Teams

Georgetown:
The Hoyas are starting to look like a very good team. They have managed to win a few games when they could have easily lost, and they’re putting inferior teams away – that’s what happened against Seton Hall. In the second half, Georgetown took better care of the basketball and limited the easy baskets for the Pirates. Slowly and surely, almost methodically, the Hoyas pulled away for a comfortable victory against a confident team that had won five in a row.

Seton Hall:
The Pirates are not a very good half-court defensive team, but they use their superior quickness and athleticism to create a lot of steals. They forced 13 turnovers in the first half against a Georgetown team which usually does a very good job protecting the ball. The Hall also struggles in the half-court offense which is why turning defense to offense is so important for their success. Their defense might be good enough to beat some teams in the conference, but without a solid shooting performance, they will really struggle against the top teams in the league – against Georgetown they shot 36% from the field and 19% from three-point range.

Players

Georgetown:
Two players need to be mentioned for the Hoyas in this game. First, Roy Hibbert was a terror in the lane. He shot 7 for 11 from the field, and it looked like he scored or was fouled every time he caught the ball in the post. The problem was that the team turned the ball over a lot when trying to get him the ball.

Also, Patrick Ewing Jr. was excellent down the stretch. He scored ten points in the final ten minutes, and he also showed a lot of poise in helping the Hoyas close out the win. He helped in the press break and showed great judgment in knowing when to attack and when to be patient. In one play, Ewing led a 3-on-1 and threw a nice alley-oop pass to Austin Freeman, and then later he saw that he had a lane to the basket, sped past the defender and finished with a two-handed dunk.

Seton Hall:
Brian Laing scored 24 points for Seton Hall, which is about 5 more than his average points per game. Laing is a very good scorer, even though he isn’t a great shooter. He benefits from the Pirates’ breakout situations and uses his body very well to score inside. There were a couple of times when he drove right into Hibbert near the hoop and managed to control his body and avoid the shot block. Laing had an impressive line in the box score: 24 PTS (8-15 FG, 2-3 3PT, 6-6 FT), 6 REB, 3 STL.

Referees

The referees called a lot of fouls in this one. It didn’t really help one team more than the other, but there was never a clear flow to the game. There were 55 total fouls called in this game. In Georgetown’s previous eight conference games the games averaged a little fewer than 34 total fouls per game. That’s 21 more whistles than usual.

Fans

The fans were great, as they always are. I have one thing to point out though. In the final minutes, after the game was clearly out of reach, Seton Hall kept fouling, and their coach Bobby Gonzalez continued to use his timeouts. The fans were booing Seton Hall for delaying the inevitable. Why? The Hoyas were surely going to win, it was a happy time, why not make it last as long as possible? I think the fans of the winning team should cheer even more when the losing opponent continues to foul – it keeps the party going.

Number of the Game

80.6: That was the Hoyas’ free throw percentage versus Seton Hall. A few months ago it seemed that the Hoyas might have some real trouble from the line, which they still might. They were locked in from the line in this one, 25 for 31 from the stripe.

Suiting Up

It was Coaches vs. Cancer day around the NCAA. All coaches wore sneakers to raise awareness. Many coaches (including Coach Gonzalez) wore the sneakers but also dressed down, wearing clothes more suited for practice. When this day of recognition began a few years ago, everybody wore their suits with sneakers so the shoes were very noticeable, and if people didn’t know why the coaches had the wrong shoes on, they could easily find out. But, if coaches wear their practice clothes with sneakers it doesn’t really draw attention to the shoes, and therefore doesn’t draw attention to the cause that they are supporting. The suits and sneakers look very silly, but it’s noticeable and that’s the point.