Injuries, cool shooting may force a grading curve
RIP to Hoya4Life Kevin Braswell, who, at 46, was taken way too soon. Our hearts go out to his family, friends and teammates. The loss of Braswell certainly puts basketball into perspective.
An undermanned Georgetown Hoyas team made a valiant push against Creighton but ultimately didn’t have enough to build on a 10-point first-half lead. And now, with news that Thomas Sorber is out for the year after undergoing foot surgery, the Hoyas will continue to be undermanned for their final four games.
Let’s dive in…
Malik Mack – B
15pts, 4-10 40% FG, 2-6 33% 3PT, 5-8 FT, 5 REB, 3 AST, 2 BLK, 1 TO, 37 MIN
I thought Malik continued his solid offensive play. He was not as efficient in this game as he was against Providence, but I thought he looked more comfortable. He got to the floater a couple of times in the first half of this game. That’s an important shot for him, given his size. He tends to go a little too quickly in the pick-and-roll. He’s off about a half-beat too quickly before the screener has time to get completely set. I noticed it a couple of times in this game. That’s not uncommon for a young ball handler, particularly one who knows his window to get to the rim is limited because of his size. He’s eager to get downhill. He needs to be patient to allow the screener to get to the spot. That one small adjustment would make a world of difference for him, I think, as it would give him more space to operate. When he isn’t patient, the defense isn’t forced to make a read, and while he may get a small half-step on his defender, they can recover more easily or top-lock on his hip (pressure him from behind to take away any pull-up or floater). It’s a small tweak, but I noticed it a couple of times against Creighton.
Micah Peavy – B+
20pts, 8-21 38% FG, 4-7 57% 3PT, 0-1 FT, 12 REB, 4 AST, 4 STL, 1 BLK, 2 TO, 40 MIN
Micah started the game where he left off against Providence. He was once again on fire. Eventually, he cooled down late in the first and into the second. He looked relatively human for the first time in about a month. There wasn’t much to his offensive dip (if you can call it that) in this game; he just missed a few shots he’s been making. Still, his 3-point percentage remains encouraging. He is now 36% on the season and 39% in 2025 (averaging almost four attempts per game). In five games in February, he’s a scalding 48% from three on 5.5 attempts per game. That’s his ticket to the next level for sure because his defense just remains incredible. Even in an overall slightly below-average defensive game, Peavy was incredible. At different points during this game, he was tasked with guarding the 7’0 Kalkbrenner, the 6’1 Ashworth, and the 6’6 Neal. He went from battling Kalkbrenner in the post to chasing Ashworth around screens and shutting down dribble penetration on one possession. I honestly cannot think of a single other player in the country who is asked to be that versatile on defense. And that is, for me, why he is the best defender in the country. He’s guarding everyone and managing to shut them all down.
Drew Fielder – B-
5pts, 2-7 28% FG, 1-3 33% 3PT, 8 REB, 0 AST, 3 BLK, 1 TO, 34 MIN
This is a tough matchup for Fielder. Frankly, Kalkbrenner is a tough matchup for anyone. He is going to pretty much shut down everything at the rim, and that’s what he did against Georgetown and Fielder, in particular. Fielder battled but got into foul trouble in the first half, and that was basically the game. Without Thomas or Julius, the Hoyas bigs are Fielder and then a number of guys who are not really bigs. That’s too much to ask from Fielder. I thought despite his foul trouble, he was good defensively. He had a couple of really nice blocks at the rim. I also thought he showed some good post-moves on a couple of possessions. The problem is, at the end of those moves, he has to try and finish over the best shot blocker in the conference (and maybe the country), and that’s a tough ask. With Sorber out for the year, Drew is going to get a chance to really flex his offensive game. If you’re looking for silver linings, this is a great opportunity for Drew to expand his offense, and I think he looks ready to do it, albeit, ideally, not against a defensive player of the year candidate.
Jordan Burks – B-
7pts, 3-6 50% FG, 1-4 25% 3PT, 3 REB, 1 AST, 0 TO, 29 MIN
He was always likely to regress coming off his dominant performance against Providence. Without Caleb, he got the starting nod again, and I thought he played OK. He definitely took the ball to the rim more confidently than in previous games (aside from the last one). Again, he ran into the issue that Creighton has one of the best-shot blockers in the nation back there. His three looked a little more confident, but he’s still a 30% shooter at best right now. The trajectory is still trending in the right direction.
Jayden Epps – B+
22pts, 8-14 57% FG, 4-7 57% 3PT, 2-5 FT, 2 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 2 TO, 39 MIN
I’ve been incredibly impressed by Jayden’s last two performances. He has been great in his role. He hunted his shot a little bit more in this one, though not a ton, but it felt within the flow of the offense. Anytime he shoots 4-7 from three, I am going to be thrilled. That’s a big deal for the Hoyas. The biggest complaint I have is the free-throw shooting. He’s hardly alone in his struggles there, but 2-5 is just not good enough. At one point in the second half, he missed two, and Creighton came down to hit a three. A five-point swing that, for me, was the nail in the coffin.
Curtis Williams – C
0pts, 0-4 FG, 0-3 3PT, 4 REB, 0 TO, 34 MIN
I think Curtis is missing some confidence. He’s back to not being all that noticeable. Every player goes through peaks and valleys. He’s in a valley right now. Hopefully, he can get it back.
Drew McKenna – INC
0pts, 0-3 FG, 0-3 3PT, 0 REB, 5 MIN
The door is cracked open for Drew now that Sorber is out. He is their only other active big after Fielder. His time is now. This was a tough matchup for him. Cooley tried him at the five on Kalkbrenner briefly, and it did not work. He gave up a dunk and a one. And that was the end of that. Cooley is going to need to find a way to best use him because they need his size.
Offense – C- Currently ranked 162 in Off. efficiency per KenPom (previously 163)
94.1 Off. Rating, 47% eFG, 36% 3PT (12-33), 36.0 AST Rate
Micah started hot again, and the offense looked great. When he cooled down, so did Georgetown. Kalkbrenner impacted a lot of what Georgetown was trying to do. They just couldn’t get anything at the rim, and it looked like it threw them. They were able to make threes. Typically, if Georgetown makes 12 threes, I would be fairly optimistic about their chances to win. But because Kalkbrenner was able to shut down everything else, including the offensive glass, Georgetown just ultimately didn’t have enough. The first 10 minutes were again encouraging in the “Cooley dominates Creighton” narrative. In general, I just feel really good about Ed Cooley-coached teams playing well against Creighton. I don’t have many takeaways from this game. One I do have is bad at the foul line. They were 7-14 from the line in this game. That’s just not good. During the year, they shot 70% from line 291-411. That’s just a lot of points left on the board. In conference play, they are 68%. In conference losses, they are just 81-126 (64%) from the line. That’s not good.
Defense – B Currently ranked 36 in Def. efficiency per KenPom (previously 37)
109.1 Def. Rating, 49.3% eFG, 9.4 TO Rate, 71.8% DRB Rate
Losing Sorber is going to hurt their defense. There’s really no way around that. I think Fielder has been more than serviceable when asked to play in Sorber’s place. This was a tough ask for him against the size and strength of Kalkbrenner. The fielder is going to have to defend without fouling going forward as the team’s only available center. That’s going to mean a lot more zone, I think, but it also means he needs to avoid the silly fouls. I also think it will be worth trying Micah on some opposing bigs. That’s not where he can be his most impactful defensively, but it may be where he is most valuable, as his strength and activity allow him to defend bigs. The dropoff to the next man up, I guess that’s McKenna, is vast. I think Caleb can defend some undersized bigs as well, but not nearly as consistently or effectively as Micah. I expect the defense to bend a bit over the final few weeks. I don’t think they will break.
Next Up
The Hoyas are at UConn on Wednesday, with the Huskies coming off a beatdown. That’s twice Georgetown will have played this UConn team with significant motivation coming off of losses. The last one didn’t look so good for the Hoyas. With Sorber now officially out, I don’t have high hopes for this game. But defense travels. And even without Sorber, Georgetown can defend.