I was hoping to write a recap that covered a Hoyas blowout on opening night against a 289th KenPom ranked Dartmouth squad, but Georgetown being Georgetown, this was far from the case. The Hoyas start their 2021-22 season with a 69-60 loss to Dartmouth. Actually, it was not only a loss, but they were completely outplayed and outcoached by a Dartmouth team that was playing their second game in two years. It is also important to note that Dartmouth has not beaten a high-major conference team in at least two decades (I couldn’t find data going back further than 2002), has not made the NCAA tournament since 1959, or even had a winning record since 1999.
Immediately, Georgetown came out flat-footed. After going back and forth for the first five minutes of the half, Dartmouth went on an 18-2 run while the Hoyas went 1 for 14 from the field and found themselves down 28-10 with seven minutes left in the first half. While Coach Ewing was testing out lineups, the Big Green were knocking down shot after shot. Dartmouth attempted 18 threes in the first half, making 7 of them. For some reason, Georgetown’s players and staff were unable to recognize that Dartmouth consistently had an open man behind the three point line. Freshman guard (and DMV native) Ryan Cornish put on a show for the Big Green in the first half, shooting 67% from the field and tacking on 11 points in just eight minutes. The Hoyas could not provide an answer. Kaiden Rice, who was recruited for his sharpshooting ability, opened the half 0-3 from three, and Dante Harris shot an abysmal 22% from the field. Harris’ dreadful shooting numbers may be due to his new jump shot, which looks significantly different from his jumper last season. Overall, the Hoyas finished the first half shooting 28% from the field and 25% from three, finding themselves down 37-21 at the half.
The Hoyas came out with a completely different energy in the second half, where they opened with an 14-0 run fueled by three Kaiden Rice 3-pointers. For a second, there was life. The packed student section was rocking the Arena, and the players were reacting to it. Georgetown would continue to force turnovers defensively while capitalizing on the other end. The teams were going back and forth, but back-to-back-and-1 conversions from freshman Ryan Mutombo had the arena roaring, and put Georgetown within 2 points of their opponents. Then, Aminu Mohammed (the lone bright spot of the day) tied up the game at 48-48 with a steal and dunk. On the next possession, Jordan Riley forced another steal and converted with a one-hand slam, giving the Hoyas their first lead of the game at 50-48. Unfortunately for the Hoyas, a lineup consisting entirely of freshmen could not prevent Dartmouth from scoring. The Big Green went on an 8-0 run, killing any momentum that the Hoyas had garnered in the previous 10 minutes. Dartmouth would continue to convert from beyond the arc, contested or (usually) not. The Big Green shot 9 for 20 from three in the second half, with 6 of those being made after Georgetown took the lead. Corner screens like this allowed Dartmouth players to get consistently open looks from deep, to which Georgetown was often late to contest. Senior guard Taurus Samuels lit up the Hoyas, going for 23 points on 8-17 shooting (6-10 from behind the arc). The Hoyas could not find their way back in the game, and opened their season with a disappointing 9-point loss in a packed Capital One Arena.
When Ewing was asked about the performance, he said “[Dartmouth] outplayed us today… We didn’t play well enough to get the win tonight.” Coach Ewing was exactly right. The Hoyas were embarrassed by a subpar Dartmouth team at their home arena. While it was expected that lineups were going to be tested throughout the game, it was almost irresponsible of Ewing to put out five freshmen on the floor while the team was struggling to contain the 290th best offense in the country, at least according to KenPom. The Hoyas managed 16 turnovers, which the Big Green were able to convert to 23 points. This needs to be cleaned up if Georgetown wants to win any games this season. They also only went 8-20 on layup attempts, a number which is far below what is expected of the reigning Big East tournament champions. It may not have helped that Timothy Ighoefe was out with a concussion, but Dartmouth’s tallest player on the court today was only 6’9’. Even on the perimeter the Hoyas struggled, allowing 16 threes on 38 attempts. Georgetown will not be able to win by giving up these figures, especially if they themselves are only able to make 42% of their shots.
Not everything was terrible, though. Aminu Mohammed showed that he has the ability to be a star in the Big East, leading the Hoyas with 17 points (the most for a Georgetown freshman in a debut since 2017), while making some huge plays. Obviously there is still much he can improve on in his game, but if tonight is any indication of how his season will go, the Hoyas have themselves a solid player to say the least. Senior Don Carey also played relatively well, going for 14 points and shooting 50% from three. It was also promising to see a packed student section (on both sides of the court) and an overall attendance of 8,641, but I’m not sure fans would pay to see this Georgetown team play again if they continue to perform like today.
There is simply no excuse for how Georgetown played today, and Coach Ewing and the staff need to be asking themselves how they can fix the wide range of issues that were on display. The Hoyas will have an opportunity to redeem themselves on Tuesday night when they face American University in Capital One.
Great summary thank you!