was short lived.

As they have done in multiple games this year, Georgetown's early burst of energy paid dividends. The Hoyas went on an 11-1 run midway through the first half to take control, with back to back baskets from Bradley Ezewiro in place of an ineffective Qudus Wahab to lead 16-10. An Ezewiro basket at the 9:48 mark of the first half extended the Georgetown lead to 20-14, but marked the last points scored from the bench for the remainder of the game. Wahab was back in at the 8:13 mark and shot 1 for 3 down for the rest of the half as head coach Patrick Ewing doubled down on his starters to carry the game.

As was the case in many games this season, the strategy worked early. Six straight points from Primo Spears pushed the lead to 27-20, and an 8-2 run to end the half gave Georgetown an 11 point lead at the break, 37-26, shooting 45 percent from the field and limiting South Carolina to just 33 percent, most noticeably in holding leading scorer Gregory (GG) Jackson scoreless in five attempts.

Georgetown has led at the half in five of its seven prior games and lost the lead in four of them. Surely, this would be different, thought many fans, given how poor the Gamecocks responded in the first half.

As if by clockwork, the Gamecocks turned the tables on the Hoyas once again.

South Carolina opened with six straight points to cut the deficit to five before Jay Heath and Akok Akok responded to lead GU on an 8-2 run and restore an 11 point lead, 47-36. The missing variable of the first half was GG Jackson, and he soon went to work for the Gamecocks.

Down nine at the 13:23 mark, Jackson scored 11 straight points to cut the deficit to 54-52 midway through the second half, part of a a second half where he shredded the Hoya defense with a 9 for 11 mark. The Hoyas managed just three field goals in the ensuing five minutes, and entered the final four minutes with a narrow 61-60 lead. A Jackson steal fed center Hayden Brown to the basket too give USC its first lead of the second half, 62-61, and USC extended the lead to 64-61 with 2:26 remaining.

Brandon Murray missed a crucial front end of a one and one with 1:46 to play, but drove for a layup on the next series to close to 64-63. After USC guard Meechie Johnson returned the favor with a missed front end with 24 seconds remaining, Primo Spears answered with a step back jumper with five seconds left, 65-64.

South Carolina's last gasp was a court long pass to Brown which sailed out of bounds. While reviewing the time remaining, officials discovered that Jay Heath was holding the back of Brown's jersey as he was trying to reach the ball, which was judged a flagrant foul. Brown split the free throws and Jackson missed a short jumper, but the Gamecocks forced overtime in a game that was sealed and delivered just moments before.

The Hoyas forced three ties in the overtime but never led. Free throws from Jay Heath tied the score at 71-71, and after Chico Carter missed a three point attempt, center Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk collected the only offensive rebound of the period, feeding an open Meechie Johnson for a three at the 25 second mark, 74-71.



"It comes down to confidence," Johnson said in post game remarks. "I love moments like that."

Following a timeout, Ewing opted for going for three three in lieu of a quick layup and foul, a reasonable option given the Gamecocks' 42 percent foul shooting after halftime. Instead, it was all or nothing, and after two failed attempts by Brandon Murray and Primo Spears, the Hoyas were humbled with yet another late game collapse, its third such loss in the last four home games.

The story of the game was GG Jackson, the 17 year old prodigy who decommitted from North Carolina to stay closer to home. After a poor performance before NBA scouts at the GW game, he came to play after halftime.

"I feel like a lot of times in the first half I settled for jump shots with a defender in my face," Jackson said. "In the second half, we drew up a lot of great sets by our coaching staff."



Head coach Lamont Paris credited the comeback to a smaller lineup that seemed to confuse the Hoyas. "Defending and rebounding is really the trigger that lets me decide if I'm to go to it or not," Paris told The State (SC) newspaper. "So we went to it, and then we played well on both sides of the ball. We fought for rebounds better with that lineup, amazingly." The smaller lineup led by 6-7 Hayden Brown outrebounded Wahab and Akok 20-13 in the second half.

Ewing played four of his starters for over 40 minutes each in this game, and they showed it. Georgetown was slow on reactions in overtime and never caught a second wind, shooting 2 for 8 in the extra period.

"We didn't execute well enough offensively," Ewing said. "At the end of overtime when they got that three we couldn't come up with a rebound. In those times of the game that's when we've got to be able to buckle down and get a stop. We got the stop but we couldn't come up with the rebound."

Ewing's reliance on the three proved disastrous. Georgetown shot 3 for 18 from long range, following a 9 for 26 mark at Texas Tech. The taller Hoyas were outrebounded 39-36 and gave up 21 second chance points.

Excepting the COVID-19 schedule of 2020-21, Georgetown's 4-5 start is its worst since the 1973-74 season.

The Georgetown half of the box score:


            MIN   2FG   3FG   FT  REB  A  PF  PTS
Starters:    
Spears       41   8-16  0-2   2-2   4   3  3   18
Heath        43   4-5   3-9   6-6   6   0  4   23
Murray       42   5-9   0-5   3-5   1   5  1   13
Akok         41   3-4   0-1   0-1   7   2  2    6 
Wahab        25   2-6   0-0   1-3   9   0  2    5
Reserves:  
Anglin        1   0-0   0-0   0-0   0   0  0    0
Mozone        8   0-0   0-1   0-0   1   0  0    0
Ezewiro      10   3-5   0-0   0-2   3   0  0    6
Bristol      16   0-2   0-0   0-0   4   0  2    0
DNP: Harris, Riley, Mutombo, Bass, Muresan
Team Rebounds                       1                     
TOTALS      200  25-47 3-18  12-19 36  20  14  71

 

A spirited Georgetown comeback fell short in the final minutes as Texas Tech took a 79-65 win in the Big East-Big 12 series game.

Despite Georgetown's recent struggles, the arrival of the Hoyas was no small news in Lubbock. "The Texas Tech Red Raiders host the Georgetown Hoyas. I never thought I'd ever say that," remarked the Texas Tech radio analyst. The presence of Georgetown, head coach Patrick Ewing, and two former NBA coaches in attendance brought a big-game feel to the announced crowd of 14,649 at United Supermarkets Arena, wher thd Red Raiders were 61-1 versus non-conference opponents since the 2014-15 season.

The Red Raiders soon established its inside dominance in the game, scoring its first there baskets from inside before a Jayon Tyson opened the score to 9-3 four minutes into the game. Yet this was a game where Georgetown never went away. A 10-2 run put the Hoyas up 13-11, and bask to back baskets from Brandon Murray tied the score at the 8:42 mark before the Red Raiders went to work inside.

Owning a 20-10 team lead on rebounds in the first half, eight of which came from senior Daniel Batcho, the Red Raiders exploited its play inside, often at the expense of Georgetown's Qudus Wahab. Texas Tech owned the inside game while peppering the Hoyas for threes over a 21-6 run late in the first half. For its part, Georgetown was 0 for 5 from the field down the stretch of the run, including four missed threes, and coughed up three turnovers in the run which saw Tech carry a 41-26 lead into halftime, shooting 58 percent from the field while holding Georgetown to just 35 percent.

Patrick Ewing had called two timeouts in the first half in an attempt to half the Red raider run, but it continued on in the second half. The Red Raiders opened with back to back three pointers while Qudus Wahab missed a dunk at the 18:56 mark; Ewing called his third timeout and sat Wahab for the remainder of the game.

With the Hoyas getting good shooting from Bryson Mozone, the Hoyas defensively were no match for the Red Raiders inside. Tech shot 62 percent to open the half and moved the lead to 23 with 13:43 to play, with one statistic placing the Red Raiders as scoring on 1.66 points per possession, an astonishingly high efficiency rate and one roundly supported by the majority of fans in the audience.

With Wahab out of the game, Ewing began using various lineup combinations not often seen this season. Early foul trouble on Brandon Murray and a continued cold game from Akok Akok opened the door for sophomore Bradley Ezewiro to play much of the second half, and his defensive efforts inside sparked a comeback wholly unexpected in the game to date.

The Red Raiders led 62-43 at the 10:51 mark when Georgetown's defense ended the sieve inside and the Hoyas went to work themselves from inside. Primo Spears scored five straight to close to 62-48. Back to back turnovers were cashed in by Georgetown with Ezewiro free throws and a driving Jay Heath layup to narrow the margin to ten, 62-52. This time, it was Texas Tech that was missing its shots with no second chance opportunities, and a renewed Hoyas comeback continued. A missed three was connected by foul shots, 62-54, and a pair of inside Tech turnovers were met with mid-range jumpers by Spears and Murray, 62-58. Brandon Murray's layup at the 6:20 mark was Georgetown's 10th and 11th fast break points of the half, having none in the first, and closed the deficit to 62-60, an 17-0 run.

The turning point of the game followed in there key possessions. Fouled inside with 5:46 to play, Ezewiro made the first free throw to close to 62-61, but missed the second and Georgetown could not complete the tie. On its next series, Spears missed an open jumper that Tech point guard Pop Isaacs retuened with an inside drive, 64-61. A Spears miss from outside the three point line followed, where Isaacs found Batcho inside for the dunk, 66-61. The Red Raiders added two more at the line, 68-61, and Georgetown was never as close again.

"We got it to a one possession game but then we started trying to do it on our own," said head coach Patrick Ewing. "Everything we did that got us to [62-61], we stopped doing."

Returning to inside play, Texas Tech made four of its last five from the field and outscored the Hoyas 15-4 to close the game and send the fans home happy. Georgetown missed four its final five and went 0 for 5 from outside the arc in the final 4:18 of the game.

Brandon Murray led the Hoyas with 18 points but the story of the game was Texas Tech's interior play, outscoring Georgetown 38-16 inside the paint, outrebounding GU 41-23, and holding Akok Akok and Qudus Wahab to a combined 0 for 8 from the field. Texas Tech had all five of its starters in double figures, while as a team shooting 50 percent from the field, 42 percent from three, and 13 of 16 from the foul line.

Despite a season high 19 turnovers, the Red Raiders still outscored the Hoyas 26-16 on points off turnovers, a trend that was not lost on the Texas Tech coaching staff.

"We had to win the game twice," said Texas Tech coach Mark Adams in post-game remarks. "Give our fans a lot of credit. The game got really tight and they didn't give up on us and started cheering and I think it really lifted our guys' spirits and gave a little more confidence and push a little harder. I'm sure it's had an adverse effect on [Georgetown], so a lot of credit to our fans and playing at home certainly makes a big difference."

With Jordan Riley out of the game for an injury and the continued absence of Dante Harris, Ewing's lineup options remain limited, as he continued to rely on four starters for 34 of more minutes of play. Mozone, who played 21 minutes, was visibly tired exiting the game late and the comeback took as much out of the Hoyas as it did to the Red Raiders.

The win was only the third win in 19 games for Texas Tech against Big East opponents and its first win over a current Big East school since a 59-57 win over Creighton at the Lubbock Municipal Coliseum on January 4, 1973. The public address announcer invited the Tech students onto the court after the conclusion of this game, joining the team to sing its Matador Song at midcourt to conclude its 25th consecutive home win.

The Georgetown half of the box score:


            MIN   2FG   3FG   FT  REB  A  PF  PTS
Starters:    
Spears       38   5-9   0-3   3-4   3  7   5   13
Heath        34   1-4   1-4   0-0   4  2   3    5
Murray       36   6-7   2-6   0-0   3  2   5   18
Akok         34   0-1   0-3   0-0   6  0   2    0
Wahab        13   0-4   0-0   0-0   2  0   1    0
Reserves:  
Anglin        4   0-0   1-1   0-0   0  0   0    3
Bristol       7   0-0   1-2   0-0   1  0   0    3  
Mozone       21   3-3   4-7   0-0   2  0   0   18
Ezewiro      13   1-2   0-0   3-5   2  0   1    5
Bass          1   0-0   0-0   0-0   0  0   0    0    
DNP: Harris, Riley, Mutombo, Muresan
Team Rebounds                       1                     
TOTALS      200 16-30  9-26   6-9  23  11 17   65