On Saturday night, another weak second half cost Georgetown the game, as the Hoyas ultimately fell to the DePaul Blue Demons 74-68.
It was a Saturday night and none of us had the energy or inclination to do a full recap of this game, if we’re keeping it a buck here. Instead, we’re going to list all the good and bad things that happened in this game (hint: it was mostly bad).
GOOD: Omer Yurtseven started this game after missing the prior two games against Butler and Providence due to an ankle sprain. Finally, we could count on getting back some fairly consistent production from the center position!
BAD: Omer left the game early with an apparent reaggravation of his injury because the Hoyas are snakebitten and Georgetown has been forsaken.
GOOD: Omer came back in. Whew. Sadly, Yurtseven was not very effective, scoring just five points on one of seven shooting. However, he showed heart by trying to come back in the game and produce, even as it was obvious he couldn’t jump very well.
BAD: Romeo Weems lit up the Hoyas in the first half, knocking down three consecutive three pointers at one point. ‘Who is Romeo Weems?’ you might ask. That would be because Weems is a role player and DePaul’s fifth leading scorer.
GOOD: We saw an aggressive Jamorko Pickett. Pickett was quick to attack the rim in the first half, leading the way for the Hoyas with 15 points before the break. This included a jumper to tie the game at 36 heading into halftime. Despite leaving the game briefly in the second half, Pickett finished the night with 19 points and 7 rebounds.
BAD: Fouls. So many fouls. The two teams combined for 23 fouls in the first half alone.
GOOD: I got a respite from this game at halftime. Thank goodness, because that first half was wretched.
BAD: The Hoyas had a slow start to the second half. That mini scoring drought was eventually broken up by a Terrell Allen three.
GOOD: Both Jagan Mosely and Terrell Allen look to be back to form. After dealing with a lingering wrist injury, Mosely managed to get it rolling again on the offensive end, making some nice drives and even hitting a three. Allen led the Hoyas with 21 points while Mosely chipped in 13 of his own.
BAD: Watching that kid at the end of DePaul’s bench dance around anytime DePaul did something. Not to hate on him, but it just gave me unwelcome flashbacks to when he was dancing around on the court last year enroute to a 30-point shellacking of the Hoyas.
GOOD: Georgetown was making its free throws, while DePaul wasn’t, which kept the Hoyas in the game.
BAD: Remember when I said that the aforementioned free throws kept the Hoyas in the game? Well, the Hoyas were almost out of the game because Georgetown had another prolonged field goal drought. This time, it was only four minutes, but I wouldn’t blame you if you were still traumatized from Wednesday’s 15+ minute field goal drought.
GOOD: Ewing showed a willingness to do anything and try anything to get the team going. He played Jaden Robinson (who actually played decently!) and tried to switch up the defense from man-to-man to a 3-2 zone to a press. He was not passive and showed fight as a coach, much like his team showed fight on the court.
BAD: Jahvon Blair’s hot streak seems to have finally run its course. Blair has played a crucial role for the Hoyas over the past month, but he was notably ineffective Saturday, finishing the night with just four points on one of 10 shooting.
GOOD: Honestly, somewhat at a loss to find good things that came as a result of this second half. I was traumatized by goggles kid on the DePaul bench again, which certainly isn’t “good” in the sense that you’d want to have it happen to you, but is “good” if you were a neutral observer. Alas, I was not.
BAD: Georgetown once again ran out of steam in the second half. After the Hoyas pulled within one with under six minutes to play, the Blue Demons responded with a 6-0 run of their own to regain control and cruise to victory.
GOOD: The team continued to show heart. They fought the whole game, even as if it looks as if they have hit a wall with how much they can physically do. Simply put, they’re gassed. However, seeing Omer back out there trying to produce (even if he couldn’t really jump), Jagan and Terrell continuing to play hard, and the promising effort from Pickett makes me happy as a fan that I can root for these guys.
BAD: Georgetown’s NCAA Tournament hopes are now on life support. The Hoyas are running out of time to pick some much-needed wins to bolster their tournament resume, and Saturday’s loss makes things all the more difficult. For any chance at an at-large bid, Georgetown will likely need to win three out of its last four games and pick up at least one win in the Big East Tournament. Barring some late-season magic, it might be time to moderate our expectations.
GOOD: Let’s end this on a happy note. Yes, we lost to freaking DePaul, and that’s bad. There’s no sugarcoating it.
However, the optimist in me says that this season, we’ve seen the team this season play their best when their backs were against the wall. Remember Oklahoma State? That was the game after the transfers of LeBlanc and Akinjo, and the Cowboys were a fringe top 25 team playing at home. I know a good number of people who tuned in to see how much the team would lose by, and we ended up going off on a six game winning streak. Sure, the Hoyas are banged up and gassed, but one thing I cannot question is their heart, and they never show any more than when their backs are against the wall. Who knows, maybe they’ll go off on another run and surprise us all. I certainly wouldn’t put it past the Hoyas.
