In typical fashion, Coach Patrick Ewing was very direct following the Hoyas’ win over Villanova, stating that “we have to build on this, it can’t be just a one-game thing”. Ewing’s team has a chance to do just that when it heads to the CHI Health Center Omaha (side note: always love obnoxiously long, corporate-sponsored arena names) to take on the Creighton Bluejays on Saturday afternoon.
Though Greg McDermott’s team currently resides in a tie for last place in the Big East, they cannot be taken lightly. In fact, Georgetown sits just 1.5 games ahead of Creighton in the standings, thus a loss on Saturday would put the Hoyas in serious jeopardy of having to play in one of the Wednesday night play-in games come Big East Tournament time. Additionally, while the win over ‘Nova this past week moved Georgetown to the periphery of the bubble conversation for the NCAA Tournament, a loss to Creighton would put an end to such fantasies in short order.
Despite their periodic struggles this year, which have included 4-game losing streaks on two separate occasions, Creighton has flashed potential at times, including a 91-87 victory over the Hoyas during their January 21st matchup in D.C. Standout guard Ty-Shon Alexander was a focal point of the Bluejay offense that night, tallying 26 points, exceeding his season average of 16.5 per game. Alexander’s night included 6 three-pointers as his teammates rained down 7 more from deep, shooting almost 45% from beyond the arc on the evening.
In the clip above, the Georgetown defense gets caught in the paint, allowing freshman guard Marcus Zegarowski to find the open Alexander for the go-ahead three. If the Hoyas hope to walk out of the CHI Health Center Omaha with their tournament hopes alive (pun intended), they will need to do a much better job defending the three ball, and on the defensive end in general.
Luckily, the Hoyas have shown much improvement on the defensive side of the ball of late. Georgetown has held opposing teams to 73 points or less in 4 of their last 6 outings, a feat which they failed to achieve in each of their first 6 conference tilts. The crown jewel of their defensive efforts was against ‘Nova on Wednesday, when Kaleb Johnson and Jagan Mosely anchored a unit that was able to slow down a potent Wildcats offense that ranks 3rd in the conference.
In the clip above, the Hoyas play excellent team defense, recovering after Mosely stumbles and forcing Villanova into a late shot clock scenario before Jagan comes up with a big-time block. Although the lengthy Jamarko Pickett will get the first crack at guarding Ty-Shon Alexander, the Bluejays’ primary playmaker should expect a heavy dose of Jagan Mosely off the bench.
Saturday’s matchup will also feature a clash of two of the better big men in the Big East, Georgetown’s Jessie Govan and Creighton’s Martin Krampelj. The later averages 12.7 points and 6.6 rebounds a game, and will require strong interior defense from Govan, especially since Creighton’s strong shooting ability will make Georgetown wary of doubling down in the post. As for Govan, he faced little resistance in the teams’ first meeting, posting 22 points and 12 rebounds. He should be primed to torch the Bluejays once more, especially coming off on of his best performances of the year, a commanding double-double in the victory over Villanova.
It will be difficult for Georgetown to replicate the shooting performance that they turned in against Villanova; the Hoyas cannot rely upon shooting over 50% from the field and close to 40% from three-point range consistently. That being said, Ewing’s team must be able to continue to bring that same energy and urgency that they came out of the gate with, and maintained for 40 minutes, against the Wildcats. This is even more imperative given that the Hoyas will be playing on the road in a hostile environment on Saturday.
One key advantage that Georgetown has over Creighton is the depth of the Hoyas’ roster; the Blue and Gray are capable of going 10 men deep on any given night, something the Bluejays cannot easily match. One would expect Coach Ewing to use this to his advantage, especially when it comes to rotating in fresh players to slow down Creighton’s offensive weapons. The Hoyas have come a long way since the teams met in January, but the Hoyas’ defensive improvements will surely be tested on Saturday. Should Govan and company come out with the same fire that they did against Villanova, Georgetown will get their revenge and take down the Bluejays the second time around.
Prediction: Georgetown 79, Creighton 71
