GAMEPLAN: Georgetown, Ed Cooley Need to Get Thomas Sorber the Ball

Hoyas have not adjusted to the press well, look tired in the second

Your Georgetown Hoyas lost another second-half heartbreaker on Tuesday night. This one was at Madison Square Garden to the St. John’s Red Storm. The Johnnies were the “26th ranked team,” after receiving votes for the top 25. Even without one of the best players, Deivon Smith, their second half 19-2 run to reel the Hoyas in and overtake them demonstrated why they are one of the top three teams in the conference. The style of this three-game losing streak for GU also reveals why this young team is not yet one of the top three teams in the conference quite. Still searching for a signature win, Georgetown has plenty of work to do and plenty of time to address some of their shortcomings. Here are five.

1. If Thomas Sorber is not playing—or is not properly engaged—this offense is very difficult to watch right now. The scouting report is out, and it says that Ed Cooley’s team looks a lot like last year‘s 2-18 squad if you prevent them from feeding the paint. A dose of pressure and slowing down Georgetown‘s transition offense seems to be the trick, especially in the second half. Getting Sorber in foul trouble helps, but frankly he’s been playing a little overly cautious even in the first half. Sorber has shot 1-5 FG in the second halves of the last three games—losses to Marquette, UConn, St. John’s. Sorber certainly needs to make sure he’s in position to get an entry pass, as sealing off these centers may not be as easy as other defenders, but the staff needs to draw up ways to get him the ball. High ball screens, pick-and-roll, hand-offs, high post action. Mix it up. Get Sorber more touches. Cooley and the staff also better consider that the young man might walk to the NBA in April just to get away from these college-level frustrations.

2. The weak nonconference strength of schedule did not prepare Georgetown for these late-game lead changes. There’s an old saying that young teams are like teabags, you don’t know what you got until you put them in hot water. They’ve been boiling recently. Georgetown was supposed minimize these second-half runs because—this year—they do have a solid defense and a low-post bucket-getter in Sorber. Transition offense coming out of their defense should help them create runs and build momentum, not the other way around. Inexperience with dealing with the full-court press and the ball-denial pressure reveals itself in the turnover statistics. Missing layups and free throws—in either half—doesn’t help. Hoyas should have been up 20 at intermission. They will improve, but so will everyone else.

3. Georgetown appears to be exactly what KenPom thinks they are: a middle of the pack team who can win some Big East games but will lose to the top teams most of the time. Fourth place would be fantastic and it’s achievable. There is still plenty of time to show growth and development (and take down a ranked opponent or two), but it’s tough to watch the same mistakes get taken advantage of three games in a row, by three very good coaches. Health has been an issue, but waiting on Jayden Epps seems imprudent. Seton Hall actually tipped the world off to Georgetown’s second-half struggles with the pressure.

4. The current plan for handling the press stinks. Move the ball up quicker with passes, not dribbles. Having another ball handler could be beneficial, but it’s fixable now. So much time is spent in the back court that the ball cannot enter the low post with enough time for action. Again, these problems are all related and they kill momentum. It’s kind of amazing how easy a simple press works to throw Georgetown completely off its game. Malik Mack and Micah Peavy have been doing admirable work bringing the ball up, but the late-game missed layups, slightly off jump-shots, and brain-fart turnovers are a direct result of the press. Their legs are tired. Their minds are tired. Get them some help.

5. Jayden Epps shouldn’t play until he’s 100% healthy. This stop-and-go style of testing his leg has to stop. His ankle is not helping anyone. How long before he seriously hurts it by rushing back and pushing too hard? A glimpse of his scoop layup reminded fans of what he can bring to a program—not just his three-balls but a crafty finisher around the rim that can open the floor. A scorer. A microwave. If a lower body injury won’t allow him to get that quick step or prevent his elevation for his shot, he’s pretty much worthless to any team. Get him healthy.

Again, looking at the prediction to get to 10-10 (or better), these three BIG EAST tests were expected to be tough. Georgetown had a chance with each one, but could not capitalize. Each opponent looked the part of an experienced, talented top-25 college basketball team.

These Hoyas losses are not necessarily like past years where fans see second-half collapses or failures to adjust. The scoring drought was not even “hero ball” like the unfortunate hallmark of the Ewing era. This is part health, part youth, and part learning how to match the physicality without fouling.

The Hoyas need to take care of business in the next few games, which are not automatic to say the least. A strong showing against DePaul and stealing a game in Villanova’s tiny gym will keep Georgetown on pace to build the season to a crescendo and show their growth.

Here are the links:

Hoyas Cannot Contain Second-Half Surge, Fall 63-58 at St. John’s | Georgetown University Athletics

“We got to do a better job protecting the ball and executing when it counts. Normally, our teams late in the game are really good at executing … There’s got to be pride when you’re in that game. There’s got to be some emotion that’s connected to wanting to win. And I thought the better team won today. They willed themselves to win. I think the crowd really helped them. But we’ll bounce back. We’re not very healthy right now. We haven’t had the same lineup since December 14, when we played Syracuse. Not an excuse, but we’re having a tough time scoring the ball right now. Again, we lost the game when we gave up how many points – 63? Come on, man, this should have been a 15-point win, giving up 63 points on the road, right? Gotta credit their defense though, they did a hell of a job. They made plays when they had to make them, turned us over when they had to turn us over, made big shots.” – Head Coach Ed Cooley

Micah Peavy led a trio of Hoyas in double figures with 21 points on 9-for-20 shooting. Malik Mack and Curtis Williams Jr. followed with 13 and 11, respectively.

Drew Fielder led on the glass with 12 boards followed closely by Thomas Sorber with 10.

Hoyas lose at St. John’s, let another chance for a signature win slip away | Georgetown Voice

The start of this game set the tone for the Hoyas offensively, turning the ball over on each of their first three possessions. Their defense remained stout though, only allowing two points for St. John’s in response. At this point, the Hoya offense found a way to quell the turnovers for a moment to go on a 17-1 run to take command of the game into the midway point of the first half, with graduate guard Micah Peavy and sophomore guard Curtis Williams Jr. playing key roles.

From that point on, the teams battled to a near draw. Every time the Johnnies threatened to pull themselves back into the game, Peavy, Williams or sophomore guard Malik Mack came up with a bucket or two on the other end to keep the Georgetown advantage. A big help in this half for the Hoyas was that they dominated the board early, mounting a 26-10 lead on the boards by halftime. The turnovers kept coming for the Hoyas, though, and it was a group effort that led Georgetown into the half with 10 team turnovers. This is normal for the Hoyas, as they entered the day 295th in the country in turnover rate at 19.5 percent. If you want to win on the road and pull off the upset as a 9.5 point underdog, turning the ball over is not a great recipe.

It’s déjà vu all over again for the Hoyas in a 63-58 loss at St. John’s | WaPo

At least initially, the Hoyas were more than ready for their third game in a row against a credible conference title challenger. Georgetown bolted to a 17-3 lead, limiting St. John’s to 1-for-13 shooting in the first nine minutes. And it largely rebuffed any Red Storm rally before halftime, stretching its lead to 35-20 late in the first half and nudging it out to 41-27 with the first two baskets of the second half.

Yet St. John’s — which rallied from its two previous double-digit deficits to defeat Kansas State and Providence — had stellar defensive stretches of its own. The Red Storm rattled off a 19-2 run to briefly claim the lead, giving up just one bucket in 7:08.

The Hoyas had another drought of 5:14, during which Sorber committed his third and fourth fouls, sat for a bit more than a minute and then got hurt. Despite that, the Hoyas were within 56-55 before the Red Storm’s Simeon Wilcher deposited a three-pointer with 2:07 left. Georgetown was never within a possession when it had the ball again.

RJ Luis Jr. scores 19 as St. John’s overtakes Georgetown | Field Level Media

Micah Peavy led all scorers with 21 points, but Georgetown (12-5, 3-3) dropped its third straight. Malik Mack added 13 points and Curtis Williams Jr. contributed 11 for the Hoyas, who shot 41.4 percent and committed 19 turnovers.

Standout freshman Thomas Sorber helped Georgetown to a 44-38 rebounding edge by grabbing 10 boards but was held to five points. He spent most of the final four-plus minutes in the locker room after appearing to injure his elbow.

The Hoyas settled for a 37-27 halftime lead after leading by 15 on Peavy’s dunk with 2:43 left in the half.

St. John’s grinds out ugly win over Georgetown for fourth straight victory | New York Post

And [Simeon Wilcher] added to that by coming up with a clutch steal in the final seconds as Georgetown (12-5, 3-3) was trying to rally.

“My favorite play of the night was the [steal] he got and RJ blocked the shot next,” coach Rick Pitino said.

This was another example of this St. John’s (15-3, 6-1) team handling adversity well.

Without Smith, their transition game was mostly nonexistent. The offense never really got into a rhythm. They were hammered on the glass in the first half.

It didn’t matter. St. John’s outscored Georgetown 17-8 over the final 9:25, dominating crunch time as in recent wins over Providence, Butler and Villanova.

RV/RV St. John’s Rallies From 14-Point Second Half Deficit to Sink Georgetown, 63-58 | St. John’s University Athletics

St. John’s has now won eight consecutive meetings against its longtime rival Georgetown, which marks the longest win streak in the series since it won 10-straight games over the Hoyas from 1949-72.

Georgetown’s Micah Peavy played all 40 minutes and led all scorers with 21 points at the World’s Most Famous Arena.

In the opening minutes, the Red Storm defense overwhelmed the Hoyas, forcing a turnover on each of the first three possessions. After Simeon Wilcher recorded the opening bucket, Georgetown responded with a roaring 17-1 run to take a commanding lead. The run was eventually halted by an Ejiofor two-handed slam.

St. John’s holds off Georgetown at MSG for 10th win in last 11 games | Newsday

St. John’s (15-3, 6-1 Big East) won its 10th game in its last 11 tries and is off to its best start in conference play since the 1998-99 season, when it started 8-1 and went to the Elite Eight. The Red Storm have won eight straight against Georgetown (12-5, 3-3).

“For St. John’s not to be ranked . . . let’s talk about that,” Georgetown coach Ed Cooley said. “I don’t know who some of those voters are. I don’t know who has a vote, but you’re blind. Wake up! You’re blind. That’s one of the best teams we played all year. I don’t know if there’s a close second.”

Malik Mack hit a three to cut St. John’s lead to 56-55 with 2:50 left, but Wilcher answered with a three 43 seconds later to make it 59-55.

“Game, set, match,” Cooley said of Wilcher’s three.

St. John’s men’s basketball bends, doesn’t break in 15-point comeback win over Georgetown | Rumble In The Garden

The Hoyas continued to pull away, responding to a 3-of-13 start to score 11 of their next 13 shots. A downright disrespectful posterizing dunk by Micah Peavy over R.J. Luis gave Georgetown a 35-20 lead with 2:43 left in the first half and threatened to turn this game into a laugher. St. John’s would cut the first-half deficit to ten to enter the break trailing 37-27.

The Red Storm needed to pull another rabbit out of their hat in the second half, and they did just that. They began winning board battles again, capitalized off Georgetown turnovers, and found their long-lost three-point scoring touch. After ceding two consecutive baskets to open the break, St. John’s responded with a 17-2 run punctuated by an Aaron Scott corner three to give the Johnnies their first lead since Simeon Wilcher opened the game with a layup.

Emerging Big East takeaways as conference schedule is in full swing | New York Post

We’re roughly a third of the way through the Big East conference season and a clear big three of Marquette, Connecticut and St. John’s has emerged. They are somewhat safe bets to make the NCAA Tournament.

One game separates the three. Marquette remained undefeated after beating DePaul Tuesday night, while St. John’s, which held off Georgetown, 63-58, and UConn have only one loss, narrow setbacks on the road to Creighton and Villanova, respectively.

The three lead the league in every national ranking metric, from the NET to KenPom.com to Bart Torvik.

St. John’s basketball shows incredible desire to win with comeback against Georgetown | Storm The Paint

Aaron Scott drilled a 3-pointer to give St. John’s its first lead since 2-0, 44-43, in the process of a 19-2 run. The 12,757 that filled Madison Square Garden sounded closer to a capacity crowd and the Red Storm needed every bit of energy to get across the finish line.

“Winning just matters more than anything else,” Pitino continued.

St. John’s lead didn’t last after Georgetown scored the next five points to swing the game in its favor before St. John’s showed its winning attitude when they seized the momentum back with an 8-0 run and getting a lead it would not relinquish.