Georgetown bounced back from Monday night’s tough loss to Kansas by routing Chaminade Tuesday, 88-61. The win over a Division II opponent doesn’t add anything to the Hoyas’ tournament profile, but was impressive none the less, and set up a high-profile showdown with #8 Memphis on Wednesday. The quick turnaround also is exacerbating blogging-induced carpel tunnel syndrome, so you’ll get just a few quick bullets from today’s game.
Jason Clark. The senior guard scored at will Tuesday, tallying a career-high 28 points on just 12 shots, of which he made 10, including 6 of 7 from three. All of Clark’s skills were on display, including his sweet stroke from deep (which, to this point, had eluded him for much of the season), his sharp cuts to the basket, and his ability to create openings off the dribble. Just as importantly, Clark helped set a focused, energetic tone for the Hoyas, who managed to avoid a letdown just hours after Monday’s hard-fought game against Kansas.
Otto Porter. Bubba has arrived. One game after setting a new high with a dozen points against the Jayhawks, Porter erupted against Chaminade, scoring 17 points and grabbing 7 rebounds. Porter’s point total was the most by a Hoya freshman since Greg Monroe three years ago. He looks remarkably comfortable, cutting, passing, and shooting with ease in an offense that sometimes takes years to master. And he gets after it on the defensive end, swarming opponents with his long arms and diving after loose balls.
Offensive efficiency. There are plenty of stats to summarize how effective Georgetown was on offense Tuesday. In addition to Clark and Porter, five other Hoyas scored at least five points. Georgetown shot 43 percent from three and 58 percent from the floor over all. Nineteen of the thirty-three Hoya baskets came off of assists, capped by Henry Sims’s seven(!).
The Other Freshmen. Tuesday’s blowout gave JTIII plenty of time to run the Freshmen Not Named Otto Porter (or, for that matter, Greg Whittington), and the youngins aquitted themselves well. Jabril Trawick saw 22 minutes of action and had a solid 6 points, mostly on drives to the basket, in addition to a rebound, a steal, and an assist. Mikael Hopkins was active down low, putting in four points and three rebounds, if tangling his footwork once or twice. And Tyler Adams grabbed a pair of offensive rebounds, converting one miss into his first points as a Hoya.
Georgetown returns to action Wednesday afternoon at 5:00 EST against #8 Memphis. A preview of that game follows Wednesday morning.
