Death, taxes and a demoralizing early non-conference loss under Patrick Ewing; some things simply never change. Since the beginning of the Ewing experiment, the Hoyas have found ways to quash excitement around the team and last night was no different. After a seemingly strong first half, the Hoyas found yet another way to hurt us by failing to stick with a mediocre Northwestern team, ultimately losing in disappointing fashion by a score of 75-63.
The Hoyas came out of the gates looking alright. Although both teams were sloppy and the refs were calling a lot of weak fouls, Georgetown found a way to dictate play for most of what was a back and forth half. The game was being played at a quicker tempo and the decision to stick with a small lineup was paying off after Qudus Wahab fell into foul trouble early. Among other things, the smallball look allowed the Hoyas to hold Northwestern to shooting just 29% from the field. While the Cats were able to exploit this lineup to get offensive rebounds and second chance opportunities, Georgetown’s ability to switch at all positions made it harder for Northwestern to find open looks from deep, shooting 18 attempts but only converting on 33% of them. This helped the Hoyas enter the break with a 35-33 lead as they were the better team in the first period.
This, of course, all changed in the second half. Coming out, it felt as though the Hoyas lost every ounce of defense that they were able to build on previously. Immediately, Qudus Wahab’s reinjection into the lineup slowed the rotation down. On offense, while Georgetown was making an effort to establish the post, Wahab’s inability to recognize a converging defense led to a number ill advised shots, especially when playing from behind. On defense, though, Wahab’s presence in the paint kept the Hoyas from playing the aggressive defensive style that kept Northwestern cold in the first half. As we’ve seen over the last six years, Georgetown overcommitted to the same pick-and-roll set on each trip down the floor which let Northwestern find their shooters open on the outside to make uncontested shots. Ultimately, the Cats played like they wanted to win more.
Coming into the game, we knew that Northwestern takes a lot of three pointers, but Georgetown’s inability to play even an ounce of three point defense in the second half ended up being the difference in this game. For context, in their first two games Northwestern averaged 20 3-point attempts, but that number was nearly surpassed in the first half, as the Hoyas let up 18 attempts in the first 20 minutes and 33 attempts overall. After holding Northwestern’s starters to a collective 15 points on 20% shooting in the first half, the Hoyas handed the Cats open looks in the second, letting shooters Boo Buie and Chase Audige heat up almost immediately. The duo, who were kept in check early on, combined for 25 points in the second period alone.
Among the most alarming issues in the loss was the play of Brandon Murray. In 38 minutes, Murray only tallied only five points (most of which came in garbage time), three rebounds and three assists with a total plus-minus of -16, which was second worst on the team. But while he saw nothing falling on offense, the most startling part of his game was his lack of effort on defense. On multiple occasions, Murray missed a contested shot on offense and was seen walking back on defense as Northwestern pushed the ball up the court. As someone with such a proven level of talent, it is hard to say that this loss doesn’t fall on him. The Hoyas did not play well by any means, but it is extremely telling when their best player kept getting rattled by missed shots and ended up showing no effort when it mattered. After the game, Ewing noted that he spoke to Murray about his lack of effort, but whether anything changes is to be seen.
Although it is hard to take any positives away from the game, the Hoyas got a few individual performances that acted as the whipped cream on shit we’ve become accustomed to over the last few seasons. Most notably, after getting his waiver granted by the NCAA just the day before, Jay Heath made an immediate impact for the Hoyas. Coming off the bench, Heath had 13 points with four rebounds and three steals as the only major contributor to have a positive plus-minus. Although he was forced to sit at the beginning of the second half as a result of cramping, Heath’s poise and all around solid play gave Hoya fans a reason to be optimistic coming out of the team’s horrific performance.
Once again, the Hoyas got a strong outing from Primo Spears, who single handedly kept the team in the game at some points. Spears continued his scoring tear, ending the game with 22 points while adding six assists and three steals. He proved that he can contribute against a high level of competition, with Chris Collins noting that containing him was something he emphasized entering the game, but in order for the Hoyas to be successful going forward he needs to do so while getting the rest of the team involved as well.
Overall, the Hoyas’ performance showed us where they stand as they head into the harder part of the schedule. Of course the team is still learning to play together, but at a certain point we need to hold them, and more specifically Patrick Ewing, accountable for their poor play. We have reached the point where we have to ask when things will change. This roster is too talented and is seemingly going to waste as a result of the current state of the program.
The Hoyas travel to Jamaica this weekend as they face off against Loyola Marymount on Thursday night in the Jersey Mike’s Jamaica Classic.
