The Bracket
After finishing the season with a 7-9 record in conference play, your Georgetown Hoyas earned the 8 seed in the Big East Tournament and a first round date with the Marquette Golden Eagles (13-13 overall, 8-11 Big East) at 3pm on Wednesday.
The winner of the 8/9 game will face the top-seeded Villanova Wildcats at noon on Thursday in the quarterfinals. Despite winning the Big East regular season title, Villanova is looking mighty vulnerable after losing guards Collin Gillespie and Justin Moore to injury in the leadup to the tournament. To get a shot at the Wildcats, however, Georgetown will first have to take care of business against a Marquette team that has won four of its last five games.
For those looking for a silver lining in getting the 8 seed, the Hoyas are on the opposite side of the bracket as a red-hot UConn team that decimated Georgetown on Saturday. The second-seeded Creighton Bluejays and newly reinstated (but still racist) Coach Greg McDermott are also on the opposite side of the bracket.
Prior to the Hoyas’ season finale against UConn, Patrick Ewing was optimistic about his team’s chances of making a run. “We’re playing our best ball right now, and this is the best time to be playing great- the end of the season, going into the Big East Tournament, said Ewing. “Hopefully we go up there and make some noise and go as far as we can- hopefully win it all.”
About the Matchup
Georgeotwn and Marquette have met just once this season, a 64-60 Golden Eagles win back on Jan. 2. The Hoyas led for most of that contest, jumping out to a 16-point halftime lead before choking it away in the second half (good times, right?!). Marquette’s Jamal Cain led all scorers with 25 points on an efficient 10 of 15 shooting, while Justin Lewis added in 10 points of his own off the bench.
Coincidentally, the first Marquette game was the first of Jahvon Blair’s mystery punishments, as Ewing benched his senior guard due to a coach’s decision. Despite coming off the bench, Blair played 37 minutes and dropped 20 points to lead the Hoyas. After not playing against DePaul and coming off the bench each of the last two contests (all coach’s decisions), Blair’s status for the Big East Tournament is anyone’s guess. Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Ewing provided little clarity on what Blair’s role will be moving forward, saying “we will see.” He later added, “I’m not changing anything in the lineup, at least not right now.”
Since the two teams first met, the Golden Eagles have had their ups and downs. In late January, Marquette suffered an ugly home loss to lowly DePaul and proceeded to lose five of their next six games. Since then, the Golden Eagles have turned things around in a big way, winning four of their final five games, including a non-conference road win at North Carolina. Luckily for Hoya fans, Georgetown also ended the regular season on a high note (save the blowout loss at UConn) going 6-4 since returning from their three-week COVID pause. “They [the Golden Eagles] have improved just like we have improved just like we have improved,” said Ewing on Tuesday. “I’m looking forward to a great game.”
Scouting Marquette
The Golden Eagles roll out a balanced scoring attack, with all five starters averaging eight points per game or higher. On the year, freshman forward Dawson Garcia leads the team at 13.2 points per game, while also grabbing 6.7 rebounds per contest. Of late, Ohio State transfer DJ Carton has begun to shoulder more of the scoring load, scoring 15 or more points in six of Marquette’s final nine regular season games.
As a team, Marquette likes to attack the basket and get to the free throw line often. They play at a much slower pace then the Hoyas and rely far less heavily on the three-point shot. At times, Georgetown has struggled to defend without fouling, but they will have to play disciplined team defense in order to beat the Golden Eagles.
Defensively, it’s been a mixed bag for Marquette. Theo John is a staple in the middle for the Golden Eagles, and his strength and physicality anchor their entire defense. As a matter of fact, John ranks fifth in the Big East with 1.5 blocks per game. On the perimeter, Marquette has had less success. The Golden Eagles rank last in the Big East in turnovers forced, a positive sign for a turnover-prone Georgetown team. Additionally, Marquette allows opponents to average a league-high 8.3 three-pointers per contest at an insane clip of 37.1%. The Hoyas will certainly be looking to attack these weaknesses in the Golden Eagles’ defense.
Keys to the Game
- Get Theo John in foul trouble. As mentioned above, John is the anchor of Marquette’s interior defense. While Garcia measures in at 6’11”, he in no way matches John’s physicality. If John is forced to go to the bench, Qudus Wahab and the Georgetown bigs could have a field day in the paint.
- Pass out of the post. Of late, Wahab has gotten noticeably better at passing out of the double team. If Marquette adopts the UConn strategy of doubling the post, he’ll need to recognize it and find open shooters on the perimeter. Playing inside-out not only forces the defense to respect Wahab’s interior prowess, but it also opens up Jahvon Blair, Jamorko Pickett and the rest of the Georgetown sharpshooters for open looks from deep.
- Bring the defensive intensity from the opening tip. In the win over Xavier, the Hoyas played some of their best defense of the season, limiting the Musketeers to 23 first half points. Against UConn, Georgetown looked lost defensively and seemed unable to come up with a single stop as the Huskies scored a ridiculous 98 points. When asked about how the Hoyas can rebound from the poor defensive performance against UConn, Ewing responded, “It’s something that we’ve watched film on, we talked about, and hopefully we addressed it and they’ll be able to come out with a lot of energy and effort in this big game.”
Predictions
Jacob’s Prediction (15-6 on the season): Georgetown 74, Marquette 69
Yes, Georgetown lost to Marquette earlier this season, but the Hoyas did lead for most of that contest. And this team is in a different place than they were in January. Take the Xavier game. Earlier this year, the Hoyas would’ve blown that lead. They almost still did, but they toughed it out long enough to hold on in the end.
Beyond that, I think Marquette plays into Georgetown’s strengths very well. As I mentioned above, the Golden Eagles don’t force a lot of turnovers, and they give up a ton of three pointers, both positive signs for the Hoyas. The only thing that worries me is if Georgetown’s defense will hold up. Marquette rolls out a lot of athletes who are capable of attacking the rim. Heck, Dawson Garcia is 6’11” and is still capable of putting the ball on the deck. I’m counting on Patrick Ewing having his guys motivated to turn up the defensive intensity. Here’s to hoping the Hoyas bring home the first Big East Tournament win of Ewing’s tenure. Hoya Saxa, and have a drink ready in case this one goes south!
Will’s Prediction (15-6 on the season): Georgetown 69, Marquette 65
Whoever dictates the pace will win the game. I’m looking for Georgetown to rebound after the drubbing on Saturday. Like Jacob, I think the Hoyas are a different team since the last time they played Marquette, but the same is true for Marquette as well. Marquette has a lot of good pieces- they’re just poorly coached. That’s why this game scares me, as they’re a very hot-and-cold team, but I think that Georgetown should be able to impose their will and dictate the pace of the game, resulting in Ewing finally getting the Big East Tournament win off of his back.
