For a short stretch on Saturday afternoon, it looked like the Georgetown Hoyas (6-10 overall, 0-5 Big East) might just take down the mighty Villanova Wildcats, the 11th-ranked team in the nation. After taking a three-point advantage into halftime, the Hoyas stretched their lead to eight points with 16:47 to play.
From there on out, it was all Villanova. The Wildcats responded with a 9-0 run to take the lead, and while the Hoyas battled down the stretch, they failed to regain the momentum, and ‘Nova rolled to a 85-74 victory in the nation’s capital.
Villanova’s Collin Gillespie led all scorers with 28 points, including 18 in the second half, as the Wildcats shot 54% from the field. Collin Holloway paced Georgetown with a career-high 25 points on 9 of 10 shooting. Dante Harris and Aminu Mohammed chipped in 17 points and 13 points, respectively, for the Hoyas.
After Villanova jumped out to a nine-point lead halfway through the first half, things began to turn in Georgetown’s favor. Both Holloway and Mohammed found success attacking the rim, and Harris knocked down two consecutive three pointers to swing the momentum towards the home team. The Hoyas also turned to their full-court press defense and forced ‘Nova into several turnovers. It was truly rocking inside Capital One Arena as an animated crowd urged the underdog Hoyas onward. Don Carey knocked down a jumper to take the lead—and notch his 1,000th career point—with 2:24 until halftime. With the momentum firmly on their side, Georgetown headed to the locker room leading 40-37.
It wasn’t a flawless first half by any means. However, the Wildcats came out swinging, and Georgetown threw a counterpunch of their own. I don’t think it’s far fetched to say that this was the Hoyas’ best half of basketball so far this season. With a fanbase so starved for success, it was fun to revel in this high, however fleeting it was.
As we know, the second half was less fun for Georgetown fans. After being relatively silent in the first half, Collin Gillespie made his presence felt with three triples in a four minute stretch around the halfway point of the second period. Dante Harris—who guarded Gillespie for much of Saturday’s contest—was one of four Hoyas who played 35 minutes or more. Down the stretch, it certainly seemed like Georgetown’s lack of depth played a role in Villanova taking control of the game.
Aminu Mohammed closes in on Collin Gillespie of Villanova. Photograph by John Picker. 
Patrick Ewing coaches in the background wile Dante Harris defends Collin Gillespie. Photograph by John Picker.
The Wildcats also began to have their way with the Hoyas on the inside. Too often, a Villanova player simply backed a Georgetown defender down and converted the layup at the rim. All in all, the Wildcats outscored the Hoyas 42 to 28 in the paint. Despite having three seven-footers on the roster, Georgetown could have sorely used an effective rim protector.
The center position in general was a glaring weakness on Saturday. Timothy Ighoefe got the start but played just 20 minutes and scored 0 points, while not contributing much defensively, either. Malcolm Wilson looked similarly ineffective in limited action, and Ryan Mutombo did not see the court at all. In a conference as physical as the Big East, the Hoyas’ lack of a reliable option at the center position has turned into their Achilles heel.
While this one may have gotten away from Georgetown in the second half, there are certainly a number of positives to take away from the loss. With the Hoyas back at full strength, the offense looked far better than some previous outings to start Big East play. Aminu Mohammed looked closer to his usual self, and Collin Holloway has quietly established himself as a bonafide scoring threat for this team.
Still, there’s a lot of work to be done on the defensive end. When Georgetown was at their best on Saturday, it was when they were pressuring the ball and getting stops on the defensive end. That defensive intensity disappeared in the second half—most likely due to the Hoyas’ starters running out of gas—and it’s impossible to mount a comeback if you can’t get it done on the defensive end.
In both of their last two games, the Hoyas have shown that they can compete with the cream of the crop in the Big East. If they play with the same energy that they did on Saturday, it’s not a matter of it, but when, Georgetown will score their first win of conference play.
