Bricks, Pitt, and the Revenge of the Younger Sibling: It's 3.3...

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On the docket:

STATE OF THE HOYA

          Analysis of Rutgers Game

                   Worst bball game ever played?

                   Ferocious free throw aerial assault

          Preview of Pitt Game

                   Legit opponent or not?

          Do we deserve to be Top 10?

NCAA BBALL

          Syracuse loses!

          Does Murray State deserve to be Top 10?

          Tyler/Duke gets upset....ACC up for grabs!

NFL

          Preview/analyze conference championship games

          Eli vs. Brady – who would you rather have?

          Is anyone watching the Pro Bowl?  How can it improve?

MLB

          Prince finds a throne!!  Good deal for everyone?

Under Review

          Overall, Eli will have a better career than Peyton Manning.

Predictions

          WVU @ Syracuse: winning margin single digits?

          More points Saturday: Ashton Gibbs or Hollis?
          UConn @ Gtown

          Indiana @ Michigan

          NFC vs. AFC       

Back-to-back wins, the conference debate, and some football surprises; here's Show 3.2

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STATE OF THE HOYA

TWO REBOUNDING WINS…DEPAUL AND ST JOHNS

MVP OF THE ROADTRIP AND UNSUNG HERO

PREDICTIONS/ANALYSIS OF UPCOMING RUTGERS GAME

NCAA BBALL

Best conference in bball? ACC, BigEast, Big10, 12?

Break down: Syracuse roadtrip (Cincy/ND), Baylor vs. Mizz

MLB

Hugh Darvish to Rangers

Status of Prince Fielder? Where will he go? Nationals?

NFL

Break down last week’s games

Packers big loss, 49ers big win

Bigger disappointment or bigger surprise?

Analyze Pats/Ravens and 49ers/Giants

Will defense rule the day?

Predictions for the Super Bowl

Jim Caldwell fired, Colts in limbo…what would you have done?

1. Fire Caldwell?

2. What do you do with Peyton?

3. Andrew Luck?

UNDER REVIEW

JTIII should be coach of the year! (Tyler)

PREDICTIONS

Ravens/Pats

Giants/49ers

Lubick fouls vs. fields goals made

Hollis field goal % over/under 50

More receiving yards: Gronkowski or Davis

Syracuse deserves to be #1?

Nick, I know you’re a big Hoya basketball fan. Therefore, you know that all Hoya fans must have an irrational hate for Syracuse. Unfortunately, the Orange are one of just three remaining unbeaten teams in college basketball, making them the #1 ranked team in the country.

But do they really deserve that top spot?  The problem is their relatively easy schedule.  Their best two wins are against Marquette and Florida, and for most of the season they’ve bullied awful teams like George Washington and Eastern Michigan, who don’t even deserve to be in Division I.  When it comes to the elite teams, I don’t think it is right to judge them by how many losses they have. Rather, we should judge them by how many wins they have against legitimately good teams.  

There is no greater measure of a team’s ability than a head-to-head matchup with a team that is also considered to be top-tier. Syracuse has not had nearly enough of these matchups, but teams like #2 Kentucky, #5 Ohio State, and #8 Indiana have. Kentucky and Indiana both have 1 loss and Ohio State has 2. Kentucky’s 1 loss was to now-#8 Indiana on the road by just a single point, and the Wildcats have beaten 3 ranked teams in Kansas, North Carolina, and Louisville. Indiana’s 1 loss was to now-#7 Michigan State on the road and they’ve beaten the then-#1 and #2 teams as well as top-15 Michigan. Ohio State’s only 2 losses were at Kansas and Indiana, both top-20 teams, and they’ve beaten Duke and Florida. Needless to say, these teams have impressive resumes and have beaten some really solid opponents.

Syracuse, on the other hand, has only played 2 ranked teams. They beat Florida by 4 and Marquette by 7, both at home. The only other quality opponent ‘Cuse has played is Seton Hall, but they’re not even ranked. The bottom line is that three teams listed above have played, and beaten, top-5 teams whereas Syracuse’s toughest opponent was Florida, who has since fallen to 19^th in the rankings. Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio State all have out-of-conference wins against elite teams while Syracuse scheduled cupcakes for their pre-Big East games.  Syracuse is good, but they definitely don’t deserve to be #1.

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Your hate for Syracuse is not the only thing that’s irrational.  Being from upstate New York means I have a little more sympathy for the Orange, and a lot more sense as well.  You talk a lot about scheduling, but in my book, a 17-0 record is impressive no matter who you play.  Led by legendary coach Jim Boeheim, Syracuse has done everything expected of them, and then some more.  They haven’t just won, they’ve won handily by as much as 20 or 30 points.  Unlike the Hoyas, they know how to put away a team. 

Their schedule is a constant, and I’ll admit that it is not very difficult.  But their performances have certainly been dynamic.  What more can you ask of them when they have been so dominant?  Syracuse is one of the deepest teams in the nation, and going undefeated in the Big East is nothing to sneeze at.

It’s hard to find flaws in a team with zero losses.  The same can’t be said of Kentucky, Ohio State, or Indiana, who are not as good as you think they are.  In 16 games, Kentucky played on the road only once.  They are also incredibly young and inexperienced, and I doubt they have the discipline to keep it together down the stretch.  And first place in the SEC?  That would sound a lot better if we were talking football.

The Buckeyes aren’t good enough to even be mentioned in this discussion.  They have failed in their two toughest games this season, losing on the road to both Kansas and Indiana.  Indiana is probably the most deserving, but a 15-point loss to an overrated Michigan State makes their resume less-than-perfect.  Syracuse is an unblemished, brand-new t-shirt; Indiana’s got a stain that’s covered in bleach.

But in the end, how much does the schedule really matter?  Judging a team’s strength of schedule is a very subjective enterprise, one that is too easily swayed by prejudices and misperceptions.  It’s one of the reasons why we hate the BCS Bowl system.  Sometimes we just have to call a win a win, and a loss a loss.  When studied at the most basic level, Syracuse is clearly the best team in the land. 

#11 Georgetown (13-3, 3-2) at St. John's (8-8, 2-3) Recap

On Saturday, January 15, 2011, the Georgetown Hoyas ended a 3-game losing streak by rolling past the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on the road. The Hoyas won their next 7 games en route to a top-10 national ranking. On Sunday, January 15, 2012, the Georgetown Hoyas ended a 2-game losing streak by crushing the St. John's Red Storm, also on the road. We can all only hope that history repeats itself...for the next 7 games at least. After losing two straight games, the last of which should definitely have been a win, many were questioning Georgetown's ability to keep up their elite level of play. Would Georgetown have the mental fortitude to keep their composure and go on the road to beat a mediocre St. John's squad? The Hoyas answered these questions with a resounding "yes", as they dominated the Johnnies for almost the entirety of their 69-49 win on Sunday.

Georgetown did a much better job limiting turnovers in this game, committing only 12 to the Red Storm's 13. Cold shooting from beyond the arc did not harm the Hoyas, as they heated up from three in the second half. Madison Square Garden is classically a difficult place for Georgetown to play and this is their first win there since the 2007-2008 season. Georgetown took the lead midway through the first half and was able to hold onto it despite a furious run from the Red Storm late in the second half. This game featured excellent play by the freshman, especially Greg Whittington and Otto Porter, as well as the continued hot shooting by Hollis Thompson.

Likes:

Working Hard on the Offensive Glass - Almost half of Georgetown's 41 rebounds came on the offensive glass (18). The main stars in this department were Whittington and Porter, with 6 and 5 offensive rebounds, respectively. The Hoyas had 21 second-chance points compared to only 11 by St. John's. This is the sort of rebounding productivity the Hoyas will need going forward against better Big East teams like UConn and Syracuse. The more trips down the floor that end with points, the better the Hoyas' chances will be against the top teams.

They Kept Their Cool With a Deficit - In the past, when the Hoyas found themselves faced with a deficit, they have been quick to throw up ill-advised three-point shots, have typically failed to keep their composure, and they usually have ended up deviating from the game plan. After St. John's went up 13-5 midway through the first half, Georgetown did not deviate from the plan, they locked down on interior defense, and continued to take smart shots. The Hoyas outscored the Red Storm 20-6 to finish the half.

Hollis Thompson Didn't Stop Shooting - Hollis finished the first half shooting missing all 4 shots he took from three and 0-6 overall. It looked as if the hot shooting we had seen from him in the last 3 games had all but dried up and the Hoyas were going to need a step-up performance from someone else in order to win this game. Instead, Hollywood came out in the second half and was perfect. He was 7-7 and 5-5 from 3 and scored all 20 of his points in the second half. For a guy like Hollis, confidence is huge, and for him to be able to tear it up like that after hitting nothing in the first 20 minutes of play is indicative of a great level of mental fortitude.

Limiting Everyone Outside of Harkless - Moe Harkless is definitely the Red Storm's best player. Everyone knew he'd be taking the highest number of shots and everyone knew that he'd probably lead them in scoring. Everyone would be right, by the way, as he shot 9-16 for 21 points. This time around, Georgetown did what it could not do against Cincinnati, and that was limit the scoring threat. Cincinnati had two players who were on fire and Georgetown could find no defensive answer for them. On Sunday, the Hoyas let Harkless get his points, but he's no Marshon Brooks, and there was no way Harkless was going to beat the Hoyas alone. Pointer had 12 points on just 3-8 shooting and he was the only other guy even close to Harkless' productivity. Outside of those two guys, St. John's was 5-30 from the field for just 16 points.

Winning the Game Going Away - Unlike the game against Providence, which Georgetown should have won easily, this game was over well before the final 2 minutes. It was close with 6 minutes to go, but the Hoyas slammed down the gas pedal and ran away with this game in the end. Close wins are thrilling, but nobody likes it when the Cardiac Hoyas show up. This win was a nice one for those of us with heart problems, seeing as we didn't have to spend the last 30 minutes (5 of which would actually be playing time) with our blood pressures pushing 200.

Dislikes:

Allowing St. John's Too Many Long Offensive Rebounds - St. John's found themselves fighting to stay in the game early in the second half. One way they were able to keep themselves alive was on offensive rebounds, namely long offensive boards. The Red Storm are a terrible 3-point shooting team, so when St. John's attempted three-pointers, there was no reason Georgetown should not have been ready for a rebound. On at least 3 occasions in the second half, Red Storm jumpers bounced far away from the basket and ended up being recovered by one of the Johnnies. A team struggling to stay in the game should not be given second chances so easily.

Bailing the Red Storm Out With Fouls - Again, with the Johnnies threatening to make a run, Georgetown made mistakes allowing them to stay in the game. From the time of the 12-minute TV timeout to the 6-minute mark in the second half, Georgetown committed 6 team fouls, each resulting in free throws for the Red Storm. The worst way to help a struggling team back into a game is to put them on the free throw line. This game could have turned out a lot differently as a result of the fouling if Georgetown hadn't turned up the heat on the offensive end.

Not Enough Playing Time for Jabril - Jabril Trawick played a team-low 6 minutes in this game. I don't know if Trawick has done something to get himself into JTIII's doghouse, but his playing time in the last two games has been way down from his season average of 13.4 minutes per game.

Three Key Plays You May Not Remember:

1) Just 6 minutes into the game, Georgetown was playing some concerning basketball. Sir`Dominic Pointer had just made a baseline jumper from behind the backboard to give St. John's a 6-point advantage. Jabril Trawick brought the ball up the floor and made a terrible pass that ended up right in Pointer's hands. Pointer looked to give the Red Storm an 8-point lead with an easy layup at the other end, but 6'2" Markel Starks ran him down and blocked the attempt from the 6'6" forward. JTIII called a timeout after this, but it was important to the Hoyas to prevent St. John's from doubling their lead in the course of about 15 seconds.

2) The Hoyas were protecting a 5-point lead just 2 minutes into the second half when Hollis Thompson dished to Nate Lubick in the low post off an offensive rebound. Lubick attempted to scoop the ball under the basket but missed badly and when Henry Sims' put-back wouldn't go, St. John's was able to run the floor with numbers. God`sgift Achiuwa went up for a wide open layup but Lubick flew in from nowhere to block Achiuwa's shot, which sprung a Georgetown run back the other way. Georgetown didn't score any points off the play, but Lubick's impressive recovery off his miss fired up the Hoyas, who went on a 9-2 run in the next 3 minutes.

3) With 6:15 to go, the Red Storm had cut Georgetown's lead to just 3 points and they had all the momentum. With the Hoyas on the ropes, someone needed to step up and make a play. Jason Clark received the ball on the right wing and threw the pass all the way across the court to Hollis Thompson who stood wide open on the left wing. Hollywood nailed the 3-pointer and gave the Hoyas some breathing room. Georgetown never looked back, finishing the game on an 18-4 run from that point on.

It Was Over When: Otto Porter dropped in a layup with the foul to put Georgetown up 15 with 2 minutes to play. Hollis Thompson's 5th 3-pointer of the half sealed the performance a minute later.

Georgetown has a short turnaround and plays at DePaul on Tuesday. Here's to hoping they can tack a few more wins onto this new streak.

Will the Packers win it all?

You know, Jordan, if you were a betting man, I know you’d jump on the Packers bandwagon.  They’re sitting pretty as the 9-5 favorite to win the Super Bowl.  But this team is not as good as advertised.  Here’s 4 good reasons why the Cheeseheads will not win it all:

1. The Packers have the worst defense in the NFL.  During their championship season last year, the Packers had the 5^th-best defense.  This year, they’re 32^nd.  They’re allowing over 400 yards per game, and have managed to squeak by good opponent thanks only to the brilliant play of Aaron Rodgers.  The superstar play of their quarterback and the arrogance that accompanies a 15-1 record have overshadowed the Achilles heel of this team.  Come playoff time, something’s got to give.  

2. That porous defense has not even been tested during the regular season.  Here’s an interesting fact: the Packers only played five teams with a winning record this year.  They have surrendered all of those points and yards to the likes of Christian Ponder, Kyle Orton and Josh Freeman.  How will this defense respond when they face Eli Manning or Drew Brees in the upcoming weeks?  The secondary has feasted off interceptions throughout the season, but these veteran quarterbacks know how to take care of the ball.  Yes, the Packers have already defeated both the Giants and Saints this year; but it’s always harder to win the second time around.  Ironically, Losing is incredibly valuable.  Look at how Alabama rebounded to pummel LSU.

3. The running game will be important.  The cold, icy weather at Lambeau favors teams that can run the ball effectively.  While Rodgers has been fantastic, his role may be diminished if the snow makes it difficult to throw.  A huge winter storm is set to hammer the Midwest, and I’d take Frank Gore or the Bradshaw/Jacobs tandem over Ryan Grant and James Starks.  Amidst the flurries, they’re going to run it right up the Packers throat.

4. Tragedies can deflate a team.  Just a few days ago, the body of Michael Philbin, the son of Packers offensive coordinator Joe Philbin, was found in a river.  Such a sudden, tragic event has undoubtedly shaken the locker room, and I cannot imagine how the coordinator of one of the league’s top offenses will be emotionally or mentally ready on game day.   Just a few months ago, we all saw what happened to Oklahoma State after a plane crash killed two basketball coaches beloved by the athletic program.  Bedlam and Lambeau are following parallel narratives.

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Well Nick, you know me, but clearly you know me a lot better than you know football. While I think the Packers have some glaring issues on defense, they finished 15-1 for a reason. They proved themselves to be the best team in the NFL’s regular season and I believe this will also be the case in the postseason. I consider only 5 of the remaining 7 teams to be true threats, and here is why the Packers will undoubtedly beat each one.

New York Giants – The Packers already beat the Giants this year at the Meadowlands. Now Green Bay is at home. If the effectiveness of the running games is a factor, the Giants statistically have the least effective running attack in the NFL, averaging 89 yards a game. Eli’s not on the same roll he was on in 2007, and I think his playoff heroics fall short.

San Francisco 49ers – The 49ers are a true wild card. They don’t seem to have any real offensive weapons other than Frank Gore and Vernon Davis and yet they managed 13 wins this year. While San Francisco’s run defense is the best in the league, their pass defense is middle of the pack, and I think Rodgers would bowl right over them.

New England Patriots – Brady can equal Rodgers throw for throw, but the Packers’ secondary has managed 8 more interceptions this season than the Patriots’ secondary. Considering Brady has thrown 12 interceptions to Rodgers’ 6, I think the Packers win this matchup because their defense will provide Rodgers with more possessions than Brady.

Baltimore Ravens – The Ravens would definitely be the best all around defense the Packers would face. They also have a much better running game than the Packers. If the Ravens don’t establish a dominant running attack, though, they will fall behind early and Flacco, who completes less than 60% of his passes, will be forced to throw. The Ravens will not win a shootout with the Green Bay Packers.

New Orleans Saints – I think this team poses the greatest threat to the Packers. Drew Brees has proven himself to be just as good as Rodgers, if not better. The Saints have a slightly better defense, but the x-factor will be location. The game between these two teams would be played in Green Bay, where the Packers have already beaten the Saints. I think Drew Brees falters in the cold and the Packers win yet another shootout with the Saints.

Back to school! We talk 2-game skids, NFL playoffs, and much more...

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On the docket...

State of the Hoya

Have we hit the annual Big East swoon?

What needs to change?

Why did this happen? Break down the losses

What are the expectations now for the rest of the season?

NCAA Bball

Who’s #1?

Biggest surprise of the Big East so far?

Biggest disappointment?

NCAA Fball

Favorite Bowl game?

National Championship Game…rankings right?

NFL

We know the Packers are #1…but which of the remaining teams have the best chance of making a Super Bowl run?

Break down each of the upcoming games

Saints/49ers, Broncos/Patriots, Texans/Ravens, Giants/Packers

The return of Tebow…WOW…discuss

PREDICTIONS

Saints @ 49ers

Broncos @ Pats

Texans @ Ravens

Giants @ Packers

Super Bowl matchup and winner 

Cincinnati (12-4, 2-1) at #11 Georgetown (13-2, 3-1)

Sigh. Well Hoya fans, it seems as if the annual Big East swoon is in full swing after last night's disappointment at home against the Bearcats. We can hang onto the hope that these losses have come simply as a result of the fact that Georgetown hasn't recently played Cincinnati or West Virginia well, but this team has glaring weaknesses that have been exposed in not just the last 2 losses, but the last 2 wins as well. Long story short, this game should have been a blowout. For the Bearcats, not the Hoyas. Georgetown shot out of their minds in this game and still managed to lose, but one thing remained consistent: turnovers. The Old Blue and Gray bested it's 15-turnover performance at West Virginia with a 17-turnover game last night. Needless to say, one thing is obvious. If this team hopes to stand a chance in the Big East and the Tournament, they absolutely MUST stop turning the ball over.

The Hoyas were unable to avenge last season's devastating injury to Chris Wright in a rematch against Cincinnati, who seems to be just as much of a bugaboo for the Hoyas as West Virginia. This game featured all around excellent shooting performances and generally better decision-making than was seen in the loss to the Mountaineers, despite the higher number of turnovers. Cincinnati threw an incredibly tough defensive scheme at the Hoyas and Georgetown was just not able to cope. Most of the Hoyas' turnovers were forced by the tenacious Bearcat defense rather than mindless passes and pure lack of focus. Despite the loss, we did witness the long-awaited return of Nate Lubick to the sport of basketball, as he finally played like the post presence we'd hoped he'd be all season. Georgetown will not likely keep up this high level of offensive play, but hopefully they will take the time before this weekend's game at St. John's to clean up their ball security issues and really take it to the relatively weak Red Storm.

Likes:

Nate Lubick Made Me Eat My Words - In just 2 days, Nate went from shooting 2-2 with 5 fouls, 3 rebounds, and no assists in just 15 minutes to shooting 4-5 with 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and just 2 fouls in 23 minutes of play last night. This was far and away Lubick's best game of the season. He was active on the boards and in the post with and without the ball. He made better decisions when passing the ball and held onto the ball a lot better than he had in previous games. After the last game, I said Lubick belonged on the bench and that fired a bunch of y'all up. Well now I get to eat it and hopefully this game was the return of the norm for Nate rather than just an aberration.

Neutralizing Yancy Gates - Despite the fact that Kilpatrick and Dixon are the Bearcats' top two scorers, there is no doubt that the Hoyas needed to create a special game plan for big man Yancy Gates, who is far larger than any of Georgetown's active big men (Tyler Adams would have been a great defensive cover for him). Gates, who averages 12 points and 9 rebounds, was held to just 8 points and 7 rebounds on 2-5 shooting. Gates was a relative non-factor in this one, despite the fact that he didn't really need to be a factor considering Kilpatrick and Dixon couldn't miss.

Keeping Cashmere Wright off the Floor - Wright is the key component of the Cincinnati offense; it flows through his direction. Wright accrued 2 fouls in the first 7 minutes of the game and had to sit for the majority of the first half. He remained in foul trouble for the entirety of the game and never really got to direct the offense. He got his 4 assists, but got just 2 points and didn't make a single field goal. Again, scoring wasn't important for the Bearcats in this one if your last name wasn't Kilpatrick or Dixon, but Wright could have posed an even greater issue for the Hoyas if he had gotten into his rhythm.

Crashing the Defensive Boards Early - Inability to control the defensive rebound has hurt the Hoyas recently. Georgetown was very aggressive around the rim on defense, picking up 11 defensive rebounds on 16 Cincinnati misses in the first half. Granted, Cincinnati spent a lot of the game putting smaller players on the floor (with the exception of Gates), so rebounding would be inherently easier for the Hoyas, but limiting the Bearcats to one shot each time down the floor was crucial for the Hoyas, especially when Kilpatrick and Dixon got hot.

Dislikes:

Inability to Defend Cincinnati's Hot Shooters/Get Shots for Our Hot Shooters - This is a compound complaint. Dion Dixon and Sean Kilpatrick took 19 shots and combined for 24 points in the first half. They combined for another 12 shots and 25 points in the second half. On the Georgetown side, Hollis and Clark combined for 8 shots and 21 points in the first half but only combined for 5 shots and 7 points in the second half, with Hollis scoring none of those points. It was obvious very early that Kilpatrick and Dixon would be the only sources of points for the Bearcats, and yet they continued to get open looks and were never double-teamed. Clark had a decent second half, but the fact that Hollis got just one shot is a huge issue, especially considering how hot he's been the past couple of games. The fault for this lies entirely on JTIII.

Not Getting to the Free Throw Line - Cincinnati committed 15 fouls. That's not a lot, but it's enough to get into the bonus at least once. Georgetown shot just 10 free throws to Cincinnati's 22. Cincinnati was not SUPPOSED to be a great free throw shooting team, but they shot 82% from the line. There is absolutely nothing the Hoyas could have done about that percentage, but they could have tried to make the shot disparity a little lower. There was not much in the way of attacking the basket, despite the clear presence of a post game for the majority of the second half. One can also attribute this difference to the Bearcats' excellent defense. They created turnovers without fouling, which is very difficult to do consistently, but Georgetown's inability to take advantage of an overly aggressive Cincinnati defense prevented them from getting to the line.

Failing to Finish the Game - Georgetown led the Bearcats 59-53 with six and a half minutes to go. Cincinnati outscored the Hoyas 15-5 after that point. Georgetown shot 1-4 (3-7 FT) with 5 turnovers in that time. Five? FIVE TURNOVERS? Five turnovers in 6 minutes is inexcusable. Georgetown sleepwalked through the last part of this game and Cincinnati took advantage. I'm not sure if this is just lack of mental toughness or if Georgetown just went cold, but you can't expect that a 6-point lead with 6 minutes to go over a team with TWO hot shooters is going to last if you don't play smart basketball and don't make the shots you are suppose to make.

Abandoning the Press - I didn't see the press once in this game. Not until Georgetown was in absolute need of a turnover with a minute left did JTIII call for a press. Why? Because Cincinnati is a faster team? Because they might just run through our press? Cincinnati committed 9 turnovers, just 9. If you remember the stat I gave above, that means Georgetown, in just the last 6 minutes of the game, committed more than half the number of turnovers the Bearcats committed the entire game. 9 forced turnovers is not nearly enough to beat a team, especially when you're coughing it up like crazy. The press worked against West Virginia, why did we get rid of it in this game?

Um, Where was Jabril? - This goes along with the last note because of Jabril's defensive prowess. Jabril Trawick played 3 minutes against Cincinnati. Not 13, not 23, THREE. One foul, one assist, no shots, no turnovers, no points. Tell me if this makes sense: A team whose best defensive player outside of the big men gets to sit on the bench while the other team's two best shooters are flying around the court and burning the Hoyas from everywhere EXCEPT the paint. It's as if JTIII forgot Jabril was on the bench! I can't help but think that Trawick would have been a huge aid in neutralizing the Kilpatrick/Dixon assault.

Three Key Plays You May Not Remember:

1) After Sean Kilpatrick failed to complete a 3-point play to cut the Georgetown lead to just 2 six and a half minutes into the second half, Georgetown struggled greatly with Cincinnati's defense on their resulting possession. With no time left on the shot clock, Otto Porter was forced to throw up a hook-shot prayer that almost certainly would not have gone in. Otto was bailed out, though, as Justin Jackson slapped him on the wrist as the shot clock expired, giving him two shots at the line, just Georgetown's second and third free throws. Otto made them both to push the Georgetown lead back up to 5 with just under 13 minutes to play. With Cincinnati on the verge of a huge defensive stop, Jackson's mental lapse gave the Hoyas some breathing room.

2) With four and a half minutes to play, Georgetown had an opportunity to inbound the ball from the baseline with a 3-point lead after a foul on Cashmere Wright. Nate Lubick intended to throw the ball to Jason Clark at the top of the key, but instead just let it float out of his hand. Dion Dixon easily grabbed the ball before it even got to Clark and streaked down the floor for a sure lay-up, which would cut the lead to just 1. Clark never gave up on the play, though, and was able to swat away Dixon's layup attempt at the other end of the court. Cincinnati would not score on the resulting possession, and Georgetown was able to keep their precarious lead for a little while longer.

3) Sean Kilpatrick stole the ball with just under a minute left in the first half and the Bearcats holding onto a 2-point lead. As he drove for the layup, though, he committed a charge and gave the ball right back to the Hoyas. Jason Clark made the most of this turnover and completed a three-point play on the Hoyas' next possession to give them the lead. Despite relinquishing this lead on Cincinnati's next offensive possession, the Kilpatrick charge turned into a 5-point swing in the Hoyas' favor going into halftime.

It Was Over When: Otto Porter stepped on the base line with Georgetown down 2 and 8 seconds to play. Cincinnati was not missing their free throws and eventually hit two to put the Hoyas away.

Georgetown gets 6 days to regroup before the matchup with St. John's, hopefully JTIII will make the proper adjustments.

#9 Georgetown (13-1, 3-0) at West Virginia (12-4, 2-1)

Well, we all knew that the streak couldn't last forever, and many people expected Georgetown to lose this game to the Mountaineers. Perhaps it was the hangover from the Marquette comeback, or perhaps it was simply that Georgetown has had serious problems with playing West Virginia over the past 5 years (they haven't won since the 2007-2008 season). Additionally, despite thrilling wins against Louisville and Marquette, the team has shown some rather lengthy poor stretches of play, and failing to rectify some of their issues were bound to prove costly against a quality team such as West Virginia on the road. The streak of 11 straight wins is over, but there is no reason to think this team couldn't start another one just as long with their home matchup against Cincinnati on Monday.

This game should provide a very concerning image for Hoya fans. Hollis Thompson (13) and Jason Clark (12) took the most and second most number of shots, respectively. Clark shot 4 three-pointers and Hollis shot 3. What is concerning about this is that this sort of stat line is what we expected to see from the Hoyas in EVERY GAME coming into this season. Everybody expected Thompson and Clark would be in control of every game and they would be this team's top scorers by a wide margin. Hoya fans can now see what this team does when that is the case. Just to be sure I'm making it perfectly clear, this means that this team LOSES when Hollis and Jason are the team's only shooting options. We should all take some time to be thankful that role players like Sims, Starks, and Porter have found ways to support this team over the first half of this season, because we would be looking at a much uglier standing if this were not the case. But, seeing as we can (hopefully) count on this new and improved Georgetown squad to bounce back from this defeat, we can be confident in assuming this won't happen too many more times in Big East play.

Likes:

Hollis Thompson Shooting Early and Often - Not that I want to advocate this sort of scoring proportion on a regular basis, but Hollis accounted for half of Georgetown's offense in the first half, scoring 13 points on 4-6 shooting with 4 of 6 free throws. Maybe JTIII and the players read my post about the Marquette game and realized how important feeding a hot shooter can be. I mentioned earlier that Hollis and Clark should not always be leading this team in shots taken, but make sure Hollis gets his looks, he does shoot just under 50% from 3-point land after all.

The Effectiveness of the Press - Georgetown spent about 27 of the game's 40 minutes using a full-court press during West Virginia possessions. 6 of the Mountaineers' 16 turnovers came as a direct result of the press. 6 turnovers were committed before West Virginia could even set up their offense. This is significant because the Mountaineers really never had a chance to find a shot on those 6 possessions. Had Georgetown been performing better in other aspects of the game, points earned off the press might have proven to be the winning margin for the Hoyas.

Henry Sims' Free Throw Shooting - Gotta be honest, this one was a stretch, but I felt I needed a third thing to like. Hank was a perfect 4-4 from the line, which isn't totally out of the norm for the big man, who shoots about 75% from the line. It would be nice seeing him get a few more free throw attempts from GOING UP STRONG in the paint, rather than falling away from defenders to take shots in the lane, though.

Dislikes:

Nate Lubick's Worthlessness - Get ready folks, there are going to be a lot of points in this section. First off is the complete ineptitude of Nate Lubick. Forget his 4 points on 2-2 shooting, what I'm focused on is the 15 minutes it took for him to accrue 5 fouls and disqualify himself. 15 minutes Nate? Really? It's not like these were well-used either. Listed are the instances of each one of his fouls: 1) Loose ball on the offensive end with 2 Mountaineers in front of him, no chance for the rebound. 2) Reaching over a Mountaineer ball-handler in the paint, attempting to knock away a pass. 3) Fouling Darryl Bryant as he shot a 3-pointer. 4) Running into a Mountaineer when trying to execute a trap. 5) Another over-the-back foul while attempting to get an offensive rebound. Come on Nate, our coaches told us when we were little that reaching and over-the-back were senseless fouls. If we actually NEEDED him out there, I'd be more pissed, but this is simply another exercise in futility for Lubick.

Three-Point Shooting - Not much that needs to be said here other than that the Hoyas went 2-14 shooting 3's. The Mavericks went 1-19 shooting from three-point land the other night and got curb-stomped by the Spurs. The only reason this game was closer was because West Virginia was equally bad...but for only one half. The Mountaineers ended up shooting a respectable 4-12 from three after finishing the first half 1-6. Also, someone needs to tell Otto and Whittington that they shouldn't be shooting 3-pointers, that is not where we need them. That line should be reserved for Hollis, Clark, Markel, and Lubick when he's decided he wants to spend more time getting splinters in his ass.

Getting Bowled Over by Darryl Bryant and Kevin Jones - Bryant and Jones came into this game averaging 18 and 19.6 points per game, respectively. Bryant finished with 25 and Jones finished with 22. Jones averages 11.6 rebounds per game. In this game, he got 16. Here's a clue, guys: The quickest way to lose to a team is to allow their two best players to have above-average days. The next highest scorer was Gary Browne, who put up 12, with 6 coming from the free throw line. Not a good job at focusing on this team's only two real threats.

Again, Allowing the Opponent Into the Bonus Waaaaaay Too Early - The Mountaineers came into this game averaging 64% from the charity stripe. Not too great, so we should be ok with letting them on the line a few times right? I don't think any of us would consider 31 free throw attempts "a few". Well boys and girls, that's how many free throw attempts the Mountaineers got. They hit 22 of them, 71% for the game. The team scored 74 points and 22 came from the foul line. For those of you SFSers out there, that's almost a third of their points from the line. Almost a third of their points came from uncontested foul shots. The Hoyas only SHOT 20 free throws! Oh, by the way, in case anybody is wondering how West Virginia managed so many free throw attempts, it's because they spent about half the game in the bonus. No, that wasn't a typo, I said half. West Virginia was into the bonus with 8:46 to go in the first half and 9:43 to go in the second. Again, for you SFSers, that's 18 minutes and 29 seconds of free throws. I don't care how bad they shoot from the line, you cannot put a team to the line that early in each half and expect to win.

Henry Sims' Shot Selection - Here is the list of the 10 shots that Henry Sims took today: Lay-up (missed), blocked hook shot, 17-foot jumper, 17-foot jumper, 5-foot hook, 5-foot hook, 7-foot hook, 15-foot jumper, 19-foot jumper, 6-foot jumper. How many of those were dunks? How many of those were put-backs off of misses? How many were layups made? None, absolutely none. I like Henry's desire to be like the great Kareem and bring back the sky hook, but for God's sake, can we please tell this guy to play tough around the rim and stop settling for dipsy-do hooks and deep jumpers? Give me a break Hank.

Inability to Obtain a Lead - Now I know you all might be saying "wait a second Jordan, didn't Georgetown start this game winning 4-0?" Well yes, you would be correct, but after the Mountaineers went on a 9-0 run, Georgetown never saw the lead again. Despite this, Georgetown had numerous opportunities. After West Virginia took a 5-4 lead with 15:38 to go in the 1st half, Georgetown had 7 possessions on which they could have taken the lead with just a 2-point shot. On those 7 possessions, Georgetown shot 0-5 and had 2 turnovers. The Hoyas were never any better than tied for the last 35 and a half minutes of the game.

Three Key Plays You May Not Remember:

1) With the game tied at 11 and 10:30 remaining in the first half, Hollis Thompson stole the ball from a cutting Darryl Bryant and was fouled about 10 seconds later by Aaron Brown. Right after the Hoyas inbounded the ball, Otto Porter was slapped with a foul for shoving Deniz Kilicli in the paint. Kevin Jones layed the ball in the hoop easily on the Mountaineers' next possession to retake the lead for West Virginia. Needless to say, this careless foul prevented Georgetown from taking advantage of an opportunity to regain the lead they took early in the game.

2) The game was again tied, this time at 27, with about a minute and a half remaining in the first half, West Virginia rebounded a Georgetown miss and set up their offense. Jabarie Hinds missed a driving layup and a Georgetown rebound would have allowed them a chance to run out just about the entire clock on the first half, but the ball was tipped outside to another Mountaineer, who passed to Kevin Jones who subsequently missed a three-pointer. Yet another offensive rebound for the Mountaineers ended up in the hands of Darryl Bryant, who did not miss and gave West Virginia the 29-27 advantage they held going into the half. Georgetown's inability to grab the defensive rebound prevented them from having a chance to take a lead of their own into the half.

3) After a Henry Sims 15-footer tied the game at 33 four minutes into the second half, Darryl Bryant bricked a three-pointer from the corner. Again, the Hoyas didn't clean up the glass, and Deniz Kilicli flew into the point and dunked the ball back to salvage the possession. After Hollis Thompson turned the ball over on the next Georgetown possession, yet another Darryl Bryant miss was dunked home, this time by Keaton Miles. The Hoyas could not box out in the paint and this allowed West Virginia two very important offensive rebounds as well as momentum.

It Was Over When: Jason Clark missed a forced layup with 2 minutes to go. Darryl Bryant made two free throws on the other end to give the Mountaineers an 8-point edge with less than 2 minutes to go.

It's a short turnaround for the Hoyas, who have Cincinnati at home on Monday night. Hopefully we will see a better all-around performance from the Old Blue and Gray.

#20 Marquette (12-2, 1-0) at #9 Georgetown (12-1, 2-0) Recap

How exactly did we win this game again? This was not the first game I've seen the Hoyas play as a Top 10 team. But it was certainly the first, in the short time I've been able to call myself a Hoya, that I've seen them play with the fortitude of a Top 10 team. Despite showing a porous first half defense, being unable to set up any sort of offensive rhythm for a stretch of about 20 minutes from the first half to the second, and the refs propensity to make terrible calls against the Hoyas for the majority of the game, the Old Blue and Gray mounted a 34-14 run after Todd Mayo's three-pointer with 13:12 left in the second half and upended the Golden Eagles of Marquette.

Last season, our beloved Hoyas were rewarded for their trouncing of #17 Memphis in Memphis with a Top 10 ranking (9th) for the first time all season. How did they respond? With an embarrassing loss at #15 Notre Dame. If you remember, though, the Hoyas rattled off a nice Big East win streak and again made it into the Top 10 (9th again) after a win at #13 Syracuse. Georgetown responded by losing at #12 Connecticut and BARELY making it out of South Florida with a win. This was the first game Georgetown has played as a Top 10 team since then, and for once, they ended up looking the part. My gripe with this team has always been their inability to run away with games, to kick a team while they're down. This is most often the case against teams that Georgetown SHOULD beat handily, and yet still seem to have some issues with. Georgetown can keep games close even when they should be running away with them, but they have never, before tonight, shown me they could dig themselves into a huge hole and proceed to pull themselves out and beat a REALLY GOOD TEAM. The Hoyas may not have looked like the 9th best team in the country for 30 minutes of the game tonight, but those last 10 minutes showed everyone why they deserve that spot.

Likes:

Early Offense - Unlike in the Providence game, Georgetown had no issues finding ways to score points early in the game. The Hoyas made 9 of 13 shots and scored 21 points in the first 8 minutes. Four of those baskets were layups, indicating the Hoyas' ability to get in the paint early. Hollis Thompson was also fed well during this stretch; he made two three-pointers and scored 8 in the early part of the game. This was something we absolutely needed to see from the Hoyas after their poor showing against Providence on New Years' Eve.

Hollis Thompson's Return - Speaking of Hollis, how about Hollywood? We were wondering where he's been for about the last month, and he finally reminded us why we love him so. 'Fro or no 'fro, Hollis came to play tonight. Shooting 6-7 (4-5 3-pt) for 16 points and just 1 turnover, Hollis Thompson's amazing effort book-ended a horrendous offensive performance for the majority of the game. Jason Clark may be the guy you want to lead the team at the end of the game, but that is now 2 game-winning three-pointers Hollis has hit. Can you ask for much more when it really counts?

Crunch Time Defense - Darius Johnson-Odom hit a three-pointer with 12:07 left in the game to put Marquette up 59-44. Do you know when Marquette's next basket was? Three minutes later, when Jae Crowder's basket put the Golden Eagles up 12. After that, Marquette did not make a single field goal until Davante Gardner's layup tied the game at 68 with 1:37 left. Seven and a half minutes without a field goal from a team that looked like they could score at will in the first 25 minutes?! It would be easy to say that the Golden Eagles just went cold, but I attribute this to tough defense on DJO, Crowder, and Todd Mayo, who only attempted a combined 2 shots and were credited with 3 turnovers. Huge crackdown by the defense there.

There's No Quit in These Boys - I'll be honest, folks, I didn't need to see the deficit pushed to 17 to be ready to throw in the towel on this one. Todd Mayo's three-pointer 5 minutes into the second half, which put Marquette up 16, made me about ready to quit. It seemed like there was nothing the Blue and Gray could do to stop these guys. We were playing high school defense and could get no sort of rhythm offensively. But, as the Hoyas have done all season, they surprised me yet again and pulled of one of the ballsiest, gutsiest, grittiest, toughest, and all out impressive comebacks I have ever seen. JTIII may not exactly be the greatest at lighting a fire under someone's ass, but these kids want to win, and they want to win badly.

Dislikes:

Transition Defense - One major reason Georgetown ended up giving up so many points in the first half was their inability to get back on defense. In fact, the transition defense was so bad that Marquette was getting fast break layups off our MADE baskets! In fact, 7 of Marquette's 17 first half field goals were scored within 10 seconds of Georgetown relinquishing possession of the ball. We knew coming into this one that Marquette liked to run and liked to drive the lane. You would have thought that JTIII would have prepared them a bit better for that sort of attack.

Again, Not Feeding the Hot Hand - Maybe this team is scared to give the ball to the guy who is shooting well, but I am not understanding why Hollis only had 6 shots in 30 minutes of play. He wasn't in foul trouble either. The guy was stroking it in the first 10 minutes of the game, why did he not get more shots?! Don't get me wrong, the guy got the ball in the hoop when it counted at the end, but why didn't anybody stop down and say "hey, this guy's been struggling for a while, and it seems like he's found his touch, let's milk him for all he's got tonight"? Hollis could have been a much bigger factor THROUGHOUT this game instead of being relegated to hitting the clutch shots at the end.

Henry Sims' Struggles (Kind Of) - This is the second game in a row that I've been absolutely baffled by Henry's play. Let me first say that his stat line is a significant improvement from 2-13 against Providence (5-6 with 3-4 FT tonight) and that is appreciated. The important thing to remember about this game AND the Providence game is that Henry was the biggest guy on the floor in both of those games. In the Providence game, he couldn't hit a shot to save his life. In this game, he seemed to be floating around the perimeter WAY too often! I don't know what was going on down there in the paint, maybe linebacker Davante Gardner said some mean things about his momma, but why would he be drifting so far away from the paint when he has the decided height advantage? In the end, it all worked out for Hank, as his sexy finger roll completed the Hoya comeback.

Letting Marquette into the Bonus - Marquette was into the Bonus with 13:49 left in the 2nd half. That means that it took the Hoyas barely 6 minutes to commit 7 fouls against Marquette. As if they weren't having enough problems already. Marquette is in the top 20 in free throws attempted per game and I'm pretty sure the ESPNU broadcasters threw up a stat saying Marquette has made more free throws than their opponents have even attempted. It is truly astounding that the Hoyas were able to come back after allowing Marquette to shoot free throws starting so early in the half. This is unacceptable regardless of the opposing team, though.

Three Key Plays You May Not Remember:

1) With just under four minutes left in the first half, Marquette had just scored, putting them up 8, which is still a manageable deficit. As Georgetown came down the floor to set up their offense, Jae Crowder ran into a screen from Jabril Trawick and fell to the ground. The referee called an offensive foul. Now, if you DO remember this play, you will remember how horrendous of a call it was, but this led to another Marquette basket and was sort of where the unraveling really started for the Hoyas. For the remaining 4 minutes of the half, Marquette outscored the Hoyas 10-4 and was 4 of 9 from the floor with 3 offensive rebounds.

2) Georgetown was up 1 with 9 minutes to go in the first half. With just 5 seconds left on the shot clock, Jae Crowder had to jack up a three-pointer which was well-contested by Greg Whittington. Crowder missed the three, and Georgetown had a chance to push. But wait, a foul was called on Whittington. It was a tough play to see, but it didn't look like Whittington really hit him at all and Crowder possibly just fell on Greg after the shot, but he was awarded the three shots anyway. Crowder made two of them, giving Marquette the lead, and Jason Clark's score on the next possession marked the last time Georgetown would hit a field goal until Clark scored again with just 2 minutes left in the half.

3) After Hank Sims nicely fed Otto Porter for a cutting layup to cut Marquette's lead to 5 (the smallest it had been in almost 20 minutes of game time) with 7 minutes to play, the gigantic Davante Gardner decided to attempt a shot from the top of the key, just inside the arc. Needless to say, that's not the big man's shot. Considering this, you would think that this was a perfect opportunity for the Hoyas to get a stop and further diminish the Golden Eagle lead. Well, you'd be wrong. Davante's laser shot displayed so little arc, that when it clanged off the back of the rim, it bounced right to Junior Cadougan. Darius Johnson-Odom was fouled on the resulting possession and his free throws brought the Marquette lead back up to 7. Obviously, an opportunity squandered by the Hoyas.

It Was Over When: Jae Crowder's attempt at a game-tying three-pointer from the left corner bounced off the back of the rim and out to Jason Clark, who was fouled with .7 seconds left. Clark's missed free throws wouldn't matter, as Marquette could not cleanly rebound his miss.

Now to travel to the backwaters of West Virginia to take on the Mountaineers, whose only bad loss is to Kent State.