Hoya fans cannot deny these truisms:
1. There will not be an easy game in the Big East.
2. Josh Smith is very important to this team.
Tonight’s ProminentPlay Game Ball goes to senior center Josh Smith, who was sorely missed when he was not on the floor tonight, and who played huge down the stretch, including knocking down critical free throws (4 for 4, perfect from the line) when his team needed them most. Smith’s double double (12 points, 10 boards) led Georgetown to its second conference win, against the Marquette Golden Eagles. Smith’s layup with a 4:03 to play in the game ended a 15-minute spell without a Hoya field goal. For some Hoya Hoops History, last time first year Marquette coach Steve “Wojo” Wojciechowski’s team played the Hoyas in D.C., he was the Duke assistant coach on January 30, 2010, when the 7th ranked Hoyas beat the 8th ranked Blue Devils, 89-77 before the Commander in Chief and a full house (20,000). Prior to that, notably on January 21, 2006, the unranked Hoyas rocked the college basketball world and Verizon Center by shocking the 17-0 #1 ranked Blue Devils 87-84 despite a 41-point performance by JJ Redick. Perhaps someday Wojo’s fortunes will change; Hoya fans hope not.
Wojo’s losing streak against the Hoyas continues in Washington, D.C. Marquette’s attack was led by senior guard Steve Carlino and sophomore center Luke Fischer, but in the end the Hoyas managed to hold onto its slim lead and sink free throws despite some late game attempted heroics by Carlino, who went coast to coast for 2 uncontested layups in the final minutes. Carlino finished with 16 points but was cold from beyond the arc (2 for 8). Fischer battled foul trouble, was 6 for 6 from the field and finished with 13 points for the Golden Eagles (9-6, 1-2).
There are two ways to look at the Hoyas offense tonight: balanced scoring or ineffective. The steadying force tonight was Smith in a poor shooting effort but hotly contested matchup. In a game when it was never clear where the Hoyas would find their points and at times, especially in the second half, where the offense nearly shut down, it was the Hoya center who took the game into his strong hands and put the team on his back.
ProminentPlay of the Game: While Josh gets the Game Ball, DSR earns the ProminentPlay (that is, “single play” award). (As blogger, I will add awards as I see fit through the season). Leading 42-31 early in the second half, Hoya fans thought for a few seconds that this might be more of a “relaxing” game. Not a chance. In the subsequent 15-minute stretch Georgetown scored only one field goal and allowed Marquette back into the game until they cut the lead to one. Hoya junior guard and Big East Preseason Player of the Year D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera (DSR) made the shot that stopped the slide and nailed a short jumper with 1:10 to go in the game. DSR then made 5 of 6 free throws in the final 30 seconds as the Hoyas escaped with the win. DSR finished with 15 points on 4-for-10 field goal shooting, and 2 for 7 from 3-point range. Senior guard Jabril Trawick added 13 points with 8 of his points coming from the free throw line (8 for 9). In a solid game aside from a poor shot or two, Mikael Hopkins added 8 points but what was most spectacular were his 4 blocked shots. I could watch Hopkins swat shots all day, it’s a thing of beauty.
Puzzling: Aaron Bowen played only 5 minutes tonight, not enough time to do much of anything.
The 10-4 Hoyas now have their first winning streak in conference play, having won two at home (Creighton and Marquette) after losing at Xavier in the Big East season opener. The Real Test now comes as the Hoyas hit the road again, facing Providence then DePaul. Experience is critical in this league, and while the Hoyas will continue to need solid efforts from its freshmen contingent, the SuperFrosh were not a factor in Tuesday night’s victory. LJ Peak finished with 12 points on decent shooting and hit two critical free throws as the Hoyas showed that the 6am free throw practices are starting to pay off. (Honestly, I don’t know at what hour they are practicing free throws but they made them when it counted). In some games freshmen exhibit the “promise to come” and on other nights they exhibit their chronological age, and tonight represented the latter, “the freshman are human” nights. However, turnovers and poor judgment were not solely limited to just freshmen (Peak had 4, Smith, SR and Hopkins had 2 each).
You Gotta Make Free Throws ‘Cause They’re Free (Otto Porter Wisdom): Georgetown made 21 of 24 free throws in the second half, to overcome a subpar field goal and 3 point shooting effort (in the second half, 30% from field; 0 for 6 from the arc). Context of Wisdom: After Georgetown beat Rutgers 64-51 on March 2, 2013 and Otto attempted 15 free throws, he stated, “When you can get to the hole and get fouled and shoot free throws — they’re free… You want to shoot free throws.” Overall tonight the Hoyas shot 40% from the field, 22% from the 3-point line and 82% from the charity stripe.
Turnover Conversion Rate and Rebounding Edge: Each team had 15 turnovers, as the Hoyas continue to struggle in this category; however, the Hoyas converted the Golden Eagle errors into 19 points as compared with Marquette’s 10. The Hoyas also had the rebounding edge with 32 boards (of which Smith had 10) to Marquette’s 26.
Why was Trey Mourning Not in Uniform Tonight? Social media was lighting up and Hoya fans were all atwitter about Trey’s not suiting up for tonight’s game. I knew it had nothing to do with academic ineligibility. Others suggested it might be a “redshirt” situation. However, the official word is that he sat out after developing concussion-like symptoms. Get well soon, Trey.
Final Award of the Night: The Sixth Man Award: The Sixth Man needs to be recognized on a night when the temperatures in DC were falling into the teens, sidewalks were icy and many secondary roads in the area are treacherous, in that DC sort of way when 2 inches of snow is troublesome. On such a night, the first two levels of the arena was filled nicely with fans and students (who are returning from break this week) and the Sixth Man used its strong voice in the final critical minutes to cheer on the Hoyas and rattle the opposition. Nice work, Sixth Man!
Georgetown Hoyas Escape with 65-59 Victory over Pesky Marquette Squad, on Shoulders of Josh Smith and D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera
Hoya fans cannot deny these truisms:
1. There will not be an easy game in the Big East.
2. Josh Smith is very important to this team.
Tonight’s ProminentPlay Game Ball goes to senior center Josh Smith, who was sorely missed when he was not on the floor tonight, and who played huge down the stretch, including knocking down critical free throws (4 for 4, perfect from the line) when his team needed them most. Smith’s double double (12 points, 10 boards) led Georgetown to its second conference win, against the Marquette Golden Eagles. Smith’s layup with a 4:03 to play in the game ended a 15-minute spell without a Hoya field goal. For some Hoya Hoops History, last time first year Marquette coach Steve “Wojo” Wojciechowski’s team played the Hoyas in D.C., he was the Duke assistant coach on January 30, 2010, when the 7th ranked Hoyas beat the 8th ranked Blue Devils, 89-77 before the Commander in Chief and a full house (20,000). Prior to that, notably on January 21, 2006, the unranked Hoyas rocked the college basketball world and Verizon Center by shocking the 17-0 #1 ranked Blue Devils 87-84 despite a 41-point performance by JJ Redick. Perhaps someday Wojo’s fortunes will change; Hoya fans hope not.
Wojo’s losing streak against the Hoyas continues in Washington, D.C. Marquette’s attack was led by senior guard Steve Carlino and sophomore center Luke Fischer, but in the end the Hoyas managed to hold onto its slim lead and sink free throws despite some late game attempted heroics by Carlino, who went coast to coast for 2 uncontested layups in the final minutes. Carlino finished with 16 points but was cold from beyond the arc (2 for 8). Fischer battled foul trouble, was 6 for 6 from the field and finished with 13 points for the Golden Eagles (9-6, 1-2).
There are two ways to look at the Hoyas offense tonight: balanced scoring or ineffective. The steadying force tonight was Smith in a poor shooting effort but hotly contested matchup. In a game when it was never clear where the Hoyas would find their points and at times, especially in the second half, where the offense nearly shut down, it was the Hoya center who took the game into his strong hands and put the team on his back.
ProminentPlay of the Game: While Josh gets the Game Ball, DSR earns the ProminentPlay (that is, “single play” award). (As blogger, I will add awards as I see fit through the season). Leading 42-31 early in the second half, Hoya fans thought for a few seconds that this might be more of a “relaxing” game. Not a chance. In the subsequent 15-minute stretch Georgetown scored only one field goal and allowed Marquette back into the game until they cut the lead to one. Hoya junior guard and Big East Preseason Player of the Year D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera (DSR) made the shot that stopped the slide and nailed a short jumper with 1:10 to go in the game. DSR then made 5 of 6 free throws in the final 30 seconds as the Hoyas escaped with the win. DSR finished with 15 points on 4-for-10 field goal shooting, and 2 for 7 from 3-point range. Senior guard Jabril Trawick added 13 points with 8 of his points coming from the free throw line (8 for 9). In a solid game aside from a poor shot or two, Mikael Hopkins added 8 points but what was most spectacular were his 4 blocked shots. I could watch Hopkins swat shots all day, it’s a thing of beauty.
Puzzling: Aaron Bowen played only 5 minutes tonight, not enough time to do much of anything.
The 10-4 Hoyas now have their first winning streak in conference play, having won two at home (Creighton and Marquette) after losing at Xavier in the Big East season opener. The Real Test now comes as the Hoyas hit the road again, facing Providence then DePaul. Experience is critical in this league, and while the Hoyas will continue to need solid efforts from its freshmen contingent, the SuperFrosh were not a factor in Tuesday night’s victory. LJ Peak finished with 12 points on decent shooting and hit two critical free throws as the Hoyas showed that the 6am free throw practices are starting to pay off. (Honestly, I don’t know at what hour they are practicing free throws but they made them when it counted). In some games freshmen exhibit the “promise to come” and on other nights they exhibit their chronological age, and tonight represented the latter, “the freshman are human” nights. However, turnovers and poor judgment were not solely limited to just freshmen (Peak had 4, Smith, SR and Hopkins had 2 each).
You Gotta Make Free Throws ‘Cause They’re Free (Otto Porter Wisdom): Georgetown made 21 of 24 free throws in the second half, to overcome a subpar field goal and 3 point shooting effort (in the second half, 30% from field; 0 for 6 from the arc). Context of Wisdom: After Georgetown beat Rutgers 64-51 on March 2, 2013 and Otto attempted 15 free throws, he stated, “When you can get to the hole and get fouled and shoot free throws — they’re free… You want to shoot free throws.” Overall tonight the Hoyas shot 40% from the field, 22% from the 3-point line and 82% from the charity stripe.
Turnover Conversion Rate and Rebounding Edge: Each team had 15 turnovers, as the Hoyas continue to struggle in this category; however, the Hoyas converted the Golden Eagle errors into 19 points as compared with Marquette’s 10. The Hoyas also had the rebounding edge with 32 boards (of which Smith had 10) to Marquette’s 26.
Why was Trey Mourning Not in Uniform Tonight? Social media was lighting up and Hoya fans were all atwitter about Trey’s not suiting up for tonight’s game. I knew it had nothing to do with academic ineligibility. Others suggested it might be a “redshirt” situation. However, the official word is that he sat out after developing concussion-like symptoms. Get well soon, Trey.
Final Award of the Night: The Sixth Man Award: The Sixth Man needs to be recognized on a night when the temperatures in DC were falling into the teens, sidewalks were icy and many secondary roads in the area are treacherous, in that DC sort of way when 2 inches of snow is troublesome. On such a night, the first two levels of the arena was filled nicely with fans and students (who are returning from break this week) and the Sixth Man used its strong voice in the final critical minutes to cheer on the Hoyas and rattle the opposition. Nice work, Sixth Man!