Ladies and gentlemen, Omer Yurtseven is back.
Yurtseven spearheaded the Hoyas to a colossal victory at Capital One Arena over #25 Creighton by a score of 83-80. Coach Patrick Ewing was previously 0-4 against the Bluejays and has now beaten every team in the Big East at least once.
The Hoyas saw 5 players hit double digits in the evening. Omer poured in 20 points and hauled in 13 rebounds (5 offensive) while sophomore guard Mac McClung added 19 points on 50% shooting with 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 6 turnovers. Jagan Mosely, Jahvon Blair, and Terrell Allen scored 13, 12, and 10 points respectively.
Marcus Zegarowski continued his outstanding sophomore campaign, pacing Creighton with 20 points, knocking down 6 three pointers, and 7 assists. Denzel Mahoney added 19 points off the bench.
The Hoyas entered this game 1-3 in Big East play, in desperate need of a win. After a demoralizing second half performance in their 80-66 loss to Villanova Saturday, Georgetown fans begged the team to give them something to hang their hat on. And that they did.
The first half of the contest lacked feel and flow, as both sides struggled to develop a rhythm on offense, which was surprising as Creighton and Georgetown clocked in at 16 and 24 in KenPom’s Adjusted Offensive Efficiency. The Bluejays were paced early by Zegarowski, who hit two early three pointers to lead all scorers with 11 points at the half.
The strategy for Coach Ewing was clear and simple: get the ball to Omer Yurtseven early and often. The 7’0’’, 264lbs center had a big size advantage over both of Creighton’s bigs. Christian Bishop, who picked up three early fouls, only comes in at 6’7’’, 205lbs and Kelvin Jones is 6’11’’, 230lbs. This led to Omer developing a better rhythm early on, utilizing his length to shoot over his defender and score. Yurtseven poured in 10 first half points on 4/7 shooting from the field (and that includes a missed open dunk to end the half).
Georgetown’s offense suffered its drought midway through the first half. After Terrell Allen knocked down a shot from deep to extend the Hoya lead to 5 (16-11), Georgetown went 5:45 without scoring a field goal and turning the ball over 5 times. Meanwhile, the Bluejays embarked on a 9-0 run led by role player Denzel Mahoney, who scored 7 points during that stretch. Coach Greg McDermott countered Georgetown’s size by going small and forcing Yurtseven to come out and guard the smaller Mahoney, who capitalized with his quickness.
The Bluejays went into the half with a 37-36 lead. Neither team enjoyed a lead greater than 5 points. Both teams struggled with turnovers, with the Hoyas totalling 8 and the Bluejays right behind them at 7.
The second half proved to be a different story for the Hoyas, who shot 56.25% from the field. When the Hoyas keep things simple on offense, they tend to find success. This means playing with pace, moving the ball inside-out, and leaning on their top players’ strengths. The key to Georgetown’s success in this sense is Jagan Mosely. Mosely endured a quiet first half, only scoring two points without hitting a field goal. Jagan finished with 13 points on 4-6 shooting with 4 rebounds and 4 assists.
It seemed as though the Hoyas were about to pull away after ripping off a 7-0 run to take a 70-61 lead with 5:48 remaining in the game. Of course, the Bluejays would not go quietly into the D.C. night. Ty-Shon Alexander and Mitch Ballock responded with an 8-0 run to close the gap 70-69.
The teams traded blows down the stretch, with the Hoyas finding themselves up 74-72 after another Ballock three. Jagan and Yurtseven combined for a clutch pick and pop basket. However, Mahoney came up big with an offensive rebound and putback to trim the deficit to two once again. And then Mac, reportedly battling the flu since the Villanova loss, hit a massive baseline jumper to seal the win for the Hoyas.
The importance of this victory cannot be overstated. The win bumps the Hoyas to 2-3 in conference play. Better yet, Georgetown has two very winnable games coming up on their schedule. The Hoyas host Maquette this Saturday at the suddenly formidable Capital One Arena before traveling to the Cintas Center to take on a struggling Xavier squad.
In a conference as talented and deep as the Big East, opportunities like this do not come often. Win these next two games, and Georgetown will catapult itself from the cellar of the conference to the top half at 4-3.
Georgetown needs to capitalize.
