Connecticut issued a short-handed Georgetown squad an early exit from the Big East Tournament Wednesday, beating the Hoyas 79-62 in a game largely devoid of drama, if not of effort. Georgetown’s two leading scorers, Austin Freeman and Jason Clark, were game: Clark scored 23 points, his second-highest total of the season and his best in conference play, while Freeman notched 20 points, though he shot just 7 of 20 from the field. The Hoyas found a somewhat better offensive rhythm than in the three previous games without Chris Wright, connecting on 42 percent of shots from the field (which, while sub-par for Georgetown generally, was a vast improvement on previous Wright-less games). But the Hoyas were porous defensively, particularly in the first half, yielding nine offensive rebounds and twelve second-chance points before intermission and 50 percent shooting on the game. Georgetown’s principal foil, as in the first UConn game, was Kemba Walker, who went off for 28 points, while Jeremy Lamb (11 points) and Jamal Coombs-McDaniel (12) punished Georgetown on the weak side.
As they had in games against Syracuse and Cincinnati, the Hoyas kept things close for much of the first half, and a three-pointer by Hollis Thompson (10 points) tied the game at 15 nine minutes in. But for the rest of the half, not much went right for Georgetown: in the remaining eleven minutes before intermission, the Hoyas committed six turnovers and six fouls while yielding seven offensive rebounds. The errors ranged from the mundane (lazy cross-court passes that got picked off, missed box-outs) to the highlight-worthy (Walker’s block of Thompson, leading to an and-one in transition). When the horn finally sounded for the half, Georgetown had been outscored 27-15 since the last tie.
The second half proved little better. While Georgetown worked to come back–and, to be clear, the Hoyas did work–they couldn’t get within single digits of the Huskies. The best that could be said about the Hoyas was their continued hustle. For example, trailing by 16 with 5 minutes remaining, Georgetown missed a jumper, leading to a Walker run-out on the break. Refusing to concede, Clark raced the length of the floor and blocked Walker’s lay-in just before the ball hit the glass. The next trip down resulted in another long Hoya miss, and another fast break. Again, Clark got back on defense, breaking up a 2-on-1.
While Georgetown fans couldn’t be happy with the final score, they could be proud of a team that battled tooth-and-nail against a Connecticut team that, while uneven in conference play, is proving its mettle in New York, winning its third straight on Thursday over regular season champion Pitt. Now, Hoya fans will await news of seeding, location, and opponent for next week’s NCAA tournament, all while hoping for Wright’s speedy recovery. Current projections have Georgetown as a 7 seed, squaring off against Butler. Championship week makes these projections less stable than ever, but the Hoyas appear to be headed for a 7 or 8 seed, unless the tournament selection committee gives them a pass for their recent play without Wright. If you’re watching the ticker, or live action, you might root for losses by Temple, UNLV, Utah State, Florida State, and Washington to help solidify the Hoyas’ position (Ls by Illinois, George Mason, UCLA, and Missouri already helped).
We’ll be updating throughout the weekend and week to come, as Georgetown’s post-season fate becomes more clear.
