Teams

GU:
The Hoyas put together a very efficient first half. If it hadn’t been for the long-range focus from Georgetown, this game could’ve ended very differently. Give full credit to the Hoyas for beating Michigan at their own game. Georgetown was sharp on offense and smothering on defense. It was the type of performance against a quality opponent that sends a message to the rest of the country.

MICH:
Michigan is a very young team, and it was their first road game of the year. They made a lot of bad decisions and executed very poorly. Maybe if they had been able to hit a few shots early they could’ve gained some confidence, but with few experienced players they were knocked out in this one faster than Carl “The Truth” Williams against Mike Tyson.

Players

GU:
Jeremiah Rivers is going to be a big contributor off the bench this year for the Hoyas. Against Michigan he came in only 3:02 into the first half. Michigan was struggling mightily in the first few moments, and since the Wolverines look to their back court for scoring, Rivers was inserted early for his defense. He was very active on D and helped the Hoyas build their early lead. He got a very clean look at a three and knocked it down. He seems much more confident with his jump shot this year, not hesitating as much as he did for most of last season.

MICH:
#44 Kelvin Grady was really the only player who did anything of note, and even his contributions were once Michigan was way behind. He seems like a pretty good shooter, but he didn’t have to make shots under any sort of pressure.

Coaches

Michigan Coach John Beilein came into the national spotlight with his excellent success at West Virginia over the past few seasons. Throughout his career, Beilein has been known for teams that show great ball movement, make a lot of three pointers, and play good team defense. It was those exact characteristics that the Hoyas used to win the game in the first 20 minutes. Maybe John Thompson III knew that this could’ve been a tricky game and made sure that the players were ready to go from the opening tip. The excellent start allowed Thompson the ability to give his younger and more inexperienced players a lot of run in the second half.

Referees

Thanks to the early onslaught from the Hoyas, the refs never had a chance to make a significant call. The worst call of the game came from Mike Kitts late in the first half when Ekpe Udoh elevated for an excellent one-handed follow dunk. Kitts disallowed the basket for offensive goaltending. He was the only player in the Verizon center who saw it that way.

Fans

The fans continue to come out in great numbers, which is excellent. One thing though - “We Are Georgetown” has been around forever, and after Coach Thompson told the media that he used to love that cheer when he was little, it has made a powerful resurgence. The problem is that it was initially intended to be a chant used near the end of a game when the Hoyas had wrapped up a difficult win against a good opponent, especially a rival. That cheer celebrates a victory and reminds opponents, “This is what you should expect; this is who we are.” It doesn’t really apply to random possessions throughout the game. That’s what “Let’s Go Hoyas” is for.

Number of the Game

6: That’s the number of 3-point Field Goals the Hoyas made in the first 7:44. The sixth one put the Hoyas up by 19 points.

Returning the Favor

Freshman Chris Wright made his first collegiate basket against Michigan, assisted from Freshman Austin Freeman. It was a nice combination from last year’s two best players in the WCAC. Also, Freeman scored his first basket as a Hoya on an assist from Wright in the William and Mary game. We’ll be seeing a lot more of those two collecting assists from each other.