Two Big East games. Two losses.
Missing several key contributors due to illness, the shorthanded Georgetown Hoyas failed to secure their first conference win, falling 72-58 to the Butler Bulldogs. Above all, the Hoyas (6-7 overall, 0-2 Big East) simply could not find a way to put the ball in the basket, shooting just 34% from the floor and 19% from three-point range.
Both starting guards—Donald Carey and Dante Harris—were unavailable Thursday night, leaving freshman Tyler Beard as the only active scholarship point guard. Forced to play close to the full 40 minutes, Beard was a rare bright spot for Georgetown in an otherwise forgettable performance. He led the Hoyas with 15 points and 5 assists, but was relatively quiet after halftime.
With Patrick Ewing out for Thursday’s game due to “DC Department of Health Guidelines,” lead assistant Louis Orr stepped in as acting head coach. Likely in an attempt to avoid foul trouble with so few available players—or perhaps in an ode to Orr’s days at Syracuse as a player—the Hoyas played a 2-3 zone for the majority of the contest. “It wasn’t bad,” Orr said of the Georgetown zone after the game. “I thought it gave us a chance, especially in the first half.”
Orr isn’t wrong. Despite seven first-half turnovers, the Hoyas were able to go toe-to-toe with the Bulldogs. With under five minutes to play until halftime, Georgetown held a narrow 25-21 lead. From this point forward, the wheels really began to fall off. Butler ended the half on an 11-2 run to regain control heading into the break.
The start of the second half didn’t get any better. The Bulldogs scored eight unanswered points coming out of the locker room and continued to stretch their lead. By the 13-minute mark, Butler pushed their lead to 20 points, the largest of the evening for either team.
During this entire meltdown, it was Georgetown’s offensive struggles that allowed Butler to seize control. With Carey and Harris out, one would expect Aminu Mohammed and Kaiden Rice—the Hoyas’ two leading scorers—to shoulder a larger load. Instead, Mohammed and Rice turned in some of their worst performances of the season. They combined for just 12 points on 3 for 25 shooting.
Mohammed looked especially out of sorts, as he continually drove to the basket but failed to convert amid heavy traffic. In the opening two games of Big East play, Mohammed has been uncharacteristically inefficient, and it seems like he is trying to force the issue at times. It’s a small sample size, to be fair, but the Hoyas will need Mohammed to turn things around if they are to find any success in conference play.
With the Hoyas trailing big in the second half, Coach Orr turned to the full-court press. This did prove somewhat successful, as Georgetown forced the Butler guards into several errant passes. Freshman Jalin Billingsley played a key role in the press, using his length and athleticism to disrupt passing lanes. Billingsley contributed 8 points and 6 rebounds in what Orr labeled as his best game as a Hoya.
Thanks in part to the press, Georgetown showed signs of mounting a comeback. However, the nail in the coffin for the Hoyas was their poor free throw shooting. Georgetown found themselves in the bonus early in the second half, giving them the chance to cut into the Bulldogs’ lead with the clock stopped. Unfortunately, the Hoyas turned in a dismal performance at the charity stripe. On the night, Georgetown shot 15 of 24 from the free-throw line, but the reality is even worse than the stats indicate, as the Hoyas missed the front end of several one-and-ones.
This was a game to forget for Georgetown. Sure, the Hoyas were missing several key pieces, but Butler isn’t the cream of the crop in the Big East, either. Regardless, Georgetown’s dismal start to conference play makes it increasingly likely that the Hoyas are destined for the basement of the Big East once again.
For now, the Hoyas will try to get healthy before heading on the road to face rival St. John’s on Saturday afternoon.
