The Future is Now: Freshman Guards Propel Hoyas Over Mighty Marquette

Wow. What a way to close out the regular season for these Hoyas! An 86-84 road victory over #16 (at least for now) Marquette Golden Eagles was nothing short of remarkable.  Freshman phenoms James Akinjo and Mac McClung paced Georgetown with 25 points and 23 points respectively. Outside of an absurd number of fouls (part of which may have been due to poor officiating), the Hoyas also turned in a stellar defensive effort, limiting Marquette’s Markus Howard and Sam Hauser to relatively quiet games.

If we learned one thing Saturday afternoon, it is that James Akinjo will not be intimidated by anyone. Staring down perhaps the most prolific scorer in the nation in Markus Howard, Akinjo was constantly in Howard’s airspace, forcing the Big East’s leading scoring to work for each of his 25 shot attempts. While Howard ended the game with 28 points, it was in by no means a great outing, as he shot just 32% from the field. What was perhaps more impressive was Akinjo’s response anytime Marquette seemed to gain some momentum, knocking down big shot after big shot to silence the crowd and keep the Golden Eagles from pulling ahead.

In the video above, James hits two contested threes to square the game, and then follows it up with a nifty floater to put the Hoyas ahead with under six minutes to play. After this game, there is no doubt that James Akinjo is the alpha dog of this team, and Coach Ewing should continue to let his young point guard operate as the leader of the pack.

If Akinjo is to be the leader of this program for the next 3 to 4 years, Mac McClung is surely his trusty sidekick. On Saturday, McClung showcased his ability to operate in one-on-one situations, and Ewing rolled out a variety of looks to get Mac in space.

With the game tied and under 3 minutes to play, McClung took advantage of the designed clear-out to hit a pull-up jumper over his defender. Another noteworthy aspect of McClung’s outing was his efficiency, something that has been lacking much of the year. The Gate City native was 5-8 from the field, while also getting to the free throw line 14 times, converting 11 of them. If this game is any indication, Mac is making great strides in terms of deciding when to go at his defender and when to hold back rather than blindly attacking the rim.

With senior forward Jessie Govan limited to just 20 minutes due to foul trouble, Georgetown needed contributions from the entire lineup to collect the win. Jagan Mosely, though held scoreless on offense, was once again strong on the defensive end, holding Sam Hauser (who went for 31 points in Marquette’s visit to D.C.) to just 7 points on 2 of 11 shooting. Trey Mourning and Kaleb Johnson, who was playing in his first game back from a concussion, both turned in valuable minutes with Govan and Josh LeBlanc on the bench.

Still, the most surprising performance of the afternoon belongs to Jamorko Pickett, who, despite playing being benched and playing limited minutes in the last few games, came ready to play off the bench. His 10 points included two huge three-pointers, none timelier than this rainbow three off a Mosely assist to put the Hoyas up 5 with under 90 seconds to play.

Govan, despite being virtually invisible most of the game, did come up huge with an offensive rebound and drained 1 of 2 free-throws to all but seal it.  

So what’s next?

With the outcomes of two Big East games still undecided, Georgetown will have to wait and see who they will draw in the tournament.

UPDATE: The Hoyas, seeded sixth, will be facing Myles Powell and the Seton Hall Pirates, seeded third, on Thursday at 9:30pm at Madison Square Garden.

Regardless, the Hoyas have clinched a top-6 conference finish and thus a spot in the quarterfinals next Thursday night for the first time in four years. This is a big step in the right direction for the program and a 9-9 conference record in Ewing’s second season is definitely something to hang his hat on. The year is not yet done, however, and this team has shown the ability to beat anyone in the conference (outside of the dreaded Creighton Bluejays), leaving hope for a deep run in the conference tournament. That is exactly what the Hoyas need if they are to play themselves into the Big Dance; earning an automatic bid by winning the Big East Tournament may be their only option, but a run to the finals that included a win over Marquette or Villanova would certainly be cause for consideration from the selection committee.

Whatever happens from here on out, this win cements the 2018-2019 season as a successful one for the program, with marquee wins over ‘Nova and today at Marquette. As for right now, there has not been this much excitement around Georgetown basketball in a long time. All aboard the Hoya Hype Train! Next stop, Madison Square Garden and the Big East Tournament!