It looks like Georgetown won’t be coming off of its three-week COVID-19 pause with the same boost as last season. Without Don Carey (illness), Ryan Mutombo (unknown), and Timothy Ighoefe (injury), the undermanned Hoyas did not have an answer for the Shaka Smart squad’s aggressive style. From the tip, Marquette revved the tempo of the game up high and kept it there throughout their rout of Georgetown. Collin Holloway was the only particularly bright spot for the rusty Hoyas in an otherwise out-of-sorts contest. Shaka Smart, known for his extremely high-energy gameplan, let constant pressing and transition ball help guide the Golden Eagles to victory.
Once Marquette established the tempo to their advantage, everything else seemed to fall into place for the Golden Eagles. Kur Kuath alone gobbled up a whopping 10 rebounds and just seemed to outmatch the Hoyas’ big men. The already-thin center rotation had another hit today with the absence of Ryan Mutombo. Georgetown also had some trouble defending against Marquette’s impressive ball movement, as Marquette managed to shoot 59% from the floor and 35% from 3-point land. Olivier-Maxence Prosper alone tallied 22 points for the Golden Eagles on a lights-out 9 for 11 from the field. Smart clearly chose to focus Marquette’s efforts on neutralizing Mohammed, and they did so somewhat effectively. Mohammed finished the night going 5 from 17 from the floor (12 points).
Georgetown’s defense was rough, to say the least. They struggled to stop prolonged scoring runs, and with the lack of enough offensive firepower, those runs from Marquette put this game away. In the post-game press conference, Patrick Ewing expressed his displeasure with the team’s effort, saying; “As a person who’s played 17 years, coached 23 years, I was disappointed in my team’s performance… Guys are always bitching about wanting playing time. Now you have to show you deserve to be on the floor.”
At least some of the Hoyas’ troubles can be attributed to a potential Dante Harris injury early in the first half that prompted him to grimace and grasp his left wrist after falling awkwardly. From that moment on, the point guard just never seemed to find his normal rhythm this game. He gave up an uncharacteristic 4 turnovers and only tallied 2 assists throughout the game. Hopefully, Harris is not seriously injured and will be ready to go as Big East play marches on.
Since the Hoyas have rescheduled several of the four games they had postponed due to COVID-19, they will have no shortage of Big East contests to make up for tonight’s loss. The Hoyas will return to Capital One Arena on Thursday to duel with the Butler Bulldogs. Hopefully, the return of Georgetown’s injured players, students back in the stands, and having this Big East game under their belts will lead to better results going forward. Patrick Ewing’s words from the post-game press conference were harsh; “Big John is rolling over in his grave for the performance we showed tonight.”
