Recap: North Carolina State 66, Georgetown 63

Image from here

Last season, we noted in this space that Coach Thompson was in danger of cementing a reputation when his 6th-seeded Hoyas were beat by 11th-seeded Virginia Commonwealth.

Consider the reputation cemented.

For the fourth consecutive tournament appearance, Georgetown was knocked out in the opening weekend by a hot-from-behind-the-arc double-digit seed. Today, the 11th-seeded North Carolina State Wolfpack had the pleasure, 66-63.

The expression that usually brings a pain to the heart of a stathead is "the eye-test." But today, I'd have to say that North Carolina St. passed the eye-test, in that for about 25 minutes of the game the Wolfpack just looked like the better team, and often CJ Leslie looked without peer on the floor.

The story from the pre-game info at Casual Hoya was that Wolfpack fans were concerned about foul difficulty inside, but it turned out to be Georgetown to suffer that fate, as Henry Sims picked his second foul at the 14:20 mark of the first half, with the Hoyas ahead 8-5. Now the narrative late in the game was that NC State was able to pull away from Georgetown once Sims sat, but the reality was that the Hoyas enjoyed a 17-10 run over the next 9+ minutes of game time to extend to a 10-point lead. The game was 20 possessions in, on pace for 53 for the entire game.

What ensued felt like a mugging at half-court, as the Hoyas committed 6 turnover on their next 10 possessions while the Wolfpack ran off seven points in 32 seconds on their way to a 15-2 run to close out the half. The pace of the game had noticeably quickened. The hits kept coming as the Vespers half began, as NC State used a 13-5 run out of the gate to stretch their lead to eleven points.

As we've seen in the past, when the wheels fall off Hollis Thompson is able to remain calm and throw enough good shots at the rim to ring up points. And today that effort slowly dragged Georgetown back into the game, as Hollis scored 15 of his team-leading 23 points after the deficit had ballooned to eleven.

Somehow, near the end of the game, the Hoyas had three attempts to tie or take the lead:

• Down three with 0:40 left, Henry Sims drove right and drew the foul. His shot attempt for the and-one was on-line but short of the rim. I think that was the first (only?) moment in the second half where I thought Georgetown could actually win the game.
• Down two with 0:25 left, the Hoyas tried to find Henry in the left block (I was having serious Cinci in the Big East, 2-OT flashbacks), but instead Otto Porter took and left short a baseline jumper. I'd guess many would have a problem with Otto's shot, preferring to hold for a better look; in his defense, he shot early enough that a miss wouldn't end the game, as we saw.
• With 4.6 seconds left and a Wolfpack free throw missed, suddenly Jason Clark was streaking down the sideline with a chance to tie the game. His attempt was open, but hurried and deep and never had a chance. The final horn sounded.

Looking at the tempo-free box, the Hoyas only struggled in two areas: defensive rebounding and 3FG defense.

The outside shooting is the less serious offense. Although the Hoyas will end the season leading the nation in 3FG% allowed [27.7%],and the Wolfpack are an average 3FG-shooting team [35.8%, 98th nationally], we've learned from Ken Pomeroy that 3FG shooting is a very hard thing to predict in small sample sizes, such as a tournament game.

But the Hoyas also led the Big East conference in defensive rebounding [OR allowed = 31%], a stat that helped drive their defense to the top-ten nationally (per KenPom). The difference in offensive rebounding [41% to 25%, NCSU to GU] today and the resulting difference in second chance points [15-8] proved to be the difference in the game.


And so another season comes to an end, although perhaps not as bitterly as the previous four. With low expectations entering the season, a shot to advance to the Sweet-16 was about the best-case scenario for the Hoyas and their fans. And that's what they got.

We'd be remiss if we didn't acknowledge the seniors on the team:

• Jason Clark, whose spectacular play thrilled Georgetown fans for four seasons and netted him all-Big East honors. But perhaps more importantly, he also earned the Big East's Sportsmanship award. His and his teammates' dignity make rooting for the Hoyas a pleasure, in spite of the inevitable pains.
• Henry Sims, whose emergence early this season as a star, and whose late-season heroics helped bring the Hoyas to the cusp of the Sweet-16
• And while I'm hesitant to include the nominal junior here, Hollis Thompson, who knew how to thrill his audience (at Alabama and vs. Marquette this year). Hollis is allegedly on schedule to graduate a semester early, at the end of this academic year.

Let's run the numbers:

TEMPO-FREE BOX SCORE
 
.            Home                            Visitor   
.            Georgetown                      North Carolina State         
.            1st Half  2nd Half   Total      1st Half  2nd Half   Total
Pace            31        32        64
 
Points          27        36        63          30        36        66   

Effic.         86.4     111.7      99.2        96.0     111.7     103.9  
 
eFG%           50.0      48.4      49.0        39.7      48.0      43.5  
TO%            32.0       6.2      18.9        16.0      15.5      15.7  
OR%            25.0      25.0      25.0        45.5      35.0      40.5  
FTA/FGA        45.0      25.8      33.3        48.3      68.0      57.4  

Assist Rate    62.5      61.5      61.9        50.0      60.0      55.0  
Block Rate      8.7      12.5      10.3        11.1      11.8      11.5  
Steal Rate      9.6       6.2       7.9         9.6       3.1       6.3  
 
2FG%           44.4      52.9      50.0        30.4      37.5      33.3  
3FG%           36.4      28.6      32.0        50.0      44.4      46.7  
FT%            77.8      75.0      76.5        50.0      70.6      61.3

more stats after the jump

Recap: Georgetown 64, Pittsburgh 52

Image from here

Just getting a chance to watch the rebroadcast of the game right now, so I don't know if you'll be getting much of a recap. Depends on how fired up / sleepy I am when it's over.

Annndddd . . . tiredness is going to win.  Quick thoughts before I call it a night:

• As Tom points out in comments, the Hoyas didn't settle for many 2FG jumpers, or 3FGs for that matter. Versus 20 total jumpshots [7 2FG, 13 3FG], Georgetown attempted 19 layups in the game and made 13 of those. Pitt has been having a tough defensive year, giving up 51% on 2FGs in conference games. Smart offense by the Hoyas.
• The best thing Pitt has done in conference this year is crash the offensive glass - grabbing 40% of their own missed shots. Not today, as Sims [10 def. reb.] and friends limited the Panthers to only 22%  off. rebounding tonight. 
• Was that Henry Sims' career game? Stats say no, he actually had one better game, against Savannah St. to open the season. Although I suppose the level of competition was a bit higher tonight.
• And since I can't end a recap without at least one negative comment: only three Hoyas were positives on the court today (Sims, Porter, Whittington). Without Jason Clark and Hollis Thompson leading the team, a win against Cincinnati will be a much harder proposition.

Let's run the numbers:

TEMPO-FREE BOX SCORE
 
.            Home                            Visitor   
.            Georgetown                      PITT         
.            1st Half  2nd Half   Total      1st Half  2nd Half   Total
Pace            30        30        60
 
Points          31        33        64          23        29        52   

Effic.        102.8     111.0     106.8        76.3      97.5      86.8  
 
eFG%           52.4      55.6      53.8        32.8      55.0      41.8  
TO%            23.2      16.8      20.0        10.0      23.5      16.7  
OR%            30.8      27.3      29.2        22.7      20.0      21.6  
FTA/FGA        66.7      94.4      79.5        17.2      65.0      36.7  

Assist Rate    40.0      66.7      52.6        75.0      50.0      61.1  
Block Rate     23.5       0.0      14.3         0.0       0.0       0.0  
Steal Rate      3.3      13.4       8.3        10.0       6.7       8.3  
 
2FG%           61.5      53.8      57.7        29.4      72.7      46.4  
3FG%           25.0      40.0      30.8        25.0      22.2      23.8  
FT%            64.3      76.5      71.0        80.0      53.8      61.1

more stats after the jump

Recap: Marquette 83, Georgetown 69

Image from here

In their final regular-season game, the Georgetown Hoyas were soundly defeated by the Marquette Golden Eagles at the Bradley Center, 83-69.

The stat of the game comes from near the bottom of the HD box score - Points after steal: Marquette 19, Georgetown 2.

Almost six minutes into the game, it felt like the Hoyas' good feelings from the previous two wins at home would carry over to the impressively raucous Bradley Center. On the back of a pair of Hollis Thompson three-point shots and some sound defense, the Hoyas led 12-9 with the ball and Marquette starting to scramble. An inside-outside play left Markel Starks wide open from behind the arc, but the ball rattled out. Two minutes later with the Hoyas ahead 14-13, Jason Clark had a similar look that also wouldn't drop.

That was the opening the Eagles needed, as they scored on their next three trips down the court and started ratcheting up the pressure to rattle the Hoyas. Davante Gardner [8 pts, 4 oreb] returned today for Maquette after missing several games due to an injured ankle and used his size to control the paint in limited action.

A horrible performance at the line [6/13 FT] while the Eagles made theirs [14/15 FT] was the obvious difference between the teams in the Lift-Off half, but the Hoyas struggled to make shots from the floor as well. Georgetown made only 2/8 layups, while taking 20 of 30 field goal attempts as jumpers [3/10 2FG jumpers, 3/10 3FG]. And perhaps that's the real difference between the two games overall - the Hoyas shot an amazing 21/25 2FGs at the Verizon Center, but 20/45 2FGs today.

The second half was effectively a stalemate. After giving up the eleven of the first thirteen points of the second half to fall into a 17-point hole, Georgetown was able to answer with a 12-3 run of their own. From there, the lead bounced between 8 and 14 points, as Jae Crowder always seemed to be able to rally his troops when the Hoyas made any sort of push.

And so the Hoyas will end the season as a 5-seed for the Big East tournament, facing the winner of Pittsburgh-Rutgers at 2pm on Wednesday.


Let's run the numbers:

.            Visitor                         Home      
.            Georgetown                      Marquette         
.            1st Half  2nd Half   Total      1st Half  2nd Half   Total
Pace            32        41        74

Points          29        40        69          39        44        83   

Effic.         89.6      97.2      93.6       120.5     106.9     112.6  
 
eFG%           38.3      48.5      43.7        48.1      52.1      50.0  
TO%            15.4      24.3      20.3        18.5      14.6      16.3  
OR%            40.0      36.8      38.6        46.7      27.8      36.4  
FTA/FGA        43.3      36.4      39.7        57.7     125.0      90.0  
 
Assist Rate    70.0      53.3      60.0        58.3      50.0      54.2  
Block Rate      5.3      10.5       7.9         5.0       4.0       4.4  
Steal Rate      9.3       4.9       6.8        12.4      17.0      14.9  
 
2FG%           35.0      52.0      44.4        57.9      57.9      57.9  
3FG%           30.0      25.0      27.8        14.3      20.0      16.7  
FT%            46.2      66.7      56.0        93.3      63.3      73.3

more stats after the jump

Georgetown 59, Notre Dame 41

Image from here

Is [Notre Dame's poor shooting due to] fatigue? - Sean McDonough
I think they're tired of looking at long armed athletes right on top of them. - Jay Bilas

The Hoyas put together one of their best all-around games of the season tonight, absolutely shutting down the Fighting Irish while putting together one of their better offensive performances. (Fifty nine points in 53 possessions against a decent defense is a strong offensive game for this team.)

On defense, the Hoyas gave Notre Dame very few good shots.  Jack Cooley, who until Saturday had been the scourge of the Big East, was completely shut down on the interior.  Jerian Grant, who has been excellent as a playmaking wing, was forced into tough shot after tough shot.  The Hoyas even managed to force a few more turnovers than normal and owned the defensive boards.

The Irish didn't help themselves much, either, missing many of the few open looks they received.  But at the end of the day the biggest different was in watching Notre Dame attempt to execute their burn offense.  They would run the clock down, and then attempt, in the last ten to fifteen seconds, to get the open shot they have been able to get over the last ten or so games.  But today, it wasn't there -- a long, active Hoya defender would turn away the easy shot, forcing a poor one or a bad pass.  There were few open jumpers.

More importantly, there were few shots at the rim.  The Irish shot 32 jump shots and only 16 layups.  The Irish guards could not penetrate and Cooley did nothing inside.

The Hoyas actually weren't that much better in their shot selection (27 jumpers, 17 layups), but offensively, the team seemed to do everything else right.  They crashed the offensive boards well and despite a number of frustrating turnovers, kept the overall TO count down.  And then they went and made a lot of those jumpshots (something we probably shouldn't count on them continuing).

But the most impressive aspect was the team's cutting to the basket.  The cuts came often and were fast and decisive.  Clark and Whittington, particularly, continually forced their men to trail them as they looked for easy baskets. Henry Sims had five assists, mostly on cuts.  And he and his teammates actually missed quite a few open cutters.  Perhaps the Irish weren't well-prepared or maybe the Hoyas simply were clicking, but either way, those easy baskets were the key reason the team was able to put up 28 in the first half.

TEMPO-FREE BOX SCORE
 
.            Home                            Visitor   
.            Georgetown                      Notre Dame         
.            1st Half  2nd Half   Total      1st Half  2nd Half   Total
Pace            26        28        53
 
Points          28        31        59          18        23        41   

Effic.        109.4     111.4     110.5        70.3      82.6      76.8  
 
eFG%           56.5      57.1      56.8        37.0      36.0      36.5  
TO%            15.6      25.1      20.6        19.5      21.6      20.6  
OR%            33.3      45.5      39.1        20.0      33.3      27.3  
FTA/FGA        17.4      42.9      29.5        13.0      28.0      20.8  

Assist Rate    66.7      45.5      56.5        50.0      37.5      43.8  
Block Rate      5.9      14.3       9.7         0.0       0.0       0.0  
Steal Rate      7.8      10.8       9.4        11.7      14.4      13.1  
 
2FG%           55.6      60.0      57.6        41.2      42.9      41.9  
3FG%           40.0      33.3      36.4        16.7      18.2      17.6  
FT%            50.0      77.8      69.2        33.3      71.4      60.0  

More thoughts and stats after the jump

Recap: Georgetown 67, Villanova 46

It was a "Gray Out" today at the Verizon Center, as the Hoyas stellar defense returned in their 67-46 victory over the Villanova Wildcats.

We're not going to offer much of a recap for the game, just some bullets:

• The big story was Markel Starks getting benched. My guess - offered on the Casual Hoya game thread - was that this stemmed from the end-of-game effort by Starks at Seton Hall. There was certainly some sort of confrontation between Coach and Starks at that time. Hopefully it is now all water under the bridge.
• Otto Porter was back in the starting lineup for Markel. In his first career start (against DePaul), Otto had a poor game with missed shots and turnovers; not today. Porter had a solid line across the board. One criticism - he loves that 16-18 ft. jump shot. My biggest wish for the off-season is that he (1) develops the range to take that shot from behind the arc, and (2) develops his handle so he can take a bounce or two to get closer to the rim. That is all.
• This was Henry Sims best game since South Florida (also a blowout). Henry still had too many turnovers [3], but he took smart shots and gather four of the Hoyas own missed shots.
• In spite of shooting a combined 1-9 on 3FGs, Hollis Thompson and especially Jason Clark did what upperclassmen do - they adjusted their game to take advantage of what was working (getting in the paint). Hollis' free throw stroke is making me sad, though.

Let's run the numbers:

TEMPO-FREE BOX SCORE
 
.            Home                            Visitor   
.            Georgetown                      Villanova         
.            1st Half  2nd Half   Total      1st Half  2nd Half   Total
Pace            31        33        64
 
Points          30        37        67          23        23        46   

Effic.         96.5     112.2     104.9        74.0      69.8      72.0  
 
eFG%           48.1      50.0      49.0        38.0      24.0      31.0  
TO%            22.5      21.2      21.9        19.3      18.2      18.8  
OR%            28.6      57.1      42.9        18.8      23.8      21.6  
FTA/FGA        26.9      61.5      44.2        24.0      60.0      42.0  

Assist Rate    45.5      38.5      41.7        50.0      16.7      35.7  
Block Rate     15.8      10.5      13.2        11.1       0.0       5.1  
Steal Rate      9.6       3.0       6.3        19.3       9.1      14.1  
 
2FG%           44.4      61.9      53.8        26.3      31.6      28.9  
3FG%           37.5       0.0      23.1        50.0       0.0      25.0  
FT%            71.4      68.8      69.6        66.7      73.3      71.4

Recap: Seton Hall 73, Georgetown 55

Image from here

On a night that felt eerily like an opening round NCAA tournament game for Georgetown, the Hoyas ran into a Seton Hall team that couldn't miss a shot for long stretches of the game and were blown out, 73-55.

Not a lot of positives can be taken from tonight's game. In a meeting of two of the conference's better defensive teams, the Pirates - lead by Jordan Theodore - quite simply made a lot of shots and thereby had a spectacular offensive game. The Hoyas came into the game leading the conference in effective field goal defense, having allowed a season-high 55% eFG against Pitt. So what Seton Hall did tonight [71% eFG] should be recognized as extraordinary. Only two other teams have managed to hit the 70% level against JT3's Georgetown Hoyas: the Ohio Bobcats and the Baylor Bears. Don't feel obligated to click through on those links, by the way.

The absurdity of the situation came through in the second half as Theodore and friends took a number of questionable shots that simply went in, so much so that the play-by-play announcer began giggling uncontrollably during one replay. The Pirates made 15/24 [63%] jumpshots tonight, and when that happens the opponent must just tip their cap and head home.

The Hoyas own offense was a bit frustrating to watch, with the turnovers [7] in the first half and poor outside shooting in the second half [1/6 2FG jumpers, 1/6 3FG]. But two mitigating factors should be considered here: the Hoyas were playing a very good defensive team, and by comparison to the offensive circus taking place on the other side of the court, the Hoyas were certain to look bad.

Let's run the numbers:

TEMPO-FREE BOX SCORE
 
.            Visitor                         Home      
.            Georgetown                      Seton Hall         
.            1st Half  2nd Half   Total      1st Half  2nd Half   Total
Pace            28        27        54

Points          28        27        55          35        38        73   

Effic.        101.7     100.8     101.3       127.1     141.9     134.5  
 
eFG%           52.2      39.6      45.7        68.2      73.7      70.7  
TO%            25.4      14.9      20.3        18.2      11.2      14.7  
OR%            42.9      31.2      36.7        27.3      12.5      21.1  
FTA/FGA        26.1      37.5      31.9        36.4      57.9      46.3  
 
Assist Rate    50.0      44.4      47.4        84.6      58.3      72.0  
Block Rate     12.5       8.3      10.7         0.0      16.7       9.4  
Steal Rate     10.9      11.2      11.1        10.9      11.2      11.1  
 
2FG%           42.9      44.4      43.8        56.2      66.7      60.7  
3FG%           44.4      16.7      33.3        66.7      57.1      61.5  
FT%            66.7      88.9      80.0        62.5      90.9      78.9

more stats and thoughts after the jump

Recap: Georgetown 63, Providence 53

This was called a foul by Nate Lubick.
I mean, Kadeem Batts took his head clear off!

The Georgetown Hoyas led wire-to-wire in an evening affair at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, 63-53.

It's fairly tonight before I was able to get the stats for the game, so I don't think I'll be able to offer much of a recap for the game.  Just a few quick thoughts:

• Providence shot a woeful 4/28 in the first half [3/20 2FG, 1/8 3FG]. All those misses meant that, while they got a lot of offensive rebounds (nine), they only grabbed 36% of their available missed shots. Since 33% is typical, the defensive rebounding by the Hoyas in the first half wasn't nearly as bad as you thought.
• The best player on the floor for Georgetown was Jason Clark, who seemed to be able to knock down a needed shot whenever the Friars were able to get the game close.
• Nate Lubick looked strong [8 pts, 3 ast, 0 TO] in his limited time on the floor, and yes he was subject to one of the worst calls by an official this season. But it should also be pointed out that the other three fouls he committed in the game were legitimate, and serve as a bit of a concern. His offense has improved from a disaster to serviceable and now to useful, especially on a team that struggles to score. It's incumbent upon Nate to avoid the silly fouls that will limit his time.
• Hollis Thompson struggled with his shot all night [3/9 2FG] but still walked off the court having made half his deep shots [2/4 3FG]. He also grabbed ten rebounds [2 OR, 8 DR] to earn a double-double.
• Once again, the Hoyas missed a lot of free throws [14/23 FT] including the front end on three of their four one-and-one attempts. It's hard to envision all the points left at the free throw line not coming back to bite this team.
• As dunks seem to be of great concern on HoyaTalk these days, it should be noted that the Hoyas out-dunked the Friars 3-2.
• Vincent Council shot 4/15 from the floor in the game at the Verizon Center; tonight he shot 4/14. I'm guessing he'll be happy to not see the Hoyas again this year.

Let's run the numbers:

TEMPO-FREE BOX SCORE
 
.            Visitor                         Home      
.            Georgetown                      Providence         
.            1st Half  2nd Half   Total      1st Half  2nd Half   Total
Pace            31        33        64

Points          31        32        63          20        33        53   

Effic.        100.3      97.8      98.8        64.7     100.9      83.2  
 
eFG%           61.4      45.8      53.3        16.1      44.2      29.6  
TO%            22.6      15.3      18.8        12.9      12.2      12.6  
OR%            15.4      25.0      20.7        36.0      21.1      29.5  
FTA/FGA        40.9      58.3      50.0        57.1      57.7      57.4  
 
Assist Rate   100.0      50.0      76.2        75.0      80.0      78.6  
Block Rate     20.0       7.7      15.2         7.7       5.6       6.5  
Steal Rate      3.2       3.1       3.1        12.9       9.2      11.0  
 
2FG%           46.2      44.4      45.2        15.0      53.8      30.3  
3FG%           55.6      33.3      46.7        12.5      23.1      19.0  
FT%            44.4      71.4      60.9        68.8      66.7      67.7

more stats after the jump

Recap: Georgetown 71, St. John's 61

Image from here

Georgetown shook off the pesky St. John's Redmen today at the Verizon Center to win, 71-61.

The game was certainly not a thing of beauty, as Jason Clark and D'Angelo Harrison seemed to be in a contest for who can make a worse three-point shot attempt (clearly won by Harrison) while Karl Hess and John Cahill continually battled for the spotlight in front of the official scorer's table.

The Hoyas may have scored only 71 points today, but the game was the biggest offensive outburst the team has had in conference play. Georgetown averaged 1.25 points per possession today against the Johnnies, for their best offensive efficiency since beating up on the American Eagles in December.  Of course, St. John's defense is nothing special in terms of Big East standards, so the conference opener at Louisville will likely stand as the offense's high water mark once we adjust for opponent and venue, but that second half was very nice either way.

Conversely, the defense in the second half was nearly a disaster, as St. John's managed to get the Hoyas lead down to two or three points on several occasions, including at 56-53 with only 4:20 left in the game.  Buzz Williams at Marquette is apparently a bowling fan, because he likes to talk about having his defense rack up turkeys - get three consecutive stops - as a way of controlling the game.  The Hoyas had their share of turkeys today, but also had stretches were they couldn't string together stops: 12 points allowed in 6 possessions late the first half, 9 points in 5 possessions during the second half.

Most of the defensive issues can be attributed to two things: free throws allowed and turnovers forced. As Fran Fraschilla pointed out during the broadcast, the Redmen just don't have much offense outside of D'Angelo Harrison hoisting from 25 feet or Moe Harkless fading away in the paint so they count on those two attacking the cup to draw fouls and get some points.  Fair enough.  But today the Johnnies wouldn't give away possessions with turnovers, which was especially a key in their second half scoring. I wonder if it was in part a residue of the Hoyas packed in 2-3 zone which dared St. John's to shoot from outside.

Georgetown has the week off before heading up to New Jersey to face previously-left-for-dead Seton Hall. The Pirates have won two in a row, including a big win against Pitt today behind Herb Pope, although Mr. Pope failed to headbutt anyone in today's game.

Let's run the numbers:

TEMPO-FREE BOX SCORE
 
.            Home                            Visitor   
.            Georgetown                      St. John's         
.            1st Half  2nd Half   Total      1st Half  2nd Half   Total
Pace            28        29        57
 
Points          31        40        71          26        35        61   

Effic.        111.5     137.4     124.9        93.5     120.2     107.3  
 
eFG%           44.2      69.6      56.1        48.0      44.4      46.2  
TO%            14.4      13.7      14.1        14.4       6.9      10.6  
OR%            40.0      41.7      40.7        21.4      38.9      31.2  
FTA/FGA        38.5      60.9      49.0        16.0      51.9      34.6  

Assist Rate    60.0      78.6      70.8        54.5      40.0      47.6  
Block Rate     11.1      35.7      21.9        15.4       0.0       7.7  
Steal Rate      3.6       3.4       3.5        14.4      10.3      12.3  
 
2FG%           53.8      76.9      65.4        50.0      42.9      46.9  
3FG%           23.1      40.0      30.4        28.6      30.8      30.0  
FT%            80.0      57.1      66.7        50.0      78.6      72.2

more stats after the jump

Recap: Syracuse 64, Georgetown 61 [OT]

Kris Joseph had a career-high number of makes from behind the arc [6/11] to carry the Syracuse Orange over the Georgetown Hoyas in overtime at the Carrier Dome, 64-61.  Joseph had shot a combined 3/27 from 3FG in his previous seven games before tonight.

I'm stuck in a hotel room that may have the slowest internet connection in the continental US.  I've had the replay from ESPN3 on for the past hour and 45 minutes, and the game has just passed the 4:00 mark of the first half. It's about 5 seconds of game action, then 30 seconds of waiting for the video to load.

In other words, I don't think I'm going to be able to write much of a recap tonight, so a stats dump will have to suffice for now.

Let's run the numbers:

TEMPO-FREE BOX SCORE
 
.            Visitor                         Home      
.            Georgetown                      Syracuse         
.            1st Half  2nd Half   Total      1st Half  2nd Half   Total
Pace            29        27        56

Points          31        30        61          27        37        64   

Effic.        107.2      87.7      96.7        93.4     108.2     101.4  
 
eFG%           43.9      30.0      37.3        33.3      48.5      41.3  
TO%            24.2      23.4      23.8         6.9      20.5      14.3  
OR%            55.0      52.2      53.5        31.8      36.4      34.1  
FTA/FGA         6.1      46.7      25.4        26.7      24.2      25.4  
 
Assist Rate    61.5     100.0      76.2        66.7      61.5      63.6  
Block Rate     10.5      20.0      15.4        10.0      40.9      26.2  
Steal Rate      6.9      17.5      12.7         6.9      11.7       9.5  
 
2FG%           50.0      27.3      38.1        36.8      35.0      35.9  
3FG%           23.1      25.0      23.8        18.2      46.2      33.3  
FT%           100.0      85.7      87.5        87.5      62.5      75.0

more stats after the jump

Recap: Georgetown 75, USF 45

Image from here

After a dreadful first half by both teams, the Hoyas scored on 13 consecutive possessions in the second half to blow open the game this morning at the Verizon Center, defeating the South Florida Bulls 75-45.

South Florida is not, I repeat not, one of the two best defensive teams in the Big East. I must have heard that at least half-a-dozen times during the broadcast. We pegged them as the 10th best defensive team coming into the game, accounting for their slow pace and weak conference schedule so far.

That's what made the first half so troublesome from the perspective of a Hoyas' fan - sure Georgetown led by eight points at the break, but the Hoyas' inability to make shots was turning what should have been a laugher into a potential nightmare game before Georgetown headed up to Syracuse.

Then the second half happened, and I decided to relax a little.

It should be noted that there was a remarkable stretch in the Lift-off half where the Bulls committed turnovers on nine, count-em nine, straight possessions. The Hoyas could manage to score only five points during that stretch, and I was certain that South Florida would make Georgetown pay. Not so much.


And now the Hoyas travel up to Syracuse for their hardest test of the season. While the Orange may have taken a small step back over their past few games playing without Fab Melo, today's pasting of the Johnnies with Mr. Melo back in the fold serves as a reminder that Syracuse is currently the team to beat in the conference, by a lot.


Let's run the numbers:

TEMPO-FREE BOX SCORE
 
.            Home                            Visitor   
.            Georgetown                      USF         
.            1st Half  2nd Half   Total      1st Half  2nd Half   Total
Pace            30        36        65
 
Points          23        52        75          15        30        45   

Effic.         77.5     146.1     114.8        50.5      84.3      68.9  
 
eFG%           37.0      73.9      55.4        28.3      41.1      35.3  
TO%            16.8      11.2      13.8        37.1      16.9      26.0  
OR%            20.0      25.0      21.7        33.3      15.0      23.7  
FTA/FGA        34.8      95.7      65.2        26.1      35.7      31.4  

Assist Rate    50.0      80.0      69.6        50.0      60.0      56.2  
Block Rate     12.5       6.2       9.4         5.9      11.8       8.8  
Steal Rate      6.7      11.2       9.2        10.1       5.6       7.7  
 
2FG%           41.2      64.7      52.9        31.2      43.8      37.5  
3FG%           16.7      66.7      41.7        14.3      25.0      21.1  
FT%            75.0      81.8      80.0        33.3      70.0      56.2

more stats and comments after the jump

Recap: Georgetown 58, Connecticut 44

Image from here

It's not every day around here that Alan and I would pull out the double reverse-jinx (not one, but two articles bemoaning the Hoyas play in-conference) to ensure a needed victory as Georgetown rolls into a tough stretch in the schedule.


After the first 3:24 of tonight's game against the Connecticut Huskies, the Georgetown Hoyas trailed 13-7. They had allowed Jeremy Lamb to score five points on two jumpers (one from behind the arc) and watched Andre Drummond have his way inside with two dunks and two layups; the Huskies only blemish was a missed 3FG by Roscoe Smith. Then the Hoyas turned up the defensive intensity while the Huskies obliged by settling for jump shots, and Georgetown used a 24-8 run to lead by 10 at halftime, then rode that lead the rest of the way for a 58-44 win tonight at the Verizon Center.


Allow me to return to that comment about the Huskies settling for jumpers:  let's break out their shot selection before and after the first 3:24 of the first half:

               Dunks    Layups  2pt J's    3FGs     FTs
First 3:24      2/2      2/2      1/1      1/2      0/1
Next 16:36      1/1      1/2      0/11     0/8      4/5

I'd love to tell you that the Georgetown defense was reminiscent of the 1984 Hoyas, but I'm mostly just shocked with how easily Hoyas were able to force UConn to settle for jump shots. If not for Jeremy Lamb making all of his free throws, that couldn't have gone much worse for Connecticut.

It didn't improve much for them in the second half [21 of 31 attempts were either from behind the arc or 2FG jumpers]. Credit Coach Thompson for playing large portions of the game in a 2-3 zone, especially once he recognized the shooting woes for the Huskies. 


As for the Hoyas, the obvious stars of the game were Hollis Thompson (think he was reminded to be aggressive this week in practice?) and Jason Clark. Henry Sims had a spectacular dunk and some nice moments late in the game, but don't be fooled - he is still struggling with turnovers [7 tonight] and shot selection [4/10 on 2FG, but 1/6 on jumpers].  Hopefully that late flourish is something he'll be able to build upon.

The underclassmen were led by Mikael Hopkins, whose driving layup was a revelation in the second half.  Otto Porter and Nate Lubick also did some nice things, albeit quietly.


The Hoyas next host the South Florida Bulls on Saturday morning before heading up to Syracuse for perhaps their final road game ever at the Carrier Dome.  If you look up "trap game" in the dictionary, you'll see two tickets for USF vs. Georgetown.


Let's run the numbers:

TEMPO-FREE BOX SCORE
 
.            Home                            Visitor   
.            Georgetown                      Connecticut         
.            1st Half  2nd Half   Total      1st Half  2nd Half   Total
Pace            33        31        64
 
Points          31        27        58          21        23        44   

Effic.         93.8      88.1      90.8        63.6      75.0      68.9  
 
eFG%           48.1      50.0      49.0        29.3      33.9      31.7  
TO%            24.2      22.8      23.5        18.2      16.3      17.2  
OR%            31.2      14.3      23.3        18.2      40.0      28.6  
FTA/FGA        26.9      36.4      31.2        20.7      22.6      21.7  

Assist Rate    63.6      60.0      61.9        75.0      50.0      61.1  
Block Rate      5.3      14.3      10.0        15.8       0.0       8.6  
Steal Rate      9.1       9.8       9.4         6.1       6.5       6.3  
 
2FG%           42.1      50.0      45.7        36.8      42.9      40.0  
3FG%           42.9      33.3      38.5        10.0      10.0      10.0  
FT%            85.7      62.5      73.3        66.7      28.6      46.2

Recap: Pittsburgh 72, Georgetown 60

Sorry gang - with illness and business travel conspiring against me, a stats dump is all you'll get tonight.

One quick comment:  in the first half today, Georgetown's starters shot a combined 1/8 2FG, 1/5 3FG, 0/2 FT to go along with 6 turnovers and 5 rebounds.  Ballgame.

Let's run the numbers:

TEMPO-FREE BOX SCORE
 
.            Visitor                         Home      
.            Georgetown                      Pittsburgh         
.            1st Half  2nd Half   Total      1st Half  2nd Half   Total
Pace            31        37        68

Points          22        38        60          33        39        72   

Effic.         71.4     102.7      88.5       107.1     105.4     106.2  
 
eFG%           38.9      53.3      46.5        51.9      59.5      55.2  
TO%            19.5      13.5      16.2        16.2      32.4      25.1  
OR%            25.0      12.5      19.4        28.6      25.0      27.3  
FTA/FGA        18.5      23.3      21.1        25.9      71.4      45.8  
 
Assist Rate    44.4      60.0      54.2        69.2      91.7      80.0  
Block Rate     15.0       6.7      11.4         0.0       0.0       0.0  
Steal Rate      3.2      13.5       8.9         0.0       8.1       4.4  
 
2FG%           31.6      61.9      47.5        55.0      73.3      62.9  
3FG%           37.5      22.2      29.4        28.6      16.7      23.1  
FT%            20.0      85.7      58.3        71.4      93.3      86.4

Recap: Georgetown 52, Rutgers 50

Image from here

In a game where Georgetown shot a historic low from the field in the first half, the Hoyas rode their stingy defense and a busy official's whistle to a two point victory over the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, 52-50.

 The big story for the game is that the Hoyas managed to shoot an eFG of 13% in the first half, and 33% for the game but still win.  It has also been noted that this is the third terrible shooting day for the Hoyas this season [34% vs. Howard, 33% vs. Providence] that has ended in a victory, thanks to the Hoyas stellar defense.  Prior to this season, the JT3-led Hoyas had managed one victory while shooting under 40% eFG (vs. Temple in Nov. 2009).

Out of morbid curiosity, I also went through the archives of this blog to find the worst shooting half since we've been keeping track.  The only time Georgetown has managed even a sub-25% eFG in a half was Feb 23rd of last year, when a shell-shocked Hoyas team collapsed after Chris Wright left the floor with a broken hand.

The Scarlet Knights deserve a world of credit for the terrible shooting performance in the first half [3-15 2FG, 0-8 3FG] by the Hoyas, but Georgetown wasn't just missing tough shots - the Hoyas went 0-6 on layups and tips, including a blown fast-break layup by Greg Whittington.  Rutgers' great FG defense came at a cost, though - lots of fouls.  Those fouls resulted in 18 free throw attempts in the Lift-off half (and 14 makes) and didn't end during the Vespers half, where Georgetown went to the line another 18 times, although making only 11.

The problem for Rutgers was two-fold in the second half:  Georgetown wasn't missing the easy shots anymore [4/5 on dunks, layups and tips], and had stopped turning over the ball.  After committing 9 turnovers on 31 possessions in the first half, the Hoyas finally held onto the ball after intermission, committing only 5 turnovers in their last 29 possessions to claw back into the game, and finally to win it.

Let's run the numbers:

TEMPO-FREE BOX SCORE
 
.            Home                            Visitor   
.            Georgetown                      RUTGERS         
.            1st Half  2nd Half   Total      1st Half  2nd Half   Total
Pace            31        30        61
 
Points          20        32        52          25        25        50   

Effic.         63.9     107.7      84.9        79.9      84.2      81.7  
 
eFG%           13.0      58.3      32.9        50.0      37.9      43.4  
TO%            28.8      16.8      22.9        28.8      20.2      24.5  
OR%            45.0      28.6      38.2        15.4      33.3      25.8  
FTA/FGA        78.3     100.0      87.8         8.3      17.2      13.2  

Assist Rate    66.7      66.7      66.7        80.0      40.0      60.0  
Block Rate     18.8      23.8      21.6        13.3       0.0       7.4  
Steal Rate     12.8      10.1      11.4        16.0      10.1      13.1  
 
2FG%           20.0      50.0      33.3        37.5      38.1      37.8  
3FG%            0.0      50.0      21.4        50.0      25.0      37.5  
FT%            77.8      61.1      69.4        50.0      60.0      57.1 

more stats after the jump

Recap: Georgetown 83, DePaul 75

Image from here

Tonight's game was a reminder of just how hard it is to win a Big East conference game on the road, as the Hoyas lead throughout but struggled to put away the DePaul Blue Demons before finally prevailing, 83-75.

The general impression I took away from tonight was that Georgetown wasn't going to get many calls and the Blue Demons were going to make some tough shots.  The Hoyas did themselves no favors on the free throw line, missing 8 of their first 12 attempts.  But thanks to a strong defensive effort in the first half, the Hoyas were able to establish and maintain enough separation to tough out another conference road win.

Markel Starks "could not go" tonight, so Otto Porter had his first career start. While Starks is actually one of the biggest culprits on turnovers [TO Rate = 22%], he's also a primary ball handler against the press, and that's what DePaul threw at Georgetown all night. Sure enough, the Hoyas struggled with turnovers: only at Louisville and at West Virginia did the Hoyas turn it over more. Not clear to me what ails Starks but hopefully he returns soon.


Let's run the numbers:

TEMPO-FREE BOX SCORE
 
.            Visitor                         Home      
.            Georgetown                      DePaul         
.            1st Half  2nd Half   Total      1st Half  2nd Half   Total
Pace            33        40        73

Points          37        46        83          31        44        75   

Effic.        113.1     114.8     114.1        94.8     109.9     103.1  
 
eFG%           58.6      58.9      58.8        46.6      54.3      50.8  
TO%            24.5      25.0      24.8        18.3      12.5      15.1  
OR%            53.3      52.9      53.1        22.2      27.3      25.0  
FTA/FGA        27.6      71.4      49.1        13.8      31.4      23.4  
 
Assist Rate    60.0      26.7      43.3        63.6      52.9      57.1  
Block Rate     31.2       8.7      17.9         9.1      13.6      11.4  
Steal Rate     12.2      12.5      12.4        12.2       7.5       9.6  
 
2FG%           50.0      54.5      52.3        37.5      56.5      48.7  
3FG%           57.1      50.0      53.8        38.5      33.3      36.0  
FT%            37.5      65.0      57.1       100.0      54.5      66.7

More thought and stats after the jump

Recap: Georgetown 69, St. John's 49

After dominating long stretches of the game only to watch their lead shrink to three points midway through the second half, the Georgetown Hoyas used a 21-4 run to close out the St. John's Red Storm at the world's most famous arena, 69-49.

A simplistic way to describe Georgetown's offensive game today is Hollis Thompson for three [5/9 3FG] and second-chance points [19 off. reb, 21 pts]. The Hoyas' offense failed to make shots in the first half, settling for too many mid-range jumpshots [3/11] rather than inside attempts [4/9]. The Hoyas turned this around in the second half, where they continually attacked the rim or followed their own miss [10/16] rather than hoisting 2FG jumpers [1/4].


The Hoyas struggled with their man-to-man defense in the second half against Cincinnati, but found the perfect opponent to work out the kinks of their 2-3 zone in the Redmen. St. John's came into the game shooting 25% on 3FGs in conference play, 14th in the Big East. So Georgetown quickly abandoned any pretense of using a man defense, preferring to pack in a zone and dare the Johnnies to shoot over the top [0/10 3FGA] or try to force the ball into the paint [23% TO rate].

St. John's found some life in the second half by drawing fouls and getting to the free throw line [14/20 FT]. Indeed, this is what fueled their own second half run as they made 8/9 FTA while whittling down a 42-31 Georgetown lead to 48-45. But the Johnnies would make only 2 free throws the rest of the way as the Hoyas ran off 21 points in their last 10 possessions to ice the game.



Let's run the numbers:

TEMPO-FREE BOX SCORE
 
.            Visitor                         Home      
.            Georgetown                      ST. JOHNS         
.            1st Half  2nd Half   Total      1st Half  2nd Half   Total
Pace            28        33        61

Points          25        44        69          19        30        49   

Effic.         89.6     132.9     113.5        68.1      90.6      80.6  
 
eFG%           34.5      63.8      49.1        33.3      29.6      31.5  
TO%            21.5      18.1      19.7        21.5      24.2      23.0  
OR%            47.6      60.0      52.8        27.8      54.5      42.5  
FTA/FGA        20.7      44.8      32.8         3.7      74.1      38.9  
 
Assist Rate    55.6      75.0      68.0        55.6      37.5      47.1  
Block Rate     14.3      13.0      13.6        15.0       5.0      10.0  
Steal Rate      7.2      18.1      13.2        17.9      15.1      16.5  
 
2FG%           35.0      55.0      45.0        42.9      34.8      38.6  
3FG%           22.2      55.6      38.9         0.0       0.0       0.0  
FT%            83.3      53.8      63.2       100.0      70.0      71.4

Recap: Cincinnati 68, Georgetown 64

The Hoyas played carelessly with the ball all night at the Verizon Center in losing to the Cincinnati Bearcats, 68-64.  In addition to the sloppy offensive effort, Georgetown was shredded late on isolation plays, allowing 12 points on their last 6 defensive possessions.

"Other than the turnovers, Coach Thompson, how did you enjoy the offense?"

The Hoyas shot 6/10 on 3FGs (including Jason Clark's errant mid-court shot at the final buzzer) and abused the Bearcats inside the paint [14/19 on dunks, layups and tip-ins].  They gathered more than a third of their own missed shots for the first time since at Louisville.  But Georgetown simply couldn't put together a great offensive game because of the incessant turnovers [17], usually on a Cincinnati steal [13].  The turnover differential in the game [17-9] meant that the Bearcats had eight more offensive possessions end with a scoring attempt.  In a game that was tied with less than 90 seconds remaining, that's a killer.

And not to beat a dead horse, but down near the bottom of the HD box score, we track points-after-steals; tonight the Hoyas trailed in that stat 14-0.

But here's the funny thing - the offense really wasn't the problem tonight.  Seriously.  Cincinnati is actually a solid defensive team - they had allowed 0.91 pts / possession in their first three conference games, mostly by turning over their opponents.

No, the real issue tonight was the Hoyas' defense.

The Bearcats came into the game struggling to make shots in conference games - 40 2FG%, 42 eFG% coming in, which were second-worst and worst in the conference, respectively.  Yet tonight, the Hoyas watched Dion Dixon and Sean Kilpatrick manage a combined 14/21 on 2FGs in the game, and the Bearcats as a whole shoot a cool 50% eFG for the game.

Georgetown's early season success was predicated upon their stingy defense and just enough offense to put teams away.  The Hoyas are now finding that they can't get the stops as easily as they once did, and will have to find a fix to stay with the top teams in the league.

Thankfully, the conference season is still early on and the young Hoyas can still adjust and improve.



Let's run the numbers:

.            Home                            Visitor   
.            Georgetown                      Cincinnati         
.            1st Half  2nd Half   Total      1st Half  2nd Half   Total
Pace            31        29        59
 
Points          34        30        64          32        36        68   

Effic.        110.0     105.2     108.0       103.5     126.2     114.8  
 
eFG%           66.0      65.8      65.9        48.1      52.2      50.0  
TO%            29.1      28.0      28.7        16.2      14.0      15.2  
OR%            27.3      44.4      35.0        26.7      42.9      34.5  
FTA/FGA         4.0      47.4      22.7        22.2      69.6      44.0  

Assist Rate    50.0      58.3      53.8        16.7      45.5      30.4  
Block Rate     10.5      11.1      10.8         0.0       0.0       0.0  
Steal Rate      9.7       7.0       8.4        25.9      17.5      21.9  
 
2FG%           50.0      68.8      58.8        52.6      50.0      51.4  
3FG%           71.4      33.3      60.0        25.0      40.0      30.8  
FT%           100.0      55.6      60.0       100.0      75.0      81.8

Recap: West Virginia 74, Georgetown 62

Sorry for the late post - complete game stats were hard to come by.

I'll just be adding some quick thoughts off the cuff as I watch the replay.

• The big story over the last two games, and one that will certainly bear watching, is that the Hoyas are suddenly not playing great defense. One of the stats pages at the top of the page is called "Big East Snapshot" which graphically shows how each team is playing offensively and defensively, adjusted for competition and venue. After running off a stretch of six straight games of allowing an adj def. efficiency of less than 90 pts / 100 possessions, the last two games - and actually three of the past four - have had the Hoyas above that mark. To be clear, it's not that the Hoyas are playing poor defense, just not at the elite level of December.
• The stats for the previous game vs. Marquette showed that the starters struggled to defend but the freshmen off the bench were able to shut down the Golden Eagles. Against the Mountaineers, it was the starters who ended up with solid defensive stats while the bench were a step behind.  I wondered how much of that was simply due to the Hoyas attempting to extend the game late in the second half, but the same difference was also there if I look only at the first half stats (except Whittington, who rated very well in the Lift-off half).
• I've seen some some complaints that Henry Sims is suffering from an inability to finish his inside shots. Today is probably a good example of what Henry is actually suffering from - Greg Monroe disease. He's simply settling for too many shots away from the basket; of the 10 FGAs for Sims in today's game, eight were recorded as jumpshots in the play-by-play (of course, Henry also missed his two layup attempts as well).

Let's run the numbers:

TEMPO-FREE BOX SCORE
 
.            Visitor                         Home      
.            Georgetown                      West Virginia         
.            1st Half  2nd Half   Total      1st Half  2nd Half   Total
Pace            32        38        70

Points          27        35        62          29        45        74   

Effic.         83.3      92.8      88.4        89.4     119.3     105.5  
 
eFG%           43.8      40.9      42.1        44.6      67.5      54.2  
TO%            30.8      13.3      21.4        24.7      23.9      24.2  
OR%            37.5      27.3      31.6        38.9      33.3      36.7  
FTA/FGA        33.3      36.4      35.1        25.0     120.0      64.6  
 
Assist Rate    40.0      46.2      43.5        75.0      25.0      50.0  
Block Rate      9.1      14.3      11.1        10.5       8.3       9.3  
Steal Rate      6.2      15.9      11.4        12.3      10.6      11.4  
 
2FG%           47.4      50.0      48.8        50.0      64.3      55.6  
3FG%           20.0      11.1      14.3        16.7      50.0      33.3  
FT%            75.0      66.7      70.0        57.1      75.0      71.0

Recap: Georgetown 73, Marquette 70

Image from here.

Alan is covering for Brian tonight.

A story of two halves tonight at the Verizon Center, as the Georgetown Hoyas clawed back from a deficit as large as 17 points in the second half by outscoring the Marquette Golden Eagles 26-10 over the final 14 possessions of the game to win 73-70.

In fact, the first half itself was a story of two halves.  In the first half of the first half, neither team could truly stop the other as Georgetown played the kind of defense last seen versus Ohio in the NCAA Tournament.

I'm not sure what kind of zone allows opposing players to stand next to the basket, but let's not play that one anymore, okay?

On offense, Georgetown stayed close by playing the Georgetown offense truly on steroids -- for the game Georgetown shot an insane 21-25 on two point shots and countered themselves by treating the basketball like a hot potato.  The Hoyas would have likely scored close to ninety if they didn't spend most of the first half chucking the ball away, often to Marquette players.  Marquette deserved some credit for this, of course, but Georgetown has by and large handled pressure well this year; this was a regression.

Both teams then simply flatlined, refusing to score.  For Georgetown, the turnovers intensified, in part fueled by Markel Starks, who probably should not have been back in the game following getting landed on by a Marquette player.  Marquette recovered and began shredding the defense that had just begun to recover.

The second half started with some back and forth, but in the end it was almost a complete reverse.  It was the Georgetown defense that was forcing turnovers; it was the Georgetown offense that was hitting its three pointers.  And the offense was still hitting pretty much every two it took.  When the Hoyas protect the ball and actually get to shoot, the offense can be deadly.

(Wait:  can this be Exhibit Z submitted as proof, alongside all the Hoyas' other comebacks, as evidence that the offense can come back from large deficits?)

But as good as the offense was in the second half, you need defense to come back just as much (if not more).  And the defense was good -- sparked by fantastic play by the freshmen perimeter duo of Jabril Trawick and Greg Whittington on D.  Nearly everyone played well on D in the second half but these two were phenomenal.

As evidence, I submit:  Greg Whittington, 17 minutes, +16 in plus/minus.  Not often you see that from a SG who scored two points.

Though every player played a role, at the end of the day, this comeback belonged to two veterans to my eye:  Hollis Thompson, whose dead-eye shots sealed the deal; and Jason Clark, who willed it to start at the beginning of the second half and simply kept scoring until we won.  The Hoyas' offense spreads shots but Clark used over 30% of his possessions when he was in, and did so with fantastic efficiency.

I'm going to go re-watch it right now.  Yes, it's one a.m. on the West Coast.  So what?

Let's run the numbers:

TEMPO-FREE BOX SCORE
 
.            Home                            Visitor   
.            Georgetown                      Marquette         
.            1st Half  2nd Half   Total      1st Half  2nd Half   Total
Pace            35        32        66
 
Points          29        44        73          43        27        70   

Effic.         83.4     139.3     109.9       123.7      85.5     105.4  
 
eFG%           54.5      85.7      69.8        55.7      44.1      51.9  
TO%            34.5      15.8      25.6        14.4      34.8      24.1  
OR%            23.1      16.7      21.1        41.2      35.7      38.7  
FTA/FGA        36.4      71.4      53.5        14.3      88.2      38.5  

Assist Rate    72.7      62.5      66.7        70.6      50.0      65.2  
Block Rate     12.5      10.0      11.8         8.3       0.0       4.0  
Steal Rate      8.6      19.0      13.6        14.4      12.7      13.6  
 
2FG%           75.0      92.3      84.0        50.0      30.0      44.1  
3FG%           20.0      50.0      33.3        45.5      42.9      44.4  
FT%            62.5      53.3      56.5        80.0      80.0      80.0

more stats after the jump

Recap: Georgetown 49, Providence 40

The Georgetown Hoyas and Providence Friars conspired to set back organized basketball at least 50 years with a nearly unwatchable performance this afternoon at the Verizon Center. The good guys pulled it out, 49-40; the game was considerably closer than the final score indicates.

How bad was it? The Hoyas failed to record an assist in the second half, which I suppose would be a bigger deal if they had made more than eight shots from the floor in the Vespers half.

Henry Sims was the second-best player on the floor today for Georgetown, but made only 2/13 2FG attempts. That included settling for six jumpers (and missing them all).

It gets worse - you could be a Providence fan and watch Gerald Coleman shoot an amazing 1/8 on FTs. Yeah, I thought it was a typo too, so I checked multiple box scores to confirm. He came into the game shooting 69% [=61/88] for the year.

As a team, the Hoyas ended up shooting 33% eFG - very close to the 34% effort against Howard five games ago.  Georgetown has only record two sub-40% shooting games in the previous two seasons (the two losses last year against Cincinnati), so this is clearly the stat to keep an eye on as conference-play unfolds.

So how did the Hoyas pull it out?

• the aforementioned Gerald Coleman disaster on the FT line
• limiting turnovers
• defense

The defensive effort, highlighted by Alan in yesterday's post, is going to have to be where the Hoyas make their bones this year - for the first time since 2008, the Hoyas have an adjusted def. efficiency below 90% (yes, it's still early).  Rust never sleeps, and defense doesn't slump; so long as Georgetown can keep this up, they'll have a puncher's chance in games when their shots aren't falling.

But the other positive to take away is that the Hoyas played another game without committing many turnovers [TO rate = 12%].  Now the Friars aren't a team built on steals [265th nationally on turnovers forced coming into the game], but Georgetown was able to finish the game with a 13-7 turnover edge.  Those 6 extra possessions ending with a scoring opportunity - in a game where the Hoyas averaged 0.82 pts / possession - was roughly equivalent to a +5 point advantage.  A huge difference when G'town led by only four points with less than a minute left.


Let's run the numbers:

TEMPO-FREE BOX SCORE
 
.            Home                            Visitor   
.            Georgetown                      Providence         
.            1st Half  2nd Half   Total      1st Half  2nd Half   Total
Pace            30        30        60
 
Points          27        22        49          19        21        40   

Effic.         88.9      74.4      81.8        62.5      71.0      66.8  
 
eFG%           39.7      26.7      33.1        26.0      30.8      28.4  
TO%             6.6      16.9      11.7        26.3      16.9      21.7  
OR%            20.0      40.0      31.1        33.3      31.8      32.6  
FTA/FGA        20.7      30.0      25.4        40.0      38.5      39.2  

Assist Rate    70.0       0.0      38.9        33.3      57.1      46.2  
Block Rate     20.0      22.2      21.1        11.1       8.3       9.5  
Steal Rate      6.6      13.5      10.0         3.3       6.8       5.0  
 
2FG%           38.9      33.3      35.7        25.0      27.8      26.3  
3FG%           27.3       0.0      17.6        20.0      25.0      23.1  
FT%            66.7      66.7      66.7        60.0      50.0      55.0

more stats after the jump

Recap: Georgetown 71, Louisville 68

Georgetown survived a late 11-point run by the Louisville Cardinals to pull out an impressive road win against the #4-ranked team in all the land to kick off Big East conference play.

I didn't get my hands on the Hoyas stats package until late tonight (thanks as always to Mex Carey for coming through in the clutch) so you'll get only a stats dump tonight.

The briefest of summaries:

• Hoya bench (Trawick, Hopkins) - good
• Otto Porter - very good
• Markel Starks - tremendous

(Edited to add some morning-after thoughts)

Having had a night to sleep on it, I'm beginning to wonder if last night's game isn't the perfect example of why Georgetown tends to struggle to live up to early season expectations.  The Hoyas were unconscious from behind the arc in the second half, and now delusion is running rampant.

The important stats to consider from last night were:

• Turnovers.  The Cardinals win by turning over their opponent - it fueled their late-game comeback.  Indeed, of Georgetown's 16 turnovers, 13 were by Louisville steals, i.e. live-ball turnovers.  The Hoyas entered last night's game having turned the ball over 17.3% of possessions, good for 25th nationally.  That trend was out of character for JT3-coached teams, who tend to be far too sloppy with the ball.  Last night's game may indicate that the team is regressing towards the mean now that the level of competition has improved.

• Outside shooting.  There are few better ways to punish an opponent than to make a high percentage of 3FGs.  The Cardinals are a great defensive team against inside shots [def 2FG% = 37.9%, 4th], but just mediocre against shots behind the arc [def 3FG% = 35.5%, 223rd].  The Princeton-variant offense that the Hoyas use is very good at generating open looks from deep, and Markel Starks and Hollis Thompson certainly took advantage.  But the Hoyas aren't going to shoot 64% from deep in most games, no matter how open they are.

• Defense. The Hoyas starters yesterday struggled a bit with the Cards version of the dribble-drive offense.  Nate Lubick especially ended with a poor defensive rating in limited minutes, but all the starters were at or above a defensive rating of 100 for the game.  But here, the Hoyas real strength this season came to the fore - the massive length that Coach Thompson can roll out from his bench.  Porter, Trawick, Whittington and Hopkins all got serious burn last night in their first conference road game, and all rated better than the starters defensively.  And that may be the key to the Hoyas' season:  for the first time since 2008, Coach Thompson may have - and trust - his bench.

Let's run the numbers:

TEMPO-FREE BOX SCORE
 
.            Visitor                         Home      
.            Georgetown                      LOUISVILLE         
.            1st Half  2nd Half   Total      1st Half  2nd Half   Total
Pace            33        33        66

Points          32        39        71          35        33        68   

Effic.         97.7     118.4     108.1       106.9     100.2     103.5  
 
eFG%           47.8      62.0      55.2        51.7      45.2      48.3  
TO%            27.5      21.2      24.4        15.3      12.1      13.7  
OR%            40.0      28.6      34.5        31.6      31.8      31.7  
FTA/FGA        56.5      44.0      50.0        31.0      25.8      28.3  
 
Assist Rate    50.0      46.2      47.8        61.5      58.3      60.0  
Block Rate      0.0      10.0       5.6        16.7      10.5      13.5  
Steal Rate      9.2       3.0       6.1        21.4      18.2      19.8  
 
2FG%           44.4      42.1      43.2        56.2      40.0      47.2  
3FG%           40.0      83.3      63.6        30.8      36.4      33.3  
FT%            76.9      72.7      75.0        55.6      62.5      58.8