Game 29 - DePaul

This miserable season is finally over and Georgetown ended it in fitting fashion, playing quite possibly its worst and least inspired basketball of the season. To say this game was ugly is an understatement.

A look at the Big season as a whole will come later, but there are only a few stats that say it all about this game:

- Greg Monroe shot attempts: 2 (all in first half)
- Greg Monroe shots made: 2
- DaJuan Summers three point attempts: 7
- DaJuan Summers three pointers made: 1
- Fewest amount of points scored by Georgetown in a Big East, regular season win


Good talk.

Game 28 - St. John's

The sky is really falling this time.

The inexperienced Hoyas square off with the banged-up Red Storm in a battle of traditional Big East powers. That was Comcast's description of this game. And they could not be more spot on.

Free throws and rebounds lost it for us. Don't really want to look at the numbers because it will make me sick. But that is one of JT3's worst games of his career. And the only positive in this disaster is that since we are unranked, no one will really care that Georgetown just collapsed in historic fashion.

And oh, Greg Monroe, the 2008 Parade High School Player of the Year, got outplayed by a 6'6'' player that averaged 13 minutes and 6 points a game. His name was Rob Thomas. And he tore my heart out and spat on it. And then sang a duet with Santana.

If anyone needs me I will be in my car with the windows down and the exhaust funneling in sweet fumes of serenity.


Good talk.

Game 27 - Villanova Part Deux

Still living off a high of actually beating a ranked team in a close game. Quick look at the numbers and trends below:

- Welcome back DaJuan, although you had 8 turnovers, the most you have ever committed in a game.
- Welcome Nikita - although you still scare me when you have the ball.
- 23 turnovers, 25 including the two team turnovers - most this season, by far.
- More turnovers than rebounds, quite a remarkable feat. Georgetown was more likely to hand the ball over to the other team than chase down the ball after a missed shot (which there were a lot of).
- Assist to turnover ratio of 0.65, one of our worst for the season.
- But Nova had a ratio of 0.45, along with 20 turnovers.
- Despite having one player over 6'6'', Villanova out-rebounded us.
- Second largest differential in shooting percentages against a Big East opponent this season.
- Fewest amount of layups/dunks we have missed against a Big East opponent this season.
- We average 11 misses, we only had 5 against Nova.
- And I wore the hat again for the first time this season.

Many people asked for it so here it is: We are gonna lose to St. John's.


Good talk.

Game 27 - Villanova

Only one thing to say and it was astutely stated by T^3 as he sat on my couch nervously chewing on his red Burger King straw: Disgusting.

God was on our side in this one.

And Jay Wright was wearing purple.


Good talk.

Game 26 - Louisville

Before the game I half-jokingly mentioned that when we lost, I hoped it would be by a lot so I wouldn't have the nagging heart-broken feeling I have had after the past six losses. The same feeling where I get my hopes up after we amount an impressive comeback and end up losing due to lack of clutch shooting and poor ball control. Well we lost tonight, by a lot. And I still feel awful.

Granted we started fouling with 2 minutes to go in the game, tonight is still tied for our worst home defeat in JT3's career at Georgetown. How bad was it? Well after we lost of West Virginia by 17 points way back in January (that was only our 5th loss of the year) I outlined previous games in which we got destroyed. Below is the updated version.
- Largest margin of defeat since losing at UConn by 19 points on March 2, 2005, 136 games ago. This was JT3's first year.
- Tied for the largest margin of defeat at home since losing to Temple by 18 points on November 22, 2004, 77 home games ago. This was also in JT3's first year.
- Largest margin of defeat at home since losing to Duke by 19 points on January 24, 2004, 78 home games ago. This was in Craig Esherick's last year.
- Largest margin of defeat at home against a Big East opponent since losing to Notre Dame by 23 points on March 4, 2000, 65 home Big East games ago. This was in Craig Esherick's first full year as head coach.

That pretty much says it all but first a comment on DaJuan Summers. It is clear to everyone that has watched him play over the past month that there is only one thing on his mind; his professional career. He was the reason our momentum stopped in this game. He took incredibly selfish shots, firing up quick three pointers and jump shots every time we had a chance to cut the Louisville lead below double digits. He wasn't even square to the basketball on most of the shots and his momentum from running up the court was still carrying him forward. When you miss a fadeaway, you are most likely to hit the front of the rim or airball the shot. When you shoot while still moving, you are most likely to miss by hitting the side of the rim you are falling towards. Most of Summers' shots hit the back of the rim; means he was pretty much taking a running shot. He made one shot in the game, which cut the lead to 8 but then after a Louisville conversion he fired up a horrible three with over 25 still on the shot clock. Go pro DaJuan; it's obvious you don't want to be a team player anymore. Luckily you are still projected to be a first rounder, and possibly a lottery pick in a very weak draft class. Take the money and run.

More morbid thoughts:
- The officiating was horrific in this game, but can't really complain because it wouldn't have changed the outcome. And we wouldn't have hit our free throws.
- We couldn't hit our three pointers; we were 3-16 from beyond the arc which impressively is only our third worst three point shooting performance in Big East play this season. West Virginia and Seton Hall losses were worse.
- But not to be outdone, there is one stat from this game that makes it our worst of the season: We only converted 8 out of our 20 layup/dunk attempts. But this was just the worst percentage-wise; we missed 14 layup/dunks in the Notre Dame and West Virginia losses.
- Summers finished the game 1-8 from the field, and 0-4 from behind the arc.
- Wright was our leading scorer but total points don't define a good play. He was 3-12 from the field, 1-4 from three-point land, and 5-8 from foul line. He also missed all 6 of his layup/dunk attempts in the second half and turned the ball over 4 times while only accumulating 1 assist.
- Our worst night on the boards since the loss to West Virginia; Terrence Williams and Earl Clark had more rebounds than our starting team.
- Speaking of starting team, I think the Nikita experiment is officially over; Clark started the second half over him.
- Freeman didn't start the second half for the first time all season.
- Student attendance woefully pathetic, especially for an ESPN, Big Monday game. But the crowd was loud when he had to be.
- Louisville had an incredible shooting night, they hit more of their three point attempts than they did layup/dunk attempts.
- They hit their first 9 shots and first 7 three pointers of the game.
- Team looks dejected and burned out. Unfortunately we still need to win at least one out of the next three to guarantee a NIT spot.
- But the bright side: We are very young. And we are very talented. And we will be very good in the years to come. Remember, the same team that led us to the Sweet 16 as sophomores and Final Four as juniors lost their last 5 games of the season and blew a NCAA Tournament berth as freshman. A program wins a national championship, not a team.
- This season hurts, bad.


Good talk.

Game 25 - Marquette: Part Deux

I said it after the second loss to Cincinnati and I feel the same exact way after yesterday's repeat loss to Marquette. We are just not a good team. We have the personnel, we have the coaches, and most importantly we have the talent. We just do not have the experience, yet. And that will come. But we will have to wait until next year.

I left the game shaking my head. We played so well for 35 minutes, just like we have in other losses. We showed so much promise, so much potential but could not maintain the momentum for the full game. I often talk about the Connecticut win as giving a false sense of hope for Hoyas fans but in reality the last few losses closely resemble the Memphis win, except for the outcome. In that game, we were badly outplayed and magically came away with a victory in overtime, which always seemed to be the case in previous years. Regardless of the score, we were the steady, calm and confident team that could slowly chip away at any lead and play exceptionally well under pressure. That is not this year's team. We came close at Syracuse but couldn't hit the shots when they mattered in overtime.

But potential doesn't mean anything when you keep losing. Amazingly, we still have a shot at making the tourney with two straight wins again Louisville and Villanova but I wouldn't count on it. We will lose just like we did to Marquette, in heart-breaking fashion. Some more quick thoughts:

- Turning point of the game was Monroe missing the front end of the 1 and 1 with 6 minutes left. He missed the shot, Summers picked up his 4th foul on the rebound and Jimmy Butler hit both of his free throws to make it a 4 point game.
- Said it before and will say it again, Monroe is not clutch.
- And he is soft and can't rebound. Lazar Haywood led both teams in rebounds. He is 5 inches shorter than Monroe.
- JT3 made his point with starting Nikita for three straight games but it has to end. Nikita is terrible. He had 5 fouls and 2 turnovers in 15 minutes of playing time. Put Sapp back in the starting lineup, at least I trust him with the ball.
- Welcome back bad-Bowman/Summers. Wild, out of control drives near the end of the game lost it for us. 5 turnovers, 5 fouls and 12 points. Not something to write home about.
- Looking at the numbers, it was actually one of our best offensive games. We hit more threes, jump shots, and field goals than we average against Big East opponents. And we had fewer turnovers.
- But we made and attempted fewer foul shots, and fewer of our field goals were from assists. And it was the second largest difference in turnovers in a loss this conference season. We had 12 turnovers, Marquette had 6.
- Officiating was poor. 6 fouls were called in the first 5 minutes of the game. Only 7 were called for the remaining 15 minutes of the half. Lot of hand checks and nothing down low. I don't care if you allow them to play rough; I actually think it is better. Just call the came consistently.
- Third acknowledgment of existence from Ed Hightower this season. I thought it was a good sign Georgetown was 2-0 when Hightower blows kisses in my direction. I was wrong. We lost.
- Sucks we lost on the 25th anniversary celebration of the national championship. But still not as bad as when Darrel Owens hit two free throws in 2005 to seal a victory against Villanova on the day they were celebrating their 20th anniversary of defeating Georgetown in the great upset in NCAA championship history. And oh, the free throws left the final score at 66-64, which was coincidently was the final score of the game they had won 20 years earlier. So things could be worse.
- Maryland beat #3 UNC and Vasquez put up one of the best performances this year by any player. Things can't get worse.


Good talk.

Game 25 - Marquette

There is only one way to describe my feelings after yet another loss.



If I hear another person talk about how we can get into the Tourney by winning here and doing a backflip there, I am to throw my shoe at them. Maybe even both shoes if the person is funny looking.

More thoughts about the game tomorrow, going to drown my sorrows in a big Root Beer Float.


Good talk.

Game 24 - South Florida

We finally won a game we were supposed to win in decisive fashion. Not too much to say about this one. Don't get your hopes up, we still aren't that good.

The Big East Network announcers made a comment which I think was more interesting than the game itself. They said that the UConn win did more harm than good, arguing that it gave the team a sense of false confidence. They are correct in that the win did more harm than good, but for the fans, not for the players and team. People should stop referencing the UConn game as evidence of this year's potential, in reality it was a lucky win due to poor coaching by Calhoun. On average, opposing Big East teams attempt 22 layups/dunks per game and make 13. UConn took only 19 and made 10, despite having the deepest frontcourt in the Big East. And UConn only managed to take 49 shots in that game, the second lowest for them in conference play. Calhoun lost the game, Georgetown did not win it.

The only stat that could point towards us playing well is that we only turned the ball over 12 times against the Huskies, but in the next two losses vs. Pitt and Notre Dame we only turned it over 8 times each. UConn did turn the ball over 17 times against us, the only team to do so more times was Rutgers. I think the UConn win should jk (I am so hip) the Seton Hall loss. As far as I am concerned, neither happened.

What does this have to do with the South Florida game? Absolutely nothing. Here is some random observations about this game.
- JT3's first win at the Sun Dome, hip hip hooray.
- The most encouraging sign for this team occurred with one minute left in the game. Sapp took a three pointer, missed badly, but was actually in the paint to get the rebound. I can't remember the last time one of our players followed their three point attempt.
- 18 turnovers tonight, our most since the West Virginia loss.
- Monroe had 5 turnovers.
- We tried the backdoor way too much, led to horrible passes.
- 58% shooting from the field, our best since Cuse win.
- Because we only took 14 three point attempts, the fewest since Providence game.
- Here's a fun fact, we are 3-0 when we take less than 15 three pointers, and 2-8 when we take more than 15.
- We hit 75% of our layup/dunk attempts, first time in conference play we have hit over 70%. We hit 11-13 in the second half, countering our tendency to suck in the last 20 minutes.
- Freeman's free throw woes continued.
- As expected, Monroe was a perfect 4-4 from the line further proving he is not clutch and hits his shots when they don't matter.
- Vaughn took and subsequently missed his first three pointer since the UConn game. He has yet to hit one this season.
- South Florida had 5 fewer turnovers than us, tied for the second largest differential this season yet we outscored them by 12 in points off turnovers. This is a classic sign of us playing an inferior opponent. Do not expect this to happen in the next three games.
- Nikita continued his impressive streak of taking and missing as many threes as fouls he commits. He is now 0-7 from the field, 0-7 from beyond the arc and has committed 7 fouls since becoming a starter.


Good talk.

Game 23 - Syracuse: Part Deux

Well as promised here are my full thoughts. I'll try to keep it brief since I already wrote once.

But first I need to purge myself of the ridiculous thoughts that crept into my head during the game. Before the game I thought I would be disappointed with anything but a win. After the past four years of Hoya Basketball glory, I had rid myself of the bad Esherick-era habits of thinking moral victories equaled actual victories. But after seeing us down by 16 with 8 minutes left, and the announcers consistently telling a national audience that Georgetown has no true leader, I decided that I would be content with a respectable loss. And that seemed to be the fate of the young Hoyas, as Syracuse was always able maintain at least an 8 or 9 point lead. We would make small runs to cut into the lead and create a three possession game but could never get closer. And despite the fact that we almost miraculously won the game due to a historic collapse by the Orange, I still felt content with the outcome after the game. We played with heart, we played well in the end and despite the loss, we showed we had character for the first time since we last played Syracuse. Then I woke up today. And I am absolutely ashamed of myself for feeling that way after the game. There is only one outcome that should have been acceptable, and at the end of the day, a loss whether we were embarrassed by 20 points or took it to overtime is still a loss. "A loss by any other name would suck as much, especially to the dirty Orange," Big Bad Billy Shakespeare once said.

After JT3's first visit to the Carrier Dome, where we tied the game on a Bowman jump shot that was inches from being a game winning three but eventually lost in overtime, Boeheim had this to say:

"I'm kind of sorry a Coach Thompson's back at Georgetown,"

Those words have stuck with me since. Sure he meant well but he said it in a condescending, holier than thou attitude, where he laughed at the valiant attempts of a rebuilding Hoya team and gave a sideways compliment while arrogantly thinking his program would always be superior. Well Jim, you were wrong, and if there was one takeaway from the loss on Saturday it is that you are not that great of a coach and you nearly blew a 16 point lead due to poor substitutions and lack of control over your players. And for the Georgetown team, fans, casual followers and me: It is not okay to lose to Cuse, and no loss will ever be a moral victory to our biggest rival. Not then, not now, not ever.

That being said let's go over the game.
- In the Notre Dame post I talked about how the team played a faster-paced game which resulted in us attempting more shots than in most other games. Well we took 60 shots against Notre Dame. We took 73 shots against Cuse.
- Those 73 shots were the most shots we have ever attempted in a game during the JT3 era.
- And the 94 points are the most we have scored in a Big East game under JT3.
- After never giving up 90 or more points in the previous four seasons under JT3, we now have three games this season in which we have done so.
- This is the most points we have ever given up, tainted because of OT, obviously.
- First time under JT3 that we have been under .500 in OT games in a season
- In the ten Big East games not against Cuse, opponents have averaged 19 layup/dunk attempts per game, converting 12 of them.
- In the two games against Cuse, they have averaged 37 layup/dunk attempts, converting 20.
- The three point shooters of Cuse aren't beating us by shooting, they are destroying us by driving. Makes me wonder why we only attempted to play zone against them for a few minutes in the second half.
- The game was similar to Marquette loss in amount of fouls we committed, and free throw differential between the two teams.
- We had 12 turnovers in the first 30 minutes of the game and 3 in the last 15 (not counting the one team turnover not attributed to a player).
- We actually had the best assist to turnover ratio in this game since our slide began against WVU.
- Only the second time this Big East season we had a better assist to turnover ratio than our opponent and lost the game.
- Commentators kept making references to the great matches between the two teams in the 80's. Apparently Syracuse has kept the same cheerleaders since then:

- Either that or Cuse takes their cheerleaders from the local DMV. No wonder Donte Green left the school early...


Good talk.

Game 23 - Syracuse

That game was for anyone who doesn't think that Georgetown/Syracuse is and will always be the biggest rivalry in the Big East.

Long weekend so it will take me a long time to get over this one. Here are some quick thoughts. Will come back later with numbers, trends and pictures of the trolls on the Cuse sideline to whom they give pom-poms.

- We put on some Old Spice after the last TV timeout in the second half and got our swagger back
- Free throw shooting lost us the game. At the end of regulation and in overtime. Again.
- GREG MONROE IS SOFT. There is no reason why Onuaku should have had such a big second half in the paint.
- Bold move starting Nikita, too bad he sucked.
- I don't know why we played zone for 2 minutes in the second half and then went away from it, it was the only way we stopped them from scoring.
- Len Elmore is a horrible announcer.
- Turnovers kept this game close in the first half.
- Boeheim being an idiot sent this game to overtime.
- Thank you Chris Wright for making me believe again, too bad I will have to wait until next year to use the re-discovered faith.
- JT3 still hasn't won at the Dome, although two of the four losses went to overtime.


Good talk.

Game 22 - Cincinnati: Part Deux

I am purposely beating a dead horse here since that is probably the only thing the Hoyas can beat now a days. I took a short hiatus to regroup and focus my attention on why Georgetown sucks. And I have come up with the resolution. If Iverson was The Answer then I now present to you The Solution:

OMG JK LIKE WHOA OMG! He can't play for Georgetown. We are stuck with the current roster full of talented yet woefully pathetic players until next year. Here are my random thoughts on the game, not many because it hurts me to write:

- First time ever JT3 has done a complete line change, substituting all five starting players for five reserves.
- Jesse Sapp was benched for most of the game despite finding his shooting rhythm before the Rutgers game. Something is going on behind the scenes there.
- Georgetown was 0-8 from the field in overtime.
- Georgetown had one field goal in the final 12 minutes of the game, including overtime.
- In the final 7 minutes of regulation, Georgetown had one field goal, 4 free throw and 4 turnovers
- Georgetown starters shot 31% from the field. Georgetown reserves shot 69%.
- Greg Monroe was 1-4 from free throw line in overtime. That alone lost us the game.
- After a four day rest, we looked tired and sluggish in the second half, again.
- This season is a disaster and a lost cause.


Good talk.

Game 22 - Cincinnati

I normally throw a lot of numbers out there to prove a point but today I will just try to rationalize through words. I'll probably go into the numbers more during the week long break before Cuse but for now this is what I gotta say. At the end of the day, we are not a good team. JT3 has one objective left in this season. It is not to guide us to an NCAA Tournament Championship. Heck, it is not even to guide us to the NCAA Tournament. The only thing he has to do is to make sure that the players believe in him, his coaches and his system. And the only way to measure the success of JT3 on that objective is to compare the roster at the beginning of this year to the roster at the start of next year. Only one name should be missing, Jesse Sapp.

Decent, good, great and legendary programs all go through slumps. Two years ago UConn did not make the NCAA tournament and they are ranked #1 in the country today. Everyone remembers the incredible Georgetown victory over UNC in the Regionals of the 2007 NCAA Tournament but do people remember our victory over them in the quarterfinals of the 2003 NIT Tournament? That's right, Craig Esherick has as many victories over the storied UNC program as JT3. Kansas won the national championship last year and is barely hanging onto a Top 25 ranking this year. Florida won back-to-back championships and cracked the Top 25 once out of 21 times the following year.

Last year was our year to win the national championship. And despite our monumental collapse against Davidson, we still are left in the same position as if we had won. We lost three important contributors and return only three players with significant playing time. Over the last few years we were spoiled by winning in close games. Hibbert's dunk against Notre Dame. Owen's free throws at Nova. Wallace's free throws against Nova and Marquette. But not this year. We are a young, inexperienced, emotional and volatile team.

Today, we did everything we needed to do to win except win. We missed all eight of our shots in overtime and missed three free throws. And it still came down to the last possession. The last shot was reminiscent of an Esherick play. The last possession of regulation in 2003 against Notre Dame were we didn't even shoot. The last possession against St. Johns in the NIT finals in 2003 where Gerald Riley fired an off balance three. Today JT3 designed a play, Greg Monroe was wide open in the box, but we just did not execute. It is basketball karma. We used to lose games like this under Esherick, then came Thompson and we started to win. Now it is time to come back to reality. One bitter loss at a time.


Good talk.

Game 21 - Rutgers

You can't spell UGLY without GU. That adage normally applies to Georgetown cheerleaders but it is also applicable to last night's contest against Rutgers. But that is exactly the type of game Georgetown needed to snap out of five-game losing streak. By no means was this game pretty, and against any other team with the possible exception of DePaul, the Hoyas should have lost. This was the last leg of a brutal 12-day stretch where Georgetown played 5 games, 3 of which were on the road. And they ended with a horrific 1-4 record. Georgetown now has an 11-day stretch with only 2 games, which hopefully gives the team enough time to work on fundamentals. And despite the win, the team needs a lot of practice.

Offense
The turning point of the game was a Jason Clark three 11 minutes into the game. At the time, the score was tied at 14 and Georgetown was 6-15 from the field and 1-6 from beyond the arc. Four different players had missed three point attempts and the team missed 3 layups. After the Clark three, Georgetown went on a 10-4 run to end the half and continued the hot streak out of the locker room scoring 16 out of the first 21 points in the second half to capture a game high 20-point lead. Georgetown still managed to make the few in attendance groan with inexcusable mishaps and poor shot selection that allowed Rutgers to get within 9 points. But that was as close as it would get as time ran out and Georgetown ended up all smiles in the locker room. If this was a 45 minute game, as opposed to the usual 40 minutes, Georgetown would have lost. But they played well enough for just enough time to hold onto the lead.

Defense
Lowest shooting percentage (39%) and most turnovers (21) by a Big East opponent this season. Jesse Sapp thinks it was because of the swarming Georgetown defense:

That was just us paying attention to detail. We are a team that can get 21 turnovers if we play defense the way we're capable of.

But in reality it was because of a poor Rutgers offense. We did play very well in the zone in the second half, causing two straight Rutgers turnovers, but when the Scarlet Knights started hitting their threes, we were forced to man up. The defense is getting better, and I think it has to do with what Thompson said in his post game comments:

With young teams, they tend to get too emotional. When you're missing shots it affects your life and that's natural that happens. Understanding that first half that we were missing shots but we still executed in every other aspect of the game and that's something we haven't been good at.

We were much better at keeping the offensive woes from affecting the defensive intensity in this game. Overall, it was a good effort against a bad team. But we will need a great effort to knock off some of the ranked opponents we have coming up.

Other random observations:
- I have always hated people that tell me when to cheer and what to cheer and to encourage my team unconditionally (i.e. people that wear blue wigs) and I would never want to turn into one of those idiots - but -
- Student turnout at this game was embarrassing. I realize this is the longest losing streak that anyone on campus has witnessed as a student but it is still pathetic to host a night game against a Big East opponent and have the student section filled less than halfway.
- Students complain about having to sit in the 400 sections for big games but why would Verizon ever expand the student section if no one shows up to games like last night.
- Nearly 2,000 more people were in attendance for a game against Mount Saint Mary's than last night against Rutgers.
- Nikita Mescheriakov has now fouled out of the last two games. Maybe he is the thug John Thompson Jr. said this team needed?
- Welcome back Jesse Sapp, first time in double digits since December 8th, 14 games ago.
- Georgetown missed 10 layups, but only 3 in the second half.
- Free throws reared its ugly head again, as Georgetown was 8-15 from the line, their worst percentage this season in Big East play.
- Greg Monroe had his worst conference game from the free throw line, shooting 40%.
- Here's a fun fact: Monroe shoots 73% from the line in Georgetown's wins and 60% from the line in Georgetown's losses. Before the win against Rutgers he shot 90% from the line in wins.
- The team as a whole however, shoots 70% in both wins and losses.
- After a stellar performance against Marquette, Chris Wright took over the role of GTS - Guard That Sucks, from Jesse Sapp with a 2-9 shooting effort.
- He needs to learn that trick shots, although very impressive in games of Horse, are not very effective in actual games.
- Bench play was again strong, led by great efforts from Nikita Mescheriakov, Jason Clark and Henry Sims.
- Never would have thought that at this point in the season that Georgetown would have more conference games where their bench outscored the opposing bench than the other way around.
- Julian Vaughn averaged a remarkable foul per minute of playing time.
- Least amount of points scored in a win this season.
- Rutgers scored 29 points in the second half, 17 of them were from Mike Rosario.

Cincinnati on Saturday. The team hasn't changed since I last previewed them. We could have won against them on the road if we didn't fade out in the final five minutes. Here's hoping that the extra rest gives us more energy come crunch time.


Good talk.

Game 20 - Marquette

A tale of two halves. After three straight disappointing conference losses, Georgetown entered yesterday's game in desperate need of a victory to keep them in NCAA tournament contention. With very little expected of the young Hoyas, the team jumped out to an early lead with precision passing and sharp shooting. Marquette fought back, adopting a small but quick lineup to drive past the flat-footed Hoyas. Both teams went into the locker room with the score tied at 42 and happy with their first half performances. Offensively for the Hoyas, the half was reminiscent of the Cuse game where quick passing led to open, high percentage shots. And for the first time in three games, the shots were actually falling in. Defensively, it was a much different story. Undefeated Marquette is one the best shooting teams in the Big East and despite Georgetown's best efforts, they could not stop the Golden Eagles from scoring. The high halftime score suggested that Marquette was controlling the pace of the game, but JT3 probably went into the locker room happy that his team was finally playing the motion offense with which he has had so much recent success. At the end of the half, Georgetown made 17 field goals, off of 15 assists and committed 9 turnovers. They limited the much smaller Marquette squad (for much of the first half they played with one player over 6'6'') to 9 rebounds, and only 2 on the offensive glass.

Then came the second half. Georgetown immediately reverted back to the selfish guard play that lost them the three previous conference games. Within two minutes, guards Chris Wright and Jesse Sapp had already thrown up two terrible three-point attempts. They were back-peddling with their arms outstretched and toeing the halfcourt line by the time the horrible shots pitifully missed the rim by a foot. JT3 quickly called a timeout to reset the Hoyas. Out of the timeout, the big men took charge as the next three shots were all layups/dunks scored or assisted by Greg Monroe or DaJuan Summers. The adjustment after the timeout was something Hoya fans were elated to see after its noticeable absence in the last three games. The dreadful and vaunted hope started to peak its head out, as some Hoya fans started to believe that a victory was conceivable, citing the last three seasons when JT3-led teams always and improbably won important games in hostile environments. But alas, the hopes were vanquished and sent to its proper place, deep inside a dark and locked chamber, kept from surfacing until next season.

With 14:31 left in the game, the score was tied at 52. For the next 14 minutes of basketball, Hoya fans shook their heads, chugged their brown-bagged cans of Old English Malt Liquor, and berated themselves for even thinking this team was capable of doing anything right. In those next 14 minutes Georgetown shot a respectable 10-22, but missed 6 layups. The offense managed to score 40 points in the half, marking the first time this year in Big East play that Georgetown has scored 40 or more points in both halves of a game. The game was lost on the other end of the court where the quicker, more talented and more aggressive Golden Eagles drove past every Georgetown player on the perimeter. For those final 14 minutes, Marquette shot 11-22 but went to the free throw line 21 times. Georgetown committed 17 fouls in the half, and 13 in the final 14 minutes of the game. The Hoyas had no answer to the driving guards of Marquette as Wesley Matthews and Jerel McNeal combined for 31 second half points. Even more embarrassing was the fact that Georgetown was badly out-rebounded, surrendering 9 offensive rebounds and 12 second chance points to the much smaller Marquette squad.

Wasn't expecting too much from the team so was pleasantly surprised by the offensive showing. A lot of people will point to the fact that the reason we have lost the last four games is because of our defense. I do not think this is true at all. The fact of the matter is that we have never been a good defensive team this season. Games against Savannah State and Florida International do not count. In Big East play, we have been fairly consistent in allowing opponents to take open shots and convert easy layups off of offensive rebounds. We do not have the defensive abilities of years past and often resort to fouling driving players, a recipe for disaster for a team with such a weak bench.

Some other items to note:
- 96 points by Marquette are the most points ever scored by an opponent in the JT3 era.
- 27 fouls are the most committed by Georgetown this season. It is also the most since the Pitt game in the final round of the Big East Tournament last year.
- 38 foul shots are the most allowed by Georgetown this season. Also the most since the above mentioned Pitt game.
- Nikita is first off the bench and has had the more bench minutes than anyone else over the past two games. I think it is a good and bad sign. Good sign because JT3 thinks Nikita is a worthwhile addition to the team. Bad sign because it means, as suspected, Vaughn and Sims are really not that good.
- DaJuan, playing injured, must have listened to Holding Out for a Hero by B(^2)onnie Tyler because he accepted the fact that a hero has to "play through any pain."
- Too bad his efforts were not enough to save the sinking ship that is Georgetown basketball
- Sapp had as many fouls and turnovers as points. He should be benched.
- Greg "Media God" Monroe had more turnovers than rebounds. The 6'11'' Monroe had 4 rebounds. 5'11'' Marquette guard Dominic James had 4 rebounds also. The rest of the starting Marquette five, no one taller than 6'8'' all had more rebounds than Monroe.
- Greg Monroe is the definition of a soft player, there I said it.
- Midseason review in next couple of days.


Good talk.

Game 19 - Cincinnati

Tough day to be the favorite on the road. #1 Duke loses at Wake. #3 Pitt loses at Villanova. #15 Syracuse loses at Providence. And of course, #25 Georgetown loses at Cincinnati. Only one of those games has serious implications for NCAA Tournament and unfortunately for Hoya fans, it has to do with Georgetown. Since it is bad news, I'll try to sugarcoat it with a little pig in a bow tie.


Yes, I know I am being harsh. Yes, I know I am being pessimistic. And yes, I know that I am 100% correct. We have ten games left, five on the road and five at the neutral Verizon center. Five are against ranked opponents. So being optimistic, we go 5-5, end up 17-12 and 8-10 in conference play. We will still be in the top 50 RPI and have a top 10 SOS. But the selection committee will be hard-pressed to let a team into the tournament with an under .500 conference record and that hasn't had a good win since the middle of January. Oh well, at least we got these young players some valuable experience playing a tough OOC schedule, ahem bullshit. The only thing this schedule did was depress and discourage the now hopeless Hoyas. Perfect transition to tonight's wonderful display of basketball.

Simply put: another game, another last minute collapse. The Heart Break Hoyas continue to remind fans of the Esherick-era as they extend their season long losing steak to four. On the positive side, our losses should no longer be considered upsets, since we have shown the sports community why we are undeserving of a Top 25 ranking. This should serve as a lesson to all, if you expect the worst, you can never be disappointed.

Funny thing is, we actually didn't play that poorly... for the first 35 minutes of the game . We were careful with the ball, hit our foul shots, and rebounded well. But we have reverted back to our Esherick ways during the end of games. Thompson is still a remarkable 17-3 in games decided by three or less points, and 9-0 in the last three seasons. But this season, we have been so awful in the closing minutes that the games that should be decided by three or less points end up being blowouts.

So why do we suck during the last five minutes? Let's review the last two losses. To make it more or less confusing, depending on who is reading, I broke each game into five-minutes spans, for a total of eight. Then compared how well we shot in each five minute segment, and what types of shots we took.

Seton Hall
We entered the final five minutes of the game with a tied score. We proceed to take 10 shots, making only 2. We took 5 three-pointers, tied for the most we have taken in a five minute span, and miss all of them. Combined with our 3 for 5 shooting from the free throw line, we end the final minutes shooting 5 for 15, our worst percentage for any five minute stretch of the game. Five players took shots, yet the player that was having the best shooting game (Monroe) took only one shot. The four other players combined to shoot 7 for 35 for that game. And oh, of those 5 three-point attempts, only one of them was taken when the team was down by three or more points. The other 4 were when we were down by one or two points, and a higher percentage shot would have made more sense. We were outscored 7-12 in the final stretch and lost by five.

Cincinnati
We entered the final five minutes of the game down by two. We proceeded to take 8 shots, making only 2. We took 5 three-pointers, the most for any five minute stretch of a game, and made 1. We attempted no foul shots. The final minutes are tied for our worst shooting five minute stretch of the game. Five players took shots, yet the player that was having the best shooting game (Wright) took only two. The other four players combined to shoot 10 for 35 for the game. We are outscored 5-11 in the final minutes and lost by eight.

What Does This Mean
- We don't take good shots at the end of the game. We rush to shoot rather than waiting for the open look.
- We are remarkably inefficient at getting the ball to our hottest shooters.
- We don't play the law of averages. We were 3 of 17 from beyond the arc entering the final five minutes of the Seton Hall game. Why were did we shoot 4 threes when a two-point shot could have tied or given us the lead? That is horrific coaching.
- In two of the last three losses, JT3 has made a comment suggesting that it was a "blip" or we were getting "bad bounces". That is crap. We don't make buckets at the end of the game because we take bad shots, not because of bad bounces.
- We do not have a go-to player. We do not have a star. Everyone attempts to make the highlight reel shot, but we have yet to see one go in.

Trouble on Saturday. Marquette is going to crush us. Especially if Summers isn't healthy. Get ready for the NIT Hoya fans, I guess it was true when they said it was going to be a rebuilding year. Mid-season review after the Marquette game. I'm feeling artsy so expect a song in the next few days.


Good talk.

Game 18 - Seton Hall

I haven't felt this dejected since January 29, 2003. That was the last time I realized that I had completely overestimated the drive, discipline and talent of a Georgetown team. It was then that I realized that I had hung my hopes on a team that didn't exhibit the same passion to win as I thought they had. And it was then that I realized that the losses weren't random stretches of misfortune and it was actually that the wins were random stretches of luck. Coincidentally, that moment occurred right after another embarrassing loss to Seton Hall. On that night, the Pirates sent the game into overtime with an alley-opp dunk over a emotionless Georgetown team. Funny thing was that Seton Hall had six men on the court for that final play, and no one caught it. Seton Hall ended up winning the game in overtime, outscoring the Hoyas 19-8 in the five minute extra period. Craig Esherick had this to say after that game:

"We've got to figure out who we have on our team that wants to win. Those people that want to win, and work to win, are going to play. Those who want to make excuses and don't want to win are not going to play."

Pretty sure JT3 can quote the above statement verbatim to his team after their embarrassing loss to Seton Hall today. Don't blame it on bad luck. Don't blame it on stiff rims. Don't blame it on off days. Every single player, coach and manager on this team needs to look themselves in the mirror realize the person starring back is at fault for the horrific display of basketball. Only then will things change.

Not much to say because it is all pretty obvious but here goes:
- We shot 3-22 from beyond the arc. We are now 5-38 in the last two games.
- I said it last time and I'll say it again. We are, or were, a good shooting team because we took good shots, not because we have good shooters.
- We attempted 15 layups, 15 two-point jump shots and 22 three pointers. Something seems off there.
- Excluding Greg Monroe, Georgetown was 3-9 on layups, and 0-4 on layups in the second half.
- 17 turnovers against a terrible Seton Hall team. DaJuan had six himself.
- Can't blame this on being a young team, returning starters were 5 of 25 from the field and 3 of 14 from beyond the arc.
- We air-balled a three pointer twice in the final minutes of the game.
- The announcer kept calling him Omar Wu-Todd. I liked it. And then I hated it. And then I threw something at my TV.
- No Henry Sims, not that he would have added much.
- First time I have ever seen JT3 call a timeout and the team actually look worse afterward. A turnover after he stopped a fast break on a timeout and then a three pointer off the side of the backboard after a Seton Hall timeout. That worries me.
- Supposed to be our easy stretch before a brutal Marquette-Louisville-Villanova stretch to end February. Because of the last two losses this team could be under .500 in Big East play, and miss the NCAA Tournament. That saddens me.
- Don't expect to be ranked come Monday.


Good talk.

Game 17 - West Virginia

When it rains, it pours. Unfortunately for fans, that adage applied to the Hoyas' performance last night against West Virginia. The Mountaineers handed Georgetown their worst loss of the season, defeating the sometimes hapless but mostly hopeless Hoyas by a 17 point margin. Might as well been a road game, the cheers of the inbred in yellow deafened the cries the home Hoyas.

How bad of a loss was it you ask? Well here are some tidbits to put it in perspective:
- Largest margin of defeat since losing at UConn by 19 points on March 2, 2005, 127 games ago. This was JT3's first year.
- Largest margin of defeat at home since losing to Temple by 18 points on November 22 2004, 73 home games ago. This was also in JT3's first year.
- Largest margin of defeat at home against a Big East opponent since losing to Notre Dame by 23 points on March 4, 2000, 61 home Big East games ago. This was in Craig Esherick's first full year as head coach.

How did Georgetown lose this game? Well, they couldn't shoot, couldn't pass, couldn't rebound, couldn't take care of the ball and couldn't play defense. Other than that it was a pretty good game. Since this game was a "blip" and not the "norm" as JT3 stated after the game, I too shall stray from the norm and present my thoughts in a few paragraphs as opposed to standard random statements.

Shooting
We went 2-16 from beyond the arc, resulting in a pitiful 12.5% three point percentage. I think it is important for all to recognize that Georgetown is a good shooting team not because they have good shooters, but because they take good shots. Subtle but incredibly important difference. There is no one on this team that is spot shooter. There is no one on this team that can consistently back an opponent down and hit a fadeaway. The success of this team and the program JT3 has built is dependent on ball movement, creating open looks and taking high percentage shots. Unfortunately this year's team has had a tendency to forget what made them successful. The players took shots with opponents in their face, threes after one pass and tried to make fancy SportsCenter Top Ten layups which ended up spinning off of the rim.

Passing
Georgetown had 8 assists in this game. That is the fewest amount of assists they have had all season. They had 20 field goals on those 8 assists, which is tied for the lowest ratio on the season. The last time the Hoyas had fewer assists than they did last night was on November 29, 2006 in a loss to Oregon where they managed only 7 dimes. The last time Georgetown had an assist to field goal ratio lower than last night was also during the Oregon loss, 82 games ago. So far this season, Georgetown is averaging fewer assists per field goal than in any other season under JT3.

Rebounding
The Hoyas were pitiful. The box score shows 25 rebounds, 9 of which were offensive but in reality the numbers are much lower. Six offensive rebounds came in the last two and half minutes, when West Virginia already had a double digit lead and was trying not to foul. The main reason the team doesn't rebound, other than not remembering the lyrics to the Box It Out song is they don't follow their shots. After every Georgetown three point shot the shooter ended up close to half court by the time the ball bounced off the rim. No one charges the basket on the offensive end when a shot goes up, and no one picks an opponent to push out of the lane. At this point, I would rather see every starter foul out of the game because of push-in-the-back or over-the-top fouls. At least it shows they are thinking about rebounding.

Turnovers
Most turnovers since the loss to Tennessee. After an impressive start to his Big East career, Jason Clark regressed with five turnovers and no assists last night. Adding to the pain was Julian Vaughn who managed to hand the ball over to the Mountaineers three times in four minutes. Georgetown currently has a woeful 1:1 turnover to assist ratio, its worst under JT3.

Defense
The poor defense is a result of all of the above. The Hoyas couldn't handle West Virginia's drive and pass offense. Da'Sean Butler crushed Georgetown, making twice as many threes as the entire Hoya squad. The turnovers led to quick buckets, the lack of rebounding led to easy put-backs and the inability to guard against drives led to open shots on the perimeter. I said West Virginia was not a good three point shooting team in the preview, and they are not, they have the worst three point percentage out of the top half of the Big East (by rankings, not standings) but when you let them attempt 23 threes, they are going to make a few.

So there you have it. One of the worst games ever under a John Thompson III coached team. We all knew the season was not going to be spectacular, but didn't think it would be ugly. Up against Seton Hall on Sunday, a team that has yet to win a conference game. Needlessness to say but this is a must win, Hoyas haven't lost three straight since '05-'06 season.


Good talk.

Game 16 - Duke

Well apologies for the late post. A small event was happening in DC this weekend so I was a little preoccupied. It happens every four years, some sort of leap year celebration or something. By now I am sure everyone is well aware of the phantom technical foul on Greg Monroe that changed the landscape of the game. Follower caf38 sent along this gem regarding the foul. It is from someone who talked to Bryon Jansen the next day:

I saw Bryon at church today and asked him about the call. He said it was a fan behind the bench that yelled "bullshit" and then the ref turned and gave the technical to Greg, who was sitting there not saying anything. Ref's back was definitely toward the bench and was looking for an excuse to give a technical after Coach [Thompson] gave him grief for the previous call.

So since my last post was an epic, I will limit my incredulously livid response to the blatantly shady and Donaghy-eque call. In fact, I won't even use words to describe my thoughts on the foul and why it was called. They say a picture is worth a thousand words thus I present to you Exhibit A.

Shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that the officiating was horrendous at Durham. Follower blichman sent me the following to preemptively refute allegations of foul play by the officials.

I know you didn't like the "ACC fouls" but they ended up calling 19 on Gtown and 18 on Duke with Gtown shooting 5 more FT's, so it looks pretty even to me. And they did T up Singler, which was well-deserved. Also, it's probably good for Monroe to be exposed to different referees at this point of the season - can only help come tourney time when you probably won't have Big East calls.

I disagree good sir. It had nothing to do with the numbers of fouls called, it is all about the types of fouls. The ACC and especially Duke are notorious for flopping. See below video:


Flop (n.) - a blatant and pathetic attempt to draw the sympathy of a paid-off official to call an undeserving foul on the opposing team. Commonly associated with the ACC, Duke, Coach K and girl's middle school basketball.

Georgetown had 19 fouls in the game, 9 in the first half, 10 in the second. Of those 19 fouls, 7 led to foul shots. Of those 7 shooting fouls, 5 were because Georgetown was over the foul limit. So, of the 12 pre-limit fouls committed by Georgetown, only 2 led to foul shots, and one of them was the phantom technical foul. So in reality, only 1 out of the 12 pre-limit fouls was a Big East Foul, the rest were ACC Fouls. This means they were hand-checks, moving screens, over-the-tops, charges, and other petty non-shooting infractions.

Duke had 18 fouls in the game, 7 in the first half, 11 in the second. Of those 18 fouls, 11 led to foul shots. Of those 11 shooting fouls, 5 were because Duke was over the foul limit. So, of the 12 pre-limit fouls committed by Duke, 6 led to foul shots. Thus 50% of Duke's first six fouls in each half fouls were hacks, and they didn't get as many of the crappy ACC Fouls called against them because Georgetown didn't flop on drives, fall after shots and most importantly, play grab-ass with the officials during timeouts.

Which is a perfect transition to my other observations:
- Despite the fact that Duke was playing with 8 players (five wearing Duke jerseys, three wearing stripes), Georgetown should have won this game
- Duke committed more shooting fouls, so Georgetown ended up with more foul shots. But like at Notre Dame, they couldn't hit the freebies. Georgetown was a pitiful 10-18 (56%) from the stripe, Duke was 12-13 (92%). That is where the game was lost.
- I was not overly impressed by the once again over-hyped Duke team. Put them on a neutral court, with good refs I don't think they are a top ten team. Singler can easily be taken out of the game by a physical front line and Henderson can't win it all for them. Scheyer is the non-poetry writing version of Redick, he cannot create his own shot.
- Don't know the number exactly but Monroe had something like a 30pt influence on the Georgetown squad. When he was on the court, Georgetown outscored Duke by 10, when he was off, Duke outscored them by 20. Don't hold me to that, I don't remember the exact numbers that were mentioned during the telecast.
- Clark and Wattad got more playing time than Wright and Sapp. Good for the future, bad for the present
- It is mental with Sapp at this point, first time all season he failed to score a point
- Please stay four years DaJuan, even though there is no need for you to, you will easily be a lottery pick in this year's draft
- Freeman is quietly putting together a first or second team all-Big East season
- Duke fans. Wow. They wear face paint not only to show their pride but to hide what is beneath the layers of color. The student section is a couple of mis-assembled rope barricades away from resembling the DMV.
- T^3 once pointed out Monroe's tendency to look shocked after being called for a foul. He looks funny but loses the after-foul face contest to Pitt's Tyrell Biggs:

- It's okay Tyrell, we have laundry machines that will clean whatever you just did in your pants.


Good talk.

Game 15 - Syracuse

I woke up this morning with the idea in my head. The tune was overwhelming, and words were flowing off my tongue. But after more thought, I decided it was a bad idea. I mean most folk already think I'm crazy, why add more fuel to the fire? But then on my way to work (yes, I actually have a job other than blogging) something happened that changed my mind. While doing my normal flip of the radio stations to avoid talk I stumbled across the song I had stuck in my head. I probably hadn't heard it in years but for some inexplicable reason 97.1 decided to play the tune. I took it as a sign from above, or possibly below, that the world needs to hear my message. So without further adieu, I present to you "How Deep is Your Bench" performed by Jim Boeheim and written by the Bee Gees.

I watched tapes of your games before
Knew how to guard against your starting five
And the moment that you decide to use your reserves
Is the moment that we win the game

Then you put in some tall Russian guy
Takes two shots, makes them both, gets a season high
And its me you need to show

Chorus:
How deep is your bench
I really need to know
Cause we're playing Georgetown again soon
They're hard to scout
With so many new players
Who never play the same way

I feel like a fool
I was too proud to scout Jason Clark
Put my hopes in Convict Cheddar Bob
Then was embarrassed on their floor
Vaughn, Wattad, Henry Sims
Who thought they would win
Can't believe I just lost
I had Johnny Flynn
And it's me you need to show
(repeat chorus)

Game observations:
- Third straight win at home against Syracuse. First time that has happened since 1989.
- Syracuse never had a lead in this game
- 29 points from our bench. Second game in a row we have had strong bench play, will need it against Duke
- We limited our turnovers, only two in the second half. We outscored them 29 to 13 on points off turnovers
- Onuaku had as many offensive rebounds at the whole Georgetown team but...
- We shot 59% from the field, highest since Savannah St. game
- And we shot 57% from beyond the arc, highest since first round of Big East Tourney last year
- So we didn't really have many opportunities for offensive rebounds
- Sapp continued his streak of sucking. Clark actually saw more playing time than him in this game
- Summers is scaring me. Can't afford to lose him at the end of this season. He is having phenomenal Big East season
- Monroe mania is getting a bit too much. Yes he led the team in assists and rebounds. But he was dominated on the defensive end
- We won this game because we were able to hit the mid-range elbow jumpers, which effectively took away the effectiveness of the zone. Good job on preparing the team, JT3
- We had 2 technical fouls called on us, hasn't happened since Radford game last year
- They shot 44% from FT line. Rick Jackson shot a Macklin-esque 1-8 from the line
- Two turning points in the game, both by bench players. (1) Nikita's second three, after Flynn answered his first. (2) Clark's three which halted an 8-0 Cuse run to start off the second half.
- Officiating was pretty terrible
- The most alarming missed call was committed by T^3 during the T-shirt toss. The foul was so egregious that it would qualify as a penalty in three different sports: Push in back in basketball, pass interference in football and catcher interference in baseball
- I am now 0-2 in T-shirt tosses, both times I was violently fouled. The first time was when follower Long Time/First Time callously tossed me aside when Gerald Riley threw a shirt into the stands during the '03-'04 season. Neither of us ended up with the baby blue #32 Riley shirt, something I still long for
- What T^3 didn't know was that I recently did an inventory of my wardrobe and noticed that I was lacking in gray, JT3 shirts. You broke my heart Fredo, you broke my heart.
- Special thanks for referee Ed Hightower for the second acknowledgment of existence this season
- Special thanks to Johnny Flynn for the acknowledgment of existence and subsequent offer of termination. I've never made a player actually come back out from the locker room tunnel to respond to one of my comments. I merely relayed to him my harmless observation that he was just embarrassed on national television. Guess that might have hurt his feelings or something


Good talk.

Game 14 - Providence

That game had season-breaker written all over it. Also had Esherick written all over it. Some in the stands started to pack up their belongings and plan post-game festivities when we were up by 14 with a little over five minutes left. But those that have experienced St. Johns and UCLA in 2003 knew all too well what could happen. And it almost did. Providence surmounted an incredible comeback and was down three with possession with one minute left. Some will give credit to Georgetown for hanging on to a tough game in crunch time, but that recognition is very undeserved. Georgetown tried its best to lose this game by missing half of its free throws in the final minute and giving the Friars open looks at shots. But luckily for the Hoyas, the law of averages was on their side. Providence was shooting an incredible 50% from beyond the arc for most of the game, well above their season average of 31%. They ended the game missing their last three three-point attempts, and any chance of an upset road victory.

Some more thoughts:
- Turnovers were a huge problem. The 18 mistakes led to 23 Providence points.
- Represents the most turnovers by G'town since the loss to Tennessee in November
- Most turnovers against a Big East team since the overtime victory against Marquette last season
- Most turnovers at home since Seton Hall game last season
- And most turnovers against an unranked opponent since Seton Hall last season
- But wait, there's more! The 17 turnovers by the Hoya starters are the most turnovers by a Georgetown starting five since January 5, 2006 which was a Big East home game, against the unranked...wait for it... Providence Friars. Was also the last time we played Providence at home.
- So we have gone three years, 106 games, back-to-back Big East regular season titles, two Big East Championship games, three NCAA Tournament appearances, one Sweet Sixteen and one Final Four since the last time a group of five Georgetown starters committed as many turnovers as they did yesterday.
- But we REBOUNDED!
- And hit our free throws, kinda. 69% from the charity line is still pretty awful and needs to be addressed
- Another great game off the bench. Jason Clark and Henry Sims are finally showing a good understanding of the offense
- Jason Clark's go-go-gadget arms are the only reason we won this game. He saved as least four turnovers by rescuing poor passes
- Clark had almost as many minutes as Sapp, and more points
- Before Clark's 1-2 yesterday, he was shooting 92% from the stripe.
- We had major problems inbounding the ball, very alarming
- Both Monroe and Summers have gotten into foul trouble early the last couple of games
- Monroe was 2 assists away from a triple-double. He should start making his way from Big East Rookie of the Week to Player of the Week soon.
- Welcome back Chris Wright and Austin Freeman. The two combined for 14-21 shooting
- Jesse Sapp is awful. He went 1-9 from beyond the arc in the second half WARMUPS! (Yes, I was counting but that's besides the point).
- JT3 referred to Monroe as Gregory in the press game conference, thereby taking away any street cred young Greg has built up over the past few months.

Cuse on Wednesday. Get excited.


Good talk.