Georgetown Looks to Rebound Against St. John’s
Going into the Big East season, Georgetown had looked like it had put its season back together after four players left the program.
What a difference a week makes.
The Hoyas have opened up their Big East conference schedule with two straight 16-point losses. The concern about the season is legitimate.
In the loss to Providence, the Hoyas didn’t have Mac McClung which exposed just how fragile the roster is. On the surface, a conference road loss without a team’s leading scorer is to be expected. But, upon closer look, the loss wasn’t about not having McClung. Georgetown was awful on defense as the Friars made 10 three pointers in the first half. Providence would shoot over 64.5%.
While Providence’s offense was cooking, Georgetown’s offense looked disjointed. The Hoyas would shoot 20% in the first half. Providence would limit Omer Yurtseven to 14 points for the game. Terrell Allen and Jahvon Blair (McClung’s replacement) shot a combined 6-29.
Things didn’t get any easier for Georgetown when they went to Seton Hall. The Pirates had already beaten Maryland without Myles Powell. The Hoyas face the Pirates with their leading scorer. Though Powell didn’t go off offensively, his presence allowed Myles Cale and Quincy McKnight to thrive. If that wasn’t enough, 7-2 Romaro Gill made an impact on both ends of the floor. Gill scored 17 points while holding Yurtseven to 9 points on 3-14 shooting.
Up next for Georgetown is a home game against St. John’s (11-4). Like the Hoyas, the Red Storm have lost their first two conference games.
St. John’s has two impressive non-conference wins under new head coach, Mike Anderson. The Red Storm eeked out a two point victory over West Virginia. On New Year’s Eve, St. John’s scored a neutral court, 70-67 win over Arizona.
Keys to Victory
McClung and Yurtseven Need Help
It’s imperative that Georgetown establishes a third scorer. It doesn’t have to be the same player each game. The prime candidates would be fellow starts, Jagan Mosely and Jamorko Pickett. Mosely has only two double-digit games this season (Central Arkansas and Syracuse). The senior can definitely improve on his 6.8 points per game average. He’s a 48% three point shooter and an 81.8% free throw shooter.
In year three, Pickett seems to be still searching for consistency in the offense. Pickett averaging 8.6 points per game and has seven double-digit game this season and a 44% three point shooter. Head coach Patrick Ewing could help with Pickett’s role in the offense by getting him the ball in his prime scoring areas more.
Defense
Georgetown leads the Big East is scoring offense. They are dead last in scoring defense. The problem isn’t with individual defenders. Mosely and Allen are good on ball defenders. The problem is with the team defense. Frequently, the Hoyas weak-side defense is out of position or doesn’t react soon enough. This allows perpetrators to kick the ball to wide open three point shooters. That’s why it’s no surprise that Georgetown is last in the conference in three point defense.
