Teams

Georgetown:
The Hoyas suffered their first conference loss of the season for two big reasons: they did not rebound, and they did not shoot the ball well. The Hoyas were outrebounded 48-23, a whopping 2-to-1 margin, and, excluding Summers, the team was 2-15 from beyond the arc. That makes it very difficult to win games, especially against a team as tough and focused as Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh:
Give Pittsburgh’s defense credit, they made the Hoyas work on a lot of possessions, and it contributed to the poor shooting night for the Hoyas. The Panthers did not shoot too well themselves, under 16% from three-point range, but it didn’t matter. They seemingly got every rebound for put-back layups. Pittsburgh had 24 second chance points and 48 points in the paint, making their three-point shooting struggles a moot point.

Players

Georgetown:
DaJuan Summers single-handedly kept the Hoyas in the game in the first half. He scored 16 points, including 3-3 from beyond the arc. Unfortunately, in the second half, Summers only took two shots and ended the game with 22. The other four starters were 29% from the field in the loss.

Pittsburgh:
DeJuan Blair had 20 points, but perhaps more damaging was his 17 rebounds, including seven offensive, which matched Georgetown’s offensive rebounding total.

Coaches

One of the greatest strengths of a team coached by John Thompson III is the ability to stay composed regardless of the score. However, there are times when this can be a weakness, as was evident against Pittsburgh. Running your offense without regard for the score is important since it prevents your players from stressing out and trying to do too much. However, there are times when your team is down by a lot with not much time left and needs to act quickly. That was the case in this game, and unfortunately the Hoyas did not change their game plan.

Fans

The Georgetown students are still on Christmas break, but there were a fair number of students at the game. There was also a large contingent of Pittsburgh fans, most sitting in the 400′s of Verizon Center, but they could certainly be heard throughout the game. The crowd tried to get the Hoyas fired up in the second part of the first half, but the atmosphere never got to a level we have grown accustomed to at Verizon Center. Just one more note: I thought the Pitt fans were well-behaved. Often times after a win the opposing fans will go parading around the arena chanting. At least in my experience, that did not happen after this win.

Number of the Game

17: Difference in the number of field goals attempted. The Panthers took 17 more shots than the Hoyas did, and in a Big East game, you won’t win many games when the opponents get almost 20 more shots than you do.