(Thank you, Counting Crows and Adam Duritz, great song “Omaha”)
The ProminentPlay Scenario is in play! (See previous post). The Georgetown Hoyas took care of business today on the road and silenced the Bluejays for a second time this season to complete the sweep. Showing little signs of the team that came out flat and couldn’t recover on Tuesday against Xavier, except for a few unsteady early minutes, today the Hoyas, led by junior guard and leader D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera (DSR), can check off this “must win” in the final 9-game stretch of the regular season. The first game between the teams resulted in a 79-61 Georgetown victory at Verizon Center on January 3rd.
While the Hoyas may in fact lose their ranking because of the unsightly loss at home against Xavier, today’s dominance of Creighton in Omaha, at least suggests that the prior contest was an aberration and the Hoyas are ready for battle in what will be a challenging schedule through early March. DSR scored 24 points, with half of those coming during the 31-3 run that ended with senior guard Jabril Trawick’s 3-pointer giving Georgetown a 43-18 lead with 13 minutes left. Some forget that Jabril can hit the trey. He has the best percentage on the team, ahead of DSR, 18 for 39 on the season .462! (DSR, 42 of 109, .385) Trawick added 15 points for the Hoyas. Senior power forward Mikael Hopkins played a solid game, finishing with eight points, eight rebounds and a team-high three assists, while freshman Isaac Copeland added seven points and a career-high eight rebounds. LJ Peak was back in the starting lineup after playing a reserve role against Xavier because of an ankle injury and added 5 points. Hopefully on the mend.
What was most impressive, depending on your perspective, was the Hoyas’ total shutdown of the Creighton offense. (An alternative perspective is that Creighton’s offense was completely inept.) Although the Hoyas started the game on attack and led early 9-0, they let Creighton back into the game briefly after missing nine consecutive shots in the first half and going scoreless for nearly six minutes. Creighton went on a 13-point run and then ran out of gas and were smothered by the Hoyas’ defense. Over a 17-minute span from the end of the first half into the second the Creighton failed to hit a field goal on Saturday, and that was fatal to any potential comeback as the Hoyas were well on their way to a 27-point victory. The Ghost of former Player of the Year Doug McDermott is all that is left for the anemic offense of the Bluejays, who have one win in conference and the only overall losing record (conference and non-conference) in the Big East this season. The CenturyLink Center sellout crowd of 17,499, fans showing up for the worst team in the Big East this season, a crowd far larger than most Hoya home games this season, had little to cheer about. (Perhaps there isn’t much going on in middle America?) Creighton shot 17.9 percent (5 of 28) the first 20 minutes, its worst mark for a half this season, and a season-low 20.8 percent for the game.
The Bluejays were led by senior guard Avery Dingman, who finished with eight points to lead his team, now 10-13 overall and 1-9 in the BE.
As opposed to the dismal effort against Xavier, in which the Hoyas scored a season-low 53 points, shot 39 percent and turned over the ball a season-high 17 times, today the Hoyas shot 50 percent against Creighton and their turnover total was 10. With less than 5 minutes remaining in the first half, the game was little in doubt as the Hoyas’ superiority in every facet of the game was evident.
ProminentPlayer of the Game: DSR’s key leadership performance today, on the road, in a game in which the Hoyas clearly had to get their house in order.
ProminentPlay of the Game: While his only field goal of the game (“What’s up with that”?) easily Josh Smith’s monstrous backboard-shaking dunk, (assisted by Copeland), over two Creighton players at the 6:28 minute mark of the second half.
ProminentStatistic of the Game: (New Category): Creighton’s 20.8-percent shooting was the 12th-lowest mark in Division I this season, and it was the worst in a Big East game since West Virginia shot 20 percent against Cincinnati on Jan. 30, 2008.
Concerns:
1. While they didn’t get to the line much because they were hitting their field goals (50%) and three-pointers (43%), the Hoyas cannot afford to continue shooting 55% at the free throw line (Hopkins 0 for 2 and Bowen 1 for 3). In games against better teams that may be the difference between a W and L.
2. Josh Smith scored two points, played just 14 minutes and fouled out. Against a stronger team on a day when outside shots aren’t falling, that is a sure recipe for disaster.
Next Up: The Hoyas, now 15-6 overall and 7-3 in the Big East, host longtime conference rival Providence on Wednesday, Feb. 4 at 9pm in the Phone Booth. Hoya Fans, energize the base to get out late Wednesday night to the arena. Each game is critical down the stretch for anyone who cares about March!
Hoyas Down Creighton in Omaha in Convincing Fashion, Returning to Form, 67-40
(Thank you, Counting Crows and Adam Duritz, great song “Omaha”)
The ProminentPlay Scenario is in play! (See previous post). The Georgetown Hoyas took care of business today on the road and silenced the Bluejays for a second time this season to complete the sweep. Showing little signs of the team that came out flat and couldn’t recover on Tuesday against Xavier, except for a few unsteady early minutes, today the Hoyas, led by junior guard and leader D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera (DSR), can check off this “must win” in the final 9-game stretch of the regular season. The first game between the teams resulted in a 79-61 Georgetown victory at Verizon Center on January 3rd.
While the Hoyas may in fact lose their ranking because of the unsightly loss at home against Xavier, today’s dominance of Creighton in Omaha, at least suggests that the prior contest was an aberration and the Hoyas are ready for battle in what will be a challenging schedule through early March. DSR scored 24 points, with half of those coming during the 31-3 run that ended with senior guard Jabril Trawick’s 3-pointer giving Georgetown a 43-18 lead with 13 minutes left. Some forget that Jabril can hit the trey. He has the best percentage on the team, ahead of DSR, 18 for 39 on the season .462! (DSR, 42 of 109, .385) Trawick added 15 points for the Hoyas. Senior power forward Mikael Hopkins played a solid game, finishing with eight points, eight rebounds and a team-high three assists, while freshman Isaac Copeland added seven points and a career-high eight rebounds. LJ Peak was back in the starting lineup after playing a reserve role against Xavier because of an ankle injury and added 5 points. Hopefully on the mend.
What was most impressive, depending on your perspective, was the Hoyas’ total shutdown of the Creighton offense. (An alternative perspective is that Creighton’s offense was completely inept.) Although the Hoyas started the game on attack and led early 9-0, they let Creighton back into the game briefly after missing nine consecutive shots in the first half and going scoreless for nearly six minutes. Creighton went on a 13-point run and then ran out of gas and were smothered by the Hoyas’ defense. Over a 17-minute span from the end of the first half into the second the Creighton failed to hit a field goal on Saturday, and that was fatal to any potential comeback as the Hoyas were well on their way to a 27-point victory. The Ghost of former Player of the Year Doug McDermott is all that is left for the anemic offense of the Bluejays, who have one win in conference and the only overall losing record (conference and non-conference) in the Big East this season. The CenturyLink Center sellout crowd of 17,499, fans showing up for the worst team in the Big East this season, a crowd far larger than most Hoya home games this season, had little to cheer about. (Perhaps there isn’t much going on in middle America?) Creighton shot 17.9 percent (5 of 28) the first 20 minutes, its worst mark for a half this season, and a season-low 20.8 percent for the game.
The Bluejays were led by senior guard Avery Dingman, who finished with eight points to lead his team, now 10-13 overall and 1-9 in the BE.
As opposed to the dismal effort against Xavier, in which the Hoyas scored a season-low 53 points, shot 39 percent and turned over the ball a season-high 17 times, today the Hoyas
shot 50 percent against Creighton and their turnover total was 10. With less than 5 minutes remaining in the first half, the game was little in doubt as the Hoyas’ superiority in every facet of the game was evident.
ProminentPlayer of the Game: DSR’s key leadership performance today, on the road, in a game in which the Hoyas clearly had to get their house in order.
ProminentPlay of the Game: While his only field goal of the game (“What’s up with that”?) easily Josh Smith’s monstrous backboard-shaking dunk, (assisted by Copeland), over two Creighton players at the 6:28 minute mark of the second half.
ProminentStatistic of the Game: (New Category): Creighton’s 20.8-percent shooting was the 12th-lowest mark in Division I this season, and it was the worst in a Big East game since West Virginia shot 20 percent against Cincinnati on Jan. 30, 2008.
Concerns:
1. While they didn’t get to the line much because they were hitting their field goals (50%) and three-pointers (43%), the Hoyas cannot afford to continue shooting 55% at the free throw line (Hopkins 0 for 2 and Bowen 1 for 3). In games against better teams that may be the difference between a W and L.
2. Josh Smith scored two points, played just 14 minutes and fouled out. Against a stronger team on a day when outside shots aren’t falling, that is a sure recipe for disaster.
Next Up: The Hoyas, now 15-6 overall and 7-3 in the Big East, host longtime conference rival Providence on Wednesday, Feb. 4 at 9pm in the Phone Booth. Hoya Fans, energize the base to get out late Wednesday night to the arena. Each game is critical down the stretch for anyone who cares about March!
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