More History Against Mizzou

By Johnny

I forgot to mention this in the last post, but here’s one more record broken at the Missouri game:

  • Austin Freeman made six three-pointers against Missouri after connecting on the Hoya record-tying seven against UNC Asheville. No other Hoya has made six or more threes in back-to-back games, so Austin now holds the record for most made treys in two games with 13.

Missouri in the Record Books

By Johnny

Georgetown came back from behind to beat the #9 Missouri Tigers in overtime last night, pushing their record to 7-0. But besides getting their first win against a ranked opponent, here are some other interesting facts that should cement the game into Hoya History.

  • Austin Freeman, Jason Clark, and Chris Wright all reached the 20 point mark. This is only the second time under John Thompson III’s tenure that three players have scored 20 or more, the last being last year’s Duke game when it was Austin, Chris, and Greg Monroe scoring 20. The time before that was a Mike Sweetney, Kevin Braswell, and Wesley Wilson showing against Howard in ’01.
  • Austin Freeman scored 31 points after scoring 32 against UNC Asheville. Last year, we showed you a list of 30-point performances up through the Harvard game, and it looks like we’ll have to update that list soon.

    Iverson vs Villanova, 1996Under Coach Thompson, there have been five games where a player has gone for 30, and now Austin is responsible for three of them.

    The last time a Hoya had back-to-back 30-point games was in February of 2003 when Mike Sweetney put up 38 in a double-overtime loss to Notre Dame and followed that up with 32 two days later against Syracuse.

    If you’re looking for the last time a Hoya put up 30 in back-to-back wins, you have to go all the way back to Allen Iverson‘s 37 against Villanova in the 1996 season finale and 38 against Miami in the Big East Tournament.

  • Chris Wright earned his second career double-double dishing out 10 assists to go with his 21 points. He earned his first in Charleston when he had a career-high 12 assists against Coastal Carolina. Chris is averaging over seven assists a game so far this season.
  • Jason Clark came up big in overtime scoring nine points on 3-3 from 3. That’s the most points any Hoya has scored in overtime under Coach Thompson III’s reign. The next best was DaJuan Summers with 8 against North Carolina in the East Regional Championship. Brandon Bowman also scored 8 in the overtime win against Norfolk State in Coach Thompson’s first season.
  • The Hoyas went 18 for 18 from the free throw line on the night, which is the best in Georgetown’s recorded history – at least according to our friends at The Georgetown Basketball History Project. They go back to 1978 with free throw percentage stats, and the best on that list was 12-12 against American in December of 78.

    Edit: The Georgetown Media Guide confirms that 12-12 against American was the record.

  • The Hoyas scored 111 points, which is the most under JTIII. The next best offensive performance was 110 against Radford at McDonough, the last victory for Georgetown at the on-campus arena.

See the followup post for one more interesting stat from last night’s game: More History Against Mizzou [Image via Getty Images]


Mike’s Missouri Postgame Thoughts

By Mike

Teams

Georgetown:
Chris' Missouri Buzzer-BeaterThis Georgetown team has a perimeter-oriented offense, which means the Hoyas will live by the three or die by the three. They pretty much did both against Missouri. The Hoyas were only 3-12 on three-point attempts in the second half before Chris Wright hit the clutch three-pointer with under a second to go to force the game into overtime. Then, with Missouri disheartened and Georgetown rejuvenated, Jason Clark hit back-to-back-to-back threes to push the Hoyas to victory.

Looking at the game as a whole, there were both positive and disturbing signs. The Hoyas took an 18 point lead midway through the first half only to let that lead almost entirely disappear before the break. But, when the Hoyas fell behind late in the game, they hung around waiting for an opportunity, and when it came, they took it.

One other point of concern was Georgetown’s ability to handle Missouri’s defensive pressure. The Hoyas committed 18 turnovers on the night, and made some lazy cross-court passes that were destined to be picked off by the pressing Tigers. But, on a positive note, Georgetown continues to rebound well, winning the rebounding battle 36-25. The Hoyas showed they still have some things to work on, but they have the potential to be a great team.

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Mike’s UNC Asheville Postgame Thoughts

By Mike

Teams

Georgetown:
This was a typical holiday game. The Hoyas played well for stretches and the win was never really in doubt, but there were lapses that allowed the opponent to stay within striking distance. In the end Georgetown played very well for long enough to take a commanding lead, and then they could afford to sleepwalk a bit.

Georgetown went on an early 23-0 run to blow the game wide open, and the Hoyas put it on autopilot for the rest of the game. When the Bulldogs got a little too close for comfort, the Hoyas would burst forward with a mini-run to keep the lead safe. It is both frustrating and understandable that the team get complacent with a 23 point lead over an inferior opponent, but they did do a good job of scoring when they had to.

Also, in a game where Chris Wright and Jason Clark did not have their most productive nights on offense, the Hoyas still put up 87 points, which means that if one of the guards has an off-night, the Hoyas have the scoring ability to find point production from other sources.

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UNC Asheville Postgame Press Conference

By Johnny

The Hoyas defeated UNC Asheville 87-72 today at Verizon Center, and after the game, Coach Thompson and the three captains talked with the media about the win.

The first few questions got cut off from the audio, but here’s most of the press conference audio:

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Charleston Champs

By Over the Hilltop

Georgetown held N.C. State scoreless for nearly six minutes in the second half Sunday night, turning a two-point deficit into a thirteen point lead and pulling away from the Wolfpack to claim the Charleston Classic title. The Hoyas and Wolfpack played an otherwise even game, pulling to a number of ties, including at the half and, for the last time, at 44-44 with just under 16 minutes remaining. But, the Hoyas’ perseverance through a cold-shooting first half, tenacity on defense and on the boards, and aggressiveness in seeking offensive opportunities in the open court all made the difference down the stretch.

While Georgetown’s first three games were characterized by the dominance of Chris Wright, Austin Freeman, and Jason Clark, the last two have seen increased contributions from a number of role players. No one Hoya turned in the best performance of Sunday’s game, but at least six turned in performances necessary to victory:
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Mike’s Tulane Postgame Thoughts

By Mike

Teams

Georgetown:
The Hoyas won their home opener in a more comfortable fashion than their season opener, more or less cruising to a 69-53 win. Georgetown jumped out to an early lead and kept Tulane at arm’s length the rest of the way, allowing Coach to play with different line-ups.

The Hoyas relied on their outside shooting to get the offense going, with eight of the first 12 field goals coming from beyond the arc. Part of that was probably due to the absence of Julian Vaughn from the line-up, which meant the Hoyas were a much-smaller team. It is a little troublesome to see such a perimeter-oriented offense, but Georgetown made the adjustment and had a more balanced attack after halftime.

Georgetown again showed a full-court press that is new this year, and it provided some steals and transition points. It will be interesting to see how Coach Thompson chooses to use this press as the season moves on. Whether he intends to use it only when trailing or throughout a game remains to be seen, but as an old-school Hoya fan, it’s good to see the guys in gray pressuring the opposition’s ball-handlers in the back court.
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Cruise Control

By Over the Hilltop

Cruise ControlGeorgetown started fast and kept the game just out of Tulane’s reach Monday night, beating the Green Wave 69-53 in the Hoyas’ home opener. Austin Freeman led the first-half charge by nailing four first half triples and finished with a game-high 23 points, while Jason Clark finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 steals. The Hoyas led for all but the opening minute and held a double digit lead for 30 minutes, bookending runs of 14-1 and 17-3 around a ten-minute lull that stretched over half time. A few quick thoughts:

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Tulane Postgame Press Conference

By Johnny

After the 69-53 victory over Tulane, Coach Thompson, and the Big Three came out to address the media. Coach Thompson started out by telling everyone that this afternoon, Jason Clark’s grandmother had passed away and the entire Georgetown community has Jason and his family in their thoughts and prayers.

Then they took questions about the game:

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Points for Preseason Player of the Year

By Hoya Hoops

With the Georgetown season about to tip off this Friday at Old Dominion, it’s time to bring back everyone’s favorite guessing game, Pregame Predictions. For those of you new to the site, here’s the deal. We ask a different question before every game, and the person who comes closest to the right answer gets a point. At the end of the season, the person with the most points wins a HoyaHoops.com t-shirt!

Last season, Austin Freeman was Georgetown’s leading scorer, averaging 16.5 points per game. This year, he is the Big East Preseason Player of the Year and a senior leader to the incoming class of freshman. He will no doubt be a big part of Georgetown’s success this year, and it will be interesting to see how he fares in the first game of his last season on the Hilltop.

How many points will Austin Freeman score?

Our guess is Freeman will score 25 points, leading all scorers. Post your guesses in the comments, and try to take an early lead in the t-shirt race.



 
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