I don't have a lot of scintillating analysis to offer tonight - I find games like this effectively turn my brain to mush. Just a few thought before I go to bed:
- The story line throughout the first half was how uncertain Alabama was against the Hoyas 2-3 zone. Georgetown baited Alabama into playing a perimeter offense, and the Tide's cold outside shooting [0/9 3FG] played well into that. But I thought Coach Grant's halftime adjustments ("Get it inside to Green.") and his team's ability to execute the game plan in the Vespers half was going to end up as the lead for the game recap, until Hollis Thompson came to the rescue.
- The real story tonight (and one certain to be lost in all the excitement of the Hoyas' big road win) is the offensive game Georgetown played. Make no mistake, Alabama is a great defensive team [ranked 7th by Pomeroy after tonight's game]. They do it by forcing other teams to miss shots [def. eFG% = 37.4%, 5th nationally], both in close [def. 2FG% = 37.8%, 10th] and from deep [def. 3FG% = 24.5%, 13th]. The Hoyas made their outside shots tonight [7/17 = 41%], but also maded just enough inside with a number of cutting layups [14/31 = 45%]. Scoring more than a point per possession on the Tide's home court is kind of a big deal.
- In spite of all the pre- and early-season chatter about how deep this Georgetown team is and how much larger the rotation will be as the Hoyas play aggressive defense, tonight's game was a look at what we can expect for the rest of the season. Nate Lubick played limited minutes thanks to three early fouls, but we saw essentially a 7-man rotation tonight (the starters + Porter and Whittington). Coach Thompson plays a short bench in big games, and I don't think we'll see much of a change this year after all.
- Jason Clark is obviously the offensive star for this team, but I think he's starting to spoil me in that I didn't feel that he had a remarkable game, just a solid one. In fact, he was the best player on the court all night.
- Hollis Thompson, on the other hand, may have made the step forward in confidence that this team needs to remain dangerous. And I'm not just talking about that final shot - against Kansas and Memphis, Hollis used about 19% of the team's possessions when he was on the court. That's typical of a role player. Tonight, Thompson used more that 25% of available possessions, while still keeping his efficiency high
- I expressed some doubts this morning about whether Henry Sims is legitimately having a breakout senior year. I always withhold the right to change my mind, and tonight's game is a start. Would have loved to see Sims finish his reverse drive to the hoop with just under a minute left that would have gone a long way to lower my blood pressure, but otherwise little to complain about tonight.
- I'm guessing the cognoscenti will be in full lather tonight about cutting Lubick's playing time, especially after his silly off-the-head turnover in the second half. Stats don't lie, and the fact is that Lubick actually didn't have a bad game - he struggled on the defensive end, but was better on offense that either Starks or Porter. With little indication of help coming from the bench at the 4/5 positions, I think Lubick will continue to get time to work through his issues on the court.
Let's run the numbers:
TEMPO-FREE BOX SCORE . Visitor Home . Georgetown Alabama . 1st Half 2nd Half Total 1st Half 2nd Half Total Pace 25 30 55 Points 23 34 57 16 39 55 Effic. 90.9 113.2 103.3 63.2 129.9 99.7 eFG% 43.5 58.0 51.0 31.6 60.4 47.7 TO% 23.7 16.7 19.9 23.7 10.0 16.3 OR% 37.5 15.4 27.6 21.4 28.6 25.0 FTA/FGA 21.7 20.0 20.8 31.6 54.2 44.2 Assist Rate 66.7 58.3 61.9 66.7 46.2 52.6 Block Rate 10.0 5.9 7.4 17.6 0.0 9.7 Steal Rate 7.9 10.0 9.1 7.9 10.0 9.1 2FG% 41.2 50.0 45.2 60.0 58.8 59.3 3FG% 33.3 45.5 41.2 0.0 42.9 18.8 FT% 60.0 100.0 80.0 66.7 76.9 73.7
more stats after the jump
