Heading into the game, the excitement was palpable. In 20 minutes, it had all vanished. Seton Hall took advantage of a shaky Georgetown defense to secure a 25-point halftime lead and coasted to a 73-57 victory. Myles Powell led all scorers with 31 points, including 29 in the first half (a Big East Tournament record), and Sandro Mamukelashvili chipped in a double-double for the Pirates, notching 12 points and 10 rebounds. As for the Hoyas, their senior leaders were notably quiet as newly-minted Big East Freshman of the Year James Akinjo was the only Georgetown player to reach double digits, with 15 points.
In the first half, just about everything that could have gone wrong for Georgetown did. Seton Hall dominated all aspects of the game, converting 10 Georgetown turnovers into 20 points on the other end. Some of the Hoyas’ miscues were almost comical; in one instance Jessie Govan got caught in the corner and appeared to pass the ball directly to Myles Powell. On defense, it was not any better, with Georgetown giving up both points off drives to the basket and wide open three-pointers. Powell was lights out, showing Georgetown the true meaning of “hand down, man down,” including with this catch and shoot three over Akinjo.
All in all, the Pirates were 8-14 from beyond the arc before the break.
For all the things that went wrong, credit the Hoyas for having some pride and not packing it in at halftime like they did against DePaul. When Seton Hall suddenly went cold from the field, Georgetown made an attempt at a comeback, rattling off 12 straight points to pull within 14 with 9:56 to go. Unfortunately, Mac McClung fouled Quincy McKnight on a three-point attempt during the ensuing possession, and McKnight converted all 3 free-throws, taking the wind out of the Hoyas’ sails. In the end, the first-half hole that the Blue and Gray had dug was too big to escape and a miracle comeback was not in the cards.
As a result of Thursday’s contest, Seton Hall now moves on to face Marquette in the semifinals of the BET, while Georgetown is sent home. Any hope of Ewing & company sneaking into the NCAA Tournament is now gone, and the NIT now appears to be the only possibility of postseason play. That is far from a guarantee though; after this loss, it’s unclear if anyone (myself included) wants to see more bad basketball from this Georgetown team. In the best-case scenario, the Hoyas will earn a spot in the NIT, host a game on the Hilltop, and have a chance to give this senior class a proper sendoff (thanks Georgetown for scheduling Senior Night over spring break). A lot of Georgetown fans may say the program will be better off moving forward without them, and while that may be true, these seniors stayed the course during the transition from JTIII to Ewing and helped lay the groundwork for rebuilding a winning culture. For that, they deserve our gratitude.
This one will sting for a while (as it should), but it shouldn’t sour the improvements we saw over the course of this season. This is a young team, and thus being a .500 team in Big East play, including wins over Marquette and Villanova, is a big step, especially after non-conference struggles that saw losses against Loyola Marymount and SMU. This group has a high ceiling for the future; all one can hope for is that this loss to end the year serves as motivation to strive to get better over the offseason.
Missing the NCAA Tournament is disappointing, but I can’t truthfully say it wasn’t expected. From the opening game against UMES to tonight, there was no point this year where I felt confident that this was an NCAA Tournament caliber team. Frankly, it isn’t (as much as that hurts to say). That being said, I do feel for this graduating class: the players (specifically Jessie and Kaleb) and the team’s loyal supporters. Four years and 0 NCAA Tournament appearances is a tough pill to swallow. It’s unfortunate that they won’t be here on the Hilltop to witness the bright future to come.
Enough nostalgia. There still may be more basketball to be played.
NIT or Bust!
