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| Image from here. |
The Georgetown Hoyas succumbed to a barrage of open 3FGs by the VCU Rams while failing to do much of anything on the offensive end, losing in a rout, 74-56.
Storyline #1:
The Rams made 11 or their first 19 shots from behind the arc, including 5 of their first 7 to start the Vesper half, in moving out to a 18 point lead with 11:13 left in the game. Meanwhile, outside of Hollis Thompson [4-6 3FG], the Hoyas managed to shoot 1 for 20 from 3FG for the game (inside of Hollis Thompson, it's too dark to shoot).
Storyline #2:
With less than a minute left in the first half, Georgetown trailed VCU by 6 points when Chris Wright missed the front end of a 1-and-1. Over the next 21 possessions for each team (14+ minutes of game time), the Rams outscored the Hoyas 33-14 and had built an insurmountable 25 point lead with only 7 minutes left in the game. Eight of the Hoyas' 21 possessions during that stretch resulted in a turnover.
Storyline #3:
The Hoyas ended the game with only three more field goals made [20] than turnovers committed [17].
But the stat of the night for Hoya fans is likely what time they turned the game off.
At this point, Coach John Thompson III has a public relations problem that he's going to have to deal with: the reputation of having teams that either implode [2009, 2011] or suffer a bad upset in their final game of the season [2008, 2010]. One of those is a tough label to shake, but the combination can be - dare I say - professionally fatal. How JT3 deals with tonight's embarrassing effort, and the implications it has for his career, will be interesting to say the least.
As for the players, it should be noted that the four seniors - Austin Freeman, Chris Wright, Julian Vaughn and Ryan Dougherty - have all been outstanding representatives of the university both as players and as students. At different times, they all brought excitement and joy to Hoya fans this season (remember Ryan's layup against Appalachian State?).
I do feel sorry for those guys, because the legacy of flaming out by the end of the season is likely the one that most fans will associate with them, rather than any successes that they had. I'm quite certain that they are at least as upset about the way Georgetown's season (and their careers) ended as any fan.
With the graduation of the three senior starters, the Hoyas will enter next season with few expectations of success. Hollis Thompson comported himself well tonight and it looks like it will be his team to lead for the next two years
For the last time this season, let's run the numbers:
TEMPO-FREE BOX SCORE . Home Visitor . Georgetown Virginia Commonwealth . 1st Half 2nd Half Total 1st Half 2nd Half Total Pace 30 33 62 Points 24 32 56 35 39 74 Effic. 81.2 97.5 89.8 118.4 118.9 118.7 eFG% 38.0 48.1 43.3 52.2 57.1 54.5 TO% 30.5 24.4 27.3 10.2 9.1 9.6 OR% 44.4 25.0 35.3 31.2 18.8 25.0 FTA/FGA 28.0 22.2 25.0 73.9 104.8 88.6 Assist Rate 77.8 45.5 60.0 66.7 88.9 77.8 Block Rate 9.1 0.0 5.3 15.4 15.4 15.4 Steal Rate 6.8 3.0 4.8 10.2 12.2 11.2 2FG% 61.5 53.8 57.7 27.3 37.5 31.6 3FG% 8.3 28.6 19.2 50.0 46.2 48.0 FT% 71.4 100.0 84.6 64.7 68.2 66.7
