Georgetown could not convert on key opportunities after battling with Butler all afternoon, leading to a 56-53 loss. The Hoyas are now 0-7 in conference play and have dropped eight straight games.
Georgetown made its return to Hinkle Fieldhouse since last year’s NCAA tournament opener against Colorado on Saturday afternoon for a rematch against a middling Butler squad. Much like the previous matchup, shooting was a major problem for the Hoyas, who shot just 36% from the field and 21% from deep. The Bulldogs weren’t much better, only connecting on 37% of their shots.
This was an ugly, grimy game from start to finish between two teams who seemingly had no interest in pulling away from one another. Aminu Mohammed and Don Carey led the effort for Georgetown on both sides of the ball, with the freshman star working inside to draw contact and the senior leader contributing with a nice shooting display. Mohammed (16 points) and Carey (12 points) were the lone Hoyas scoring in double digits as Patrick Ewing’s squad scored a season-low 53 points.
The first half started very slow, as both teams couldn’t find their shot and attempted to establish themselves inside. Butler got plenty of second chance opportunities early that gave them a lead, but freshman Ryan Mutombo made a major difference in his seven first half minutes off the bench, including this stretch on both sides of the ball to give Georgetown a 11-8 lead.
The 7’2” freshman has made major strides since the beginning of the season, but Patrick Ewing’s bizarre management of Mutombo’s minutes has held back the difference he could make for this Hoya team. Mutombo did not even touch the floor in the second half. Butler also had a big contribution off the bench, as Simas Lukosius made his presence felt all game with his range and defense to the tune of 13 points and 3 steals.
Following a Butler run and stagnant half-court offense from Georgetown, Ewing was heard in the huddle imploring his team to take over the paint. Aminu Mohammed immediately heeded his coach’s words, taking the ball inside for some hard-fought buckets, including a fadeaway plus a foul and this electrifying slam off a great look from Timothy Ighoefe.
Trailing 32-26 at the break, Georgetown came out in the second half with plenty of offensive miscues as Butler expanded their lead. Bryce Nze was a force inside showing off his #Security and Aaron Thompson could not be stopped off the dribble for the Bulldogs.
Towards the middle of the second half, it became clear that Jalin Billingsley did not belong on the floor if the Hoyas wanted to remain competitive in this game. The freshman forward often looked lost on the defensive end, especially in the pick and roll, and could not convert on either of his field goal attempts. Ewing changed the team’s defensive strategy to use a full-court press, which Dante Harris and Don Carey capitalized on to cut the Butler lead to just one with eight minutes to play, and then again with just over three minutes remaining. However, untimely turnovers held the Hoyas back each time they had a chance to seize control.
Down the stretch the Hoyas kept it close and found themselves down by three with 14 seconds to tie the game following a phantom foul called on Collin Holloway. Don Carey had an open look from the corner that barely rimmed out, and just like that the Hoyas fell to 0-7 in Big East play.
Georgetown had a real chance to pick up a valuable conference road win in this game, but this season just continues to be an absolute mess at every turn. The lack of veteran leadership (outside of Carey) has been a recurring theme, as evidenced by multiple stagnant offensive stretches and often uninspired defensive play. The fans are clamoring for any display of progress, but this team just keeps letting the Georgetown faithful down. Now is the perfect time to have a student-only packed McDonough Arena to give the program a much-needed boost.
Georgetown is back in action Tuesday night with Seton Hall making the trip to DC coming off back-to-back losses. This game offers another great chance to take down a Big East rival, but at this point, I’ve forgotten what the word hope even means.
