In a game that Jay Wright and the Villanova Wildcats uglied up as much as possible - in order to get deep into the virtually non-existent Hoyas bench - the good guys prevailed in the end by making enough free throws.
While the story of the game for most fans will be the lights out shooting by Jason Clark and Austin Freeman in the Lift-Off half [a combined 6/7 3FG], in fact it was the defense forcing 14 turnovers in 38 possessions that was the real difference-maker. All those turnovers effectively shut down the Big East's best offense for 20 minutes, and allowed Georgetown to build a 19-point lead that they were able to ride to victory.
Let's run the numbers:
TEMPO-FREE BOX SCORE . Home Visitor . Georgetown Villanova . 1st Half 2nd Half Total 1st Half 2nd Half Total Pace 40 45 85 Effic. 123.6 117.7 120.6 76.7 131.0 105.3 eFG% 70.4 61.9 66.7 48.1 56.0 52.9 TO% 24.7 22.2 23.4 39.6 4.4 21.1 OR% 25.0 25.0 25.0 30.8 34.8 33.3 FTA/FGA 48.1 104.2 22.2 40.5 33.3 Assist Rate 86.7 66.7 77.8 33.3 35.0 34.4 Block Rate 10.5 22.7 17.1 21.4 20.0 20.7 Steal Rate 12.4 0.0 5.9 12.4 8.9 10.5 2FG% 50.0 66.7 58.6 52.6 59.1 56.1 3FG% 61.5 33.3 52.6 25.0 35.0 32.1 FT% 92.3 73.0 78.0 83.3 70.6 73.9
The tempo-free box shows 85 possessions in the game, but it was actually 83. The statistical trick used to estimate pace started to struggle due to the disproportionate number of loose-ball fouls in this game.
The Hoyas may have put up 103 points against Villanova, but two facts make this number less impressive than it appeared to the partisans at the Verizon Center cheering on those last 3 points.
- The Hoyas had ~84 possessions in which to score those 103 points, so that 123 Offensive Efficiency number, while nice, is nothing extraordinary (for example, Georgetown was a hair more efficient while scoring 89 points against Duke).
- Villanova has a truly great offense, but their defense is now ranked 9th in the Big East in conf. efficiency, allowing 105 pts / 100 possessions. That effort against Duke (currently allowing 95 points / 100 possession in the ACC) was actually more impressive.
The Hoyas shot better from outside than inside in the 1st half [7/14 2FG, 8/13 3FG], but they came out with a different strategy in the 2nd half: get the ball inside. G'town took only 6 attempts from behind the arc in the Vesper half (making 2), while shooting 6/9 on dunks, layups and tip-ins (and 4/6 on 2-pt jumpers).
Of course, the real story of the interminable 2nd half was the procession to the layup line as Villanova tried to extend the game while hoisting 20(!) 3FGAs. To me, the star at the FT line was Greg Monroe, who sank 7/9 in the last six minutes of the game. Hopefully that performance will help to get Monroe out of his season-long second-half FT-shooting funk.
INDIVIDUAL NET POINTS STATS Georgetown Off % Pts Def Pts Player Poss Poss O.Rtg Prod Poss D.Rtg Allow Net Pts Wright, Chris 55 13.7 110.1 8.3 53 91.5 9.7 +0.0 Monroe, Greg 72 27.1 107.4 20.9 69 104.9 14.5 +3.5 Freeman, Austin 82 18.7 140.6 21.6 81 105.7 17.1 +4.9 Clark, Jason 72 16.8 107.7 13.0 71 105.3 15.0 -0.8 Vaughn, Julian 49 24.8 127.8 15.5 49 107.2 10.5 +3.8 Thompson, Hollis 55 22.2 103.4 12.6 54 107.4 11.6 +0.3 Sanford, Vee 1 0.0 - 0.0 1 300.0 0.6 -0.6 Benimon, Jerrelle 33 10.5 119.0 4.1 31 112.4 7.0 -1.3 Sims, Henry 1 0.0 - 0.0 1 300.0 0.6 -0.6 TOTALS 84 116.8 96.1 82 105.5 86.5 +9.4 Villanova Off % Pts Def Pts Player Poss Poss O.Rtg Prod Poss D.Rtg Allow Net Pts PENA, Antonio 24 28.8 99.7 6.9 24 121.9 5.8 -0.2 REYNOLDS, Scottie 64 39.5 96.6 24.4 64 119.4 15.3 +1.7 FISHER, Corey 63 23.5 145.9 21.6 64 111.3 14.3 +6.2 REDDING, Reggie 35 7.2 127.0 3.2 37 120.7 8.9 -2.8 STOKES, Corey 44 19.7 104.1 9.0 41 100.3 8.2 +0.6 WAYNS, Maalik 35 21.7 107.4 8.2 34 105.4 7.2 +0.6 YAROU, Mouphtaou 29 8.7 127.3 3.2 32 95.5 6.1 -1.0 CHEEK, Dominic 33 19.7 76.7 5.0 37 118.2 8.7 -3.2 SUTTON, Maurice 13 6.2 233.3 1.9 13 159.9 4.2 -0.8 KING, Taylor 26 17.4 94.8 4.3 26 133.7 7.0 -2.2 ARMWOOD, Isaiah 44 8.5 41.9 1.6 48 125.0 12.0 -6.8 TOTALS 82 106.4 89.2 84 116.3 97.7 -8.4
Stars of the game were obviously Monroe and Freeman, but my stats program didn't love Jason Clark today. Why not? It turns out that all eight of Clark's made FGs today were assisted, which, when combined with his goofy eFG% today [=100%], gives some screwy results in the stats workup. But it should also be pointed out that Clark had 5 TOs to only 2 assists, which also hurt his net points total.
I, and probably every other Hoya observer, have made a big deal about the fact that the Hoyas struggle when Chris Wright doesn't score 10 points. He didn't again today while playing only 27 minutes, but Georgetown still prevailed. But take a look at his line - the Hoyas were a much better defensive team while he was on the court. Was that coincidence (he forced only 1 turnover)? I'm not sure. I do wonder if his absence lead to some of Clark's turnovers (by forcing Jason to become a primary ball-handler).
Julian Vaughn and Hollis Thompson were both solid today. Vaughn's 7/7 FT shooting will get the headlines, but it should be noted that he was the only Hoya to gather an offensive rebound (all others were team rebounds). And Thompson's five defensive rebounds were second on the team. Jerrelle Benimon did the dirty work and made enough FTs, but did anyone else notice his behind-the-back dribble to advance the ball in the last few seconds of the game (when Villanova was still fouling down 11 with 5 seconds left)? Nice.
HD BOX SCORE
Villanova vs Georgetown
02/06/10 12:00 at Verizon Center
Final score: Georgetown 103, Villanova 90
Villanova Min +/- Pts 2PM-A 3PM-A FTM-A FGA A Stl TO Blk OR DR PF
PENA, Antonio 11:28 + 0 7/28 3- 4 0- 0 1- 2 4/17 0/ 9 0/24 2/24 0/ 7 2/ 5 1/ 6 5
REYNOLDS, Scottie 31:26 - 5 24/72 3- 8 3- 9 9-11 17/50 6/19 1/64 6/64 0/22 0/25 1/18 1
FISHER, Corey 32:10 -11 24/63 7-10 1- 3 7- 8 13/52 2/15 1/64 1/63 0/25 1/27 2/21 3
REDDING, Reggie 16:48 -14 2/35 1- 2 0- 0 0- 0 2/23 2/12 1/37 1/35 0/12 0/10 3/11 3
STOKES, Corey 20:36 + 5 10/50 2- 3 2- 6 0- 0 9/39 0/14 1/41 1/44 0/13 1/21 2/15 4
WAYNS, Maalik 15:55 + 5 9/45 3- 6 1- 4 0- 0 10/35 0/11 1/34 1/35 0/ 8 1/20 0/11 4
YAROU, Mouphtaou 15:40 + 6 2/39 1- 2 0- 0 0- 0 2/25 1/12 1/32 0/29 1/13 1/13 2/ 8 4
CHEEK, Dominic 15:05 -17 6/31 3- 3 0- 2 0- 0 5/27 0/ 8 2/37 2/33 0/14 0/14 1/ 9 2
SUTTON, Maurice 06:30 -10 0/14 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0/14 0/ 5 1/13 0/13 2/ 6 2/ 9 0/ 4 2
KING, Taylor 13:52 - 4 6/31 0- 1 2- 3 0- 0 4/25 0/ 8 0/26 2/26 1/12 1/14 0/ 9 5
ARMWOOD, Isaiah 20:30 -20 0/42 0- 2 0- 1 0- 2 3/38 0/15 0/48 0/44 2/13 2/22 3/13 4
TOTALS 40:00 90 23-41 9-28 17-23 69 11/32 9/84 16/82 6/29 12/36 18/24 37
. 0.561 0.321 0.739 0.344 0.107 0.195 0.207 0.333 0.750
Georgetown Min +/- Pts 2PM-A 3PM-A FTM-A FGA A Stl TO Blk OR DR PF
Wright, Chris 27:41 +15 7/69 1- 2 1- 4 2- 2 6/36 3/19 1/53 1/55 0/27 0/16 3/17 5
Monroe, Greg 33:14 + 7 19/83 4- 8 0- 1 11-14 9/42 6/17 1/69 6/72 2/35 0/25 8/31 2
Freeman, Austin 39:28 +12 25/99 6- 7 2- 5 7-10 12/48 3/19 1/81 1/82 0/41 0/25 1/35 2
Clark, Jason 34:40 + 9 24/88 2- 4 6- 7 2- 3 11/41 2/15 2/71 5/72 1/35 0/22 3/29 3
Vaughn, Julian 22:56 +10 13/60 3- 5 0- 0 7- 7 5/29 3/11 0/49 4/49 2/22 3/17 0/17 2
Thompson, Hollis 26:07 + 9 12/72 1- 2 1- 2 7-10 4/28 3/16 0/54 3/55 0/26 0/14 5/28 4
Sanford, Vee 00:15 - 1 0/ 2 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0/ 0 0/ 0 0/ 1 0/ 1 0/ 0 0/ 0 0/ 1 0
Benimon, Jerrelle 15:24 + 5 3/40 0- 1 0- 0 3- 4 1/16 1/11 0/31 1/33 2/19 0/ 6 1/21 2
Sims, Henry 00:15 - 1 0/ 2 0- 0 0- 0 0- 0 0/ 0 0/ 0 0/ 1 0/ 1 0/ 0 0/ 0 0/ 1 0
TOTALS 40:00 103 17-29 10-19 39-50 48 21/27 5/82 21/84 7/41 6/24 24/36 20
. 0.586 0.526 0.780 0.778 0.061 0.250 0.171 0.250 0.667
Efficiency: Georgetown 1.226, Villanova 1.098
eFG%: Georgetown 0.667, Villanova 0.529
Substitutions: Georgetown 23, Villanova 82
2-pt Shot Selection:
Dunks: Georgetown 4-4, Villanova 3-3
Layups/Tips: Georgetown 9-14, Villanova 13-24
Jumpers: Georgetown 4-11, Villanova 7-14
Fast break pts (% FG pts): Georgetown 11 (17.2), Villanova 10 (13.7)
Pts (eff.) after steal: Georgetown 8 (160.0), Villanova 16 (177.8)
Seconds per poss: Georgetown 15.4, Villanova 13.4
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Stats pages will be updated tomorrow.
Yes, the FTA/FGA stat caught my eye too. An interesting coincidence that one of the refs on that crew also ref'ed Villanova's other loss. And he was also in the crew that gave Coach Wright his only other T this season.
ReplyDeleteHoya 3 point shooting was phenomenal. A very sizable edge that Villanova could not overcome. Note the change in gameplan for the second half, as Villanova took 21 attempts from beyond the arc, an unusually high number for Villanova, and dictated largely by the margin Georgetown into the locker room at the half.
Sorry greyCat, but those fouls (and technical) had nothing to do with who was reffing, so long as it was an experienced crew. The technical was clearly done intentionally by Wright to try to wake up his team and intimidate the officials.
ReplyDeleteAt the half, the fouls were 14-10 Nova-G'town [I believe the official scorer incorrectly recorded a foul on Reynolds at 7:50] - only a 4 foul differential. The second half split (23-10) was due to a desperate team trying to leverage an asset to get back in the game. All of the called fouls (and there were probably another 37 Villanova fouls that were ignored) were simply Wright's game plan - make the game a hack-fest and get into the Hoya bench.
It worked in that Chris Wright was rendered ineffective in the second half and the Hoyas became increasingly passive on offense for a good chunk of the half. It didn't work in that the Hoyas, especially Vaughn and Monroe, made their free throws.
Of course, it should also be said that Jason Clark is not likely to make his first 6 3FGAs again anytime soon.
Cheers!
No need to apologize Brian. My observation about Mike Stephens was simply an observation and nothing more. Stephens has worked 5 Villanova games this season, more than usual for him (an observation, not an accusation) and more than most refs who do Villanova games.
ReplyDeleteFor the past 3-4 seasons Villanova's defensive profile featured a favorable turnover rate (high for opponent, low for Villanova), combined with strong defensive rebounding and, frankly, poor shot defense on the perimeter. Jon Wallace dismantled Villanova from beyond the arc the last time he played against the Wildcats (BET, 2008), hitting 5 of 6 3 point attempts. This season Villanova's defensive profile has changed. While the team continues to rebound well (a surprise given the graduation of Anderson, Cunningham and Clark), their shot defense improved substantially. The defensive turnover rate is down, but fouling is up, substantially. For many games that has not been a problem since Villanova's offense creates contact as a byproduct of isolation plays, pick-n-rolls and screens that provide the guards opportunities to get into the lane. The Wildcats are fine with contact, something that definitely bothers other teams, particularly those who generate their offense from the perimenter. Historically the Wildcats have enjoyed a shooting opportunity advantage at the free throw line. This season, that offensive advantage has been neutralized by fouling on defense, and yesterday I saw the worst of both defenses -- ineffective perimeter defense coupled with a high number of fouls.
Different referee styles are part of the game, much like opponent's different playing styles. Teams have to observe and adjust. Villanova did not, and that's part of the game. Good luck the rest of the season.