Bet you didn’t see that coming.
In a late night matchup in Omaha, it was all Georgetown as the Hoyas outplayed the 15th-ranked Creighton Bluejays en route to an 86-79 victory.
Senior Jahvon Blair led all scorers with 22 points, including five three pointers, and dished out five assists. Fellow veterans Chudier Bile and Jamorko Pickett followed close behind with 17 points and 16 points, respectively. “I envisioned these guys carrying our team,” said Patrick Ewing after the win. “We have a talented upperclassmen group of guys, and it’s great to see them being able to be successful.”
Georgetown seemingly carried momentum from the Providence win into the first half of Wednesday’s game. After back-and-forth play characterized the opening minutes, the Hoyas rattled off an 11-0 run to open up a 21-13 lead with 12:05 to play in the first half. Seemingly every shot Georgetown put up found the bottom of the net. The Hoyas made nine of their first 11 field goal attempts and drained each of their first five three-point attempts to open the game. Blair was exceptionally hot, shooting 3 for 4 from beyond the arc and leading Georgetown with 13 points and 6 assists before halftime.
As a team, the Hoyas shot 57% from the field and made eight three pointers in the first half alone.
Creighton was not exactly cold from the field, either. Despite falling behind in the early going, the Bluejays began to match the Hoyas shot for shot. Creighton shot 53% from the field in the first half and made six three pointers of their own. As the triples began to fall, the Bluejays slowly but surely began to cut into the Hoyas’ lead.
With Creighton challenging to get back in the game, Georgetown turned to their other senior leader, Jamorko Pickett, who drained back-to-back three pointers on consecutive possessions to stretch the lead back to 11 with 2:53 left until halftime. The Bluejays desperately needed some positive momentum to take into the locker room; they got exactly that, rattling off an 8-0 run to pull within three. Don Carey was able to stem the bleeding somewhat, converting a last-second runner to end the half with the Hoyas leading 44-39.
Just as Hoya fans have come to expect, the second half would be no walk in the park. Georgetown looked sloppy coming out of the break, and Creighton took advantage. The Bluejays quickly tied the game on a Marcus Zegarowski three pointer less than three minutes into the second half. Denzel Mahoney, Creighton’s leading scorer on the year, also began to find his rhythm in the early going of the second half. Mahoney once again led the Bluejays with 22 points, 15 of those coming in the second half.
With the momentum swinging in Creighton’s direction, things could easily have gotten away from Georgetown. Luckily, the Hoyas were able to regain their composure, break the scoring drought, and retake the lead. After the game, Ewing praised his team’s resilience, saying “The best thing is that when we make the mistake, we don’t dwell on it. We’re going on to the next play.”
After getting his first start in a Georgetown uniform, Bile was quiet in the first half. That changed in a big way after halftime. Bile was a one-man wrecking crew as he seemingly pulled down every rebound and came up with every loose ball. This energy and effort paid off, with 15 of his 17 points coming in the second half.
Behind Bile’s strong play, the Hoyas once again began to gain separation from the Bluejays. With just under eight minutes to play, Bile once again came up with a loose ball and threw down an emphatic jam on the other end to stretch the lead to double digits.
With 6:08 to play, Bile converted one of two free throws to give Georgetown an 11-point lead, their largest of the night. With time slipping away from them, Creighton mounted another attempt at a comeback, rattling off a quick 5-0 run to cut the lead to six. Yet again, it was Bile with the answer, as he scored on the Hoyas’ next possession to steady the ship. Though the final four minutes were quite stressful, the Bluejays would pull no closer than six points. With just under two minutes to play, Blair all but sealed the deal by banking in a miracle three pointer as the shot clock expired. I could say more, but it’s probably better to just watch.
A fitting way to cap off a miraculous night for the Georgetown Hoyas.
Wednesday’s upset represents not only the Hoyas’ second straight victory, but also one of the biggest wins of Ewing’s tenure to date. “We didn’t back down,” Ewing told the media after the game. “They made runs at us, but we just kept on fighting and was able to come away with a huge win on the road.” Beating a top-15 team on the road is certainly nothing to sneeze at. Better yet, this didn’t even feel like a fluke. The Hoyas led for all but two minutes of the contest and were clearly the better team on Wednesday night. “Georgetown played great,” said Creighton Coach Greg McDermott. “They beat us really in every facet of the game.”
The road won’t get any easier from here. Up next for Georgetown is a road date with #3 Villanova on Super Bowl Sunday.
But for right now, I’m riding the wave of serotonin. All aboard the hype train. Or should I say, the Chudi Express?
