GAME GRADES: Seton Hall Homework Handled by Hoyas

Handling business does not hurt their grades

Your Georgetown Hoyas did to the new Bottom Dwellers of the Big East what had been done to them in recent years – play an average game and handily win going away. Seton Hall is bad, really bad, and Georgetown isn’t. The Hoyas were far from their best, but they didn’t need to be. They took care of business in front of a lively Noon crowd.

I was on-hand for this game and had a great vantage point to see and hear the floor. My live-view takeaways – Micah Peavy is legit, and the Georgetown Hoyas remain a good (albeit offensively limited) basketball team.

Let’s dive in.

Malik Mack – C
3pts, 1-5 20% FG, 1-3 33% 3PT, 1 REB, 4 AST, 3 STL, 0 BLK, 3 TO, 33 MIN

Malik’s defense has been excellent since the Notre Dame game (the third of the season). He was good again against Seton Hall. He’s done a lot to improve as an on-ball and team defender. He’s clearly in an offensive slump, but his defense hasn’t slipped. I think the weeklong break will serve him well. After another rough shooting game and his lowest minute total in quite a while, he just looks like he’s lacking confidence. I think it’s all just adjusting to the size and speed of the Big East. I’d like to see the coaching staff figure out a spot on the floor where he is most comfortable and drill an action to get him there, just to build back his confidence. To his and the staff’s credit, they ran some stuff for him against Seton Hall. Including a lot of motion sets, with him coming off pindown screens and curling around for catch-and-shoot threes. He just didn’t look confident. He needs a reset.

Micah Peavy – A-
22pts, 10-20 50% FG, 1-3 33% 3PT, 1-2 FT, 7 REB, 4 AST, 3 STL, 0 BLK, 3 TO, 36 MIN

Another gem from Micah. My only real nitpick was he was a bit sloppy and loose at times, including a couple of lob attempts in transition that he called for and couldn’t finish. One of them he put right back. Ultimately, none of the sloppiness hurt them because it was Seton Hall, but he’ll need to clean it up going forward. I have every confidence that he will. He looks absolutely locked in right now, particularly offensively (he is always locked in defensively). He is the one guy who looks to be getting more comfortable on the offensive end, and it’s showing in his numbers.

Drew Fielder – C-
2pts, 1-4 25% FG, 0-2 3PT, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 11 MIN

I was in attendance for this game and was right on the floor behind where Drew took his two threes in the second half. Both looked fine mechanically but missed badly. He left one way short that looked like he was just trying to guide it in rather than letting it fly. I think he’s another guy whose confidence is just a little shot right now. I’m hopeful the break gives him an opportunity to reset. He should be shooting it better than this.

Thomas Sorber – B
13pts, 6-12 50% FG, 0-1 3PT, 1-3 FT, 11 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL, 1 BLK, 3 TO, 38 MIN

Thomas was good, but it wasn’t quite as good/great as he’s been. He was getting mauled in the post all game and had SH defenders draped all over him. He was just a little too fixated on this (and the lack of referee intervention) for my liking. He absolutely had a case – they were pulling his jersey at every turn, but I think he let it take him out of his game a bit. Even out of his game, he put up a 13-point double-double on 50% shooting and was great on the defensive end. But I’d like to see him just put his head down and punish guys rather than ask for the calls. He’ll get there. And I do think it showed he still can get stronger to hold his position against guys who are mugging him. It was nice to see (and hear) his defense up close. He plays the pick-and-roll about as well as any Freshman I can remember. At least in this one, they were keeping things fairly simple for him – he was calling for the primary defender to “Ice” most of the ball screens – deny the screen and send the ball handler away from the screen. That’s smart for him overall, and in this one in particular, as he could keep ball handlers in front of him and then recover. But I was impressed with his feel and positioning. Cutting off the attacker and knowing when to recover back to your man rely a lot on feel and reps. He’s great at navigating defensively in space, which is just not something a lot of bigs are comfortable doing. It was cool to see just how good a defender he is, picking up on the little things he gets right.

Caleb Williams – A
12pts,4-5 80% FG, 2-3 66% 3PT, 2-2 FT, 3 REB, 1 AST, 2 STL, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 35 MIN

Caleb looked like he was getting some treatment on his back before and during this game, so I fully expected him to be a little slower and less effective than usual. Incorrect! Caleb was great…again. He hit the dagger three in the second half from NBA range. It happened to be right in front of me and looked good as soon as it left his hand. His shot is a little long (and slow), but he has the potential to be a great shooter – he might already be the most consistent on the team (that is, I am not sure I am as confident in anyone’s three going down when they shoot it as his). The offensive is starting to click for him. He’s in the running for best stories of the season for me, and there are a number of really good stories.

Curtis Williams – B+
5pts, 2-8 25% FG, 0-4 3PT, 1-1 FT, 5 REB, 0 AST, 2 STL, 1 BLK, 1 TO, 21 MIN

Curtis was locked in and was frustrated that his shot wouldn’t fall. He hit back iron a couple of times, and his shot looked good again. I think he just needs to keep shooting. He attacked a closeout in the first half, which is something I’d like him to do more of. He looked comfortable driving by the defender and rifled a pass to Thomas, who couldn’t handle it. It went for a turnover, but it was a nice play. The pass was there, but he could have just gone to the basket. I think he is close to getting back to his confident self on offense.

Jayden Epps – INC
3pts, 1-7 14%, 1-5 20% 3PT, 3 REB, 3 AST, 0 STL, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 20 MIN

Jayden came off the bench, which I hope they’ll continue to do. Coach said he was probably about 60% and had to take himself out of the game late. He looked gassed and in pain when he went out. He had trouble throughout the game finishing at the rim, and I think that’s where he’s feeling it. I would continue to bring him off the bench and hope he can slowly ramp up.

Jordan Burks – INC
0pts, 0-2 FG, 2 REB, 1 AST, 0 TO 6 MIN

I liked Jordan’s defense a lot in this game.

Offense – C- Currently ranked 186th in Off. efficiency per KenPom (previously 184th)
96.8 Off. Rating, 43% eFG, 22% 3PT (5-22), 64 AST Rate

The offense needs the week off. They just look totally devoid of confidence outside of Peavy. They can shoot better than they did in this game. Will they? I don’t know, but the answer probably tells you whether they win or lose down the stretch. They’ve been playing games at a pretty regular clip, so I hope the week off before Butler on Saturday gives them some time to settle their offense and shooting. I also hope it gives them plenty of time to shoot Free Throws because, to my word, they need the practice. It’s actually quite impressive what they’ve been able to accomplish despite their shooting. They are ranked 79th overall via KenPom with the 186th-best offense. They have the third-worst offense in the KenPom top 100 (ahead of only Fordham and UC Irvine). Here are the offensive peers.

There are a couple of ways to look at that. On the one hand, their offense has not been good, and we should be grateful they haven’t been worse overall. On the other, if they just figure it out a little, they could be a real threat. I’m not sure there’s a reason to expect much, but hopefully, this off-week will give them a chance to reset before the stretch.

Defense – B+ Currently ranked 33rd in Def. efficiency per KenPom (previously 35th)
74.2 Def. Rating, 43% eFG, 25.7 TO Rate, 74.1% DRB Rate

Their defense didn’t need to be great against Seton Hall, and it wasn’t as dominant as it’s been. But they were good enough and clamped down when they had to. As a unit, they look really confident in their defense. It’s cool to see the polar opposite of what they look like on offense. They are one of the three best defensive teams in the top 50 that are likely to miss the tournament (along with Wake Forest and UC Irvine). Again, there are two ways to look at that, so choose your frame according to your level of doom or optimism. I, for one, am absolutely thrilled with where this team is based almost entirely on the jump they made in defense this year.

Next Up
A week off to reset before a road test at Butler. Both teams will be rested, and Butler will be looking to get Gtown back for the 73-70 defeat at the end of January. Butler is currently favored by 3.5 points and is sitting four spots ahead of Georgetown in KenPom rankings. I guess that all makes sense, except I wholeheartedly believe Georgetown is better, and I think the Hoyas are a bad matchup for Butler’s tepid offense. Georgetown should be able to get a big road win if they are locked in and shooting with confidence.