With all that’s been going on over the course of the last 36 hours, today’s game is likely the last thing on most people’s minds. But the show must go on. On the heels of a two-game losing streak and the sudden departure of two impact players, the 4-3 Hoyas head west to face the 7-0 Oklahoma State Cowboys at 8 pm Wednesday night as part of the Big 12/Big East Battle.
First things first, we’ve got to talk about the elephant in the room. Without Akinjo and LeBlanc, Georgetown’s rotation will likely look significantly different than it did this past Saturday. To answer the question of who will take Akinjo’s starting spot, Terrell Allen seems to be the most likely option, as he is the only other true point guard on the roster. Allen is nowhere near the offensive threat that Akinjo is, and thus Mac McClung will surely be asked to play more ball-dominant basketball than he has for most of the year. He even should see some time at the point guard position when Allen is on the bench.
As for who will pick up the slack given LeBlanc’s departure, that remains much murkier. Jamarko Pickett and Jagan Mosely will likely see a few more minutes, but the Hoyas will need a wing/forward off the bench to step up. Galen Alexander and Myron Gardner both appear to be likely candidates to step up given the minutes they’ve played this season. However, both Alexander and Gardner are implicated in the robbery and assault allegations that were uncovered following LeBlanc’s departure. As such, it remains unclear as to whether or not the two forwards will be active for Wednesday’s game. Georgetown Athletic Director Lee Reed’s statement Tuesday certainly left open that possibility that Alexander and Gardner would continue to play while the investigation is taking place. If that is the case, both should see their roles increase in LeBlanc’s absence.
Should Alexander and Gardner be suspended, Coach Ewing would find himself in a tough spot. Assuming that two of the freshmen centers (Ighoefe and Wilson) will redshirt this season, the Hoyas would be left with just seven scholarship players. With Blair and Wahab being the two scholarship reserves, Georgetown would be sorely lacking in terms of both ball-handlers and wing players. In such a situation, staying out of foul trouble would be of the essence, for there would be very little help off the bench. Ewing may even be forced to turn to one of the three walk-ons on the roster, the most likely being senior forward George Muresan.
So what about the Hoyas’ opponent Wednesday night? With the likely exception of Duke, Oklahoma State can make a case for the best team the Hoyas have faced thus far. The Cowboys are 7-0, including a 14-point win over Syracuse and a 41-point (!!!) win over Ole Miss, with both of those coming on a neutral court at the NIT Season Tip-Off Tournament.
Oklahoma State was just 12-20 last season, but they return all five of their starters from last year’s team. Key among them is sophomore guard Isaac Likekele, who leads the Cowboys in scoring (13.7 per game on 56.9% shooting) and assists (5.0 per game), while also chipping in 5.3 rebounds per contest. He posted an impressive 26 points, eight assists and five rebounds in the team’s win over Syracuse. For Georgetown, either Mosely or Allen will get the first crack at containing Likekele. While Likekele is more of a slasher, he is joined in the backcourt by senior guards, Lindy Waters and Thomas Dziagwa. Neither is afraid to let it fly from deep, and for good reason, as both are shooting around 38% from three-point range on the year.
Waters and Dziagwa showed off their range in the first half against Ole Miss.
In the frontcourt, the Cowboys have a pair of capable scorers as well in 6’10” Yor Anei and 6’7” Cameron McGriff. Anei is the Cowboys’ big man in the middle, averaging 7.6 rebounds per game. He also is second on the team with 12.9 points per game, almost all of those coming around the rim. It will be interesting to see if Omer Yurtseven can use his size to his advantage and make Anei uncomfortable, while also staying out of foul trouble. McGriff presents more of an inside-out threat, as he led the Cowboys in scoring a year ago. Despite shooting just 38.9% from the field and 16.7% from three on the year, McGriff has really turned it on of late, shooting a combined eight of 12 from the field in the team’s last two games.
While Oklahoma State’s offense has not been the most efficient, it is their defense that has set them apart. They rank 17th in the nation, allowing just 58.4 points per game, and are limiting opponents to just 34.3% shooting from the field. Oklahoma State is a very deep team, playing as many as 10 or 11 guys on any given night, which allows them to rotate in fresh defenders. Part of their defensive success can also be attributed to the rim protecting presence of Anei, who is averaging an incredible 3.3 blocks per game on the year.
Oklahoma State’s Yor Anei makes a ridiculous block, which leads to a transition bucket
The Cowboys ares also very adept at forcing turnovers, led by Likekele who averages 2.9 steals per game.
Isaac Likekele forces a Syracuse turnover and draws a foul in transition at the other end. He had five steals in the game.
This could prove problematic for Georgetown, especially at times when Allen, the team’s sole point guard, is not on the floor.
To be blunt, no one expects the Hoyas to win this game. A road game against Oklahoma State would be a stiff test for Georgetown even under the best of circumstances. With all the uncertainty swirling around the program at the moment, a win would be a minor miracle. That being said, the Hoyas have proved us wrong before. There’s a chance they come out with a chip on their shoulder and play the Cowboys tight. Will even the best effort of the Hoyas be enough? Unlikely. But then again, games aren’t won on paper.
Jacob’s Prediction (6-1 on the year): Oklahoma State 69, Georgetown 58
Georgetown struggled offensively last game, and that was even with James Akinjo and Josh LeBlanc! With those two gone, there are simply not enough scoring options to go around, with McClung and Yurtseven being the only true scoring threats. I expect the team to be fired up after all the news this week, and thus the defensive intensity will be there, but you can’t win if you can’t score.
WIll’s Prediction (5-2 on the year): Oklahoma State 72, Georgetown 57
Given that we have no idea who’s playing in this game (given the questions surrounding Alexander and Gardner), no idea how these new rotations will play, and top that off with the already tough matchup the Hoyas face in the Cowboys, I’d consider it a happy event if we kept it within single digits. It’s not the first time this Georgetown team’s faced adversity, but it sure does seem like a lot of adversity this time around. It’s going to be tough for me to turn on the TV to watch this game given what we’ve learned about the conduct of multiple players. I’ll choose to instead focus on and cheer for the players like Omer and Mac who are by all accounts good people and are still playing hard for the Hoyas.
