GRADEBOOK: Georgetown’s ‘A’ Effort in Marquette Loss Shows High Potential

This Georgetown defense can look ‘elite’

The time has come. Get on board. The “Hoyas are good” train is leaving the station. It’s been a while since we’ve been here, so it’s OK if you’re not sure what to do with your hands.

A productive week saw your Georgetown Hoyas thoroughly outclass Xavier at home and come up just short of a program-defining win at 7th-ranked Marquette. Oh, and they did both without their leading scorer, Jayden Epps. Georgetown got a big home conference win against Xavier to start 3-0 in conference play. They just looked like a better team than Xavier. But it was the close loss at Marquette that should have everyone’s attention.

The Hoyas went into Milwaukee and absolutely punked a top-10 Marquette team in the first half. They ended up a couple of plays short of the biggest win of Cooley’s tenure [and of the last 5 years frankly]. This team should be proud that they are too good to discuss moral victories in a loss. But the Marquette game was not just an encouraging loss, there are tangible results. By covering the 13.5-point spread and playing Marquette tough, Georgetown jumped from 66th to 61st in KenPom (a metric that the Selection Committee still uses). That’s real. The Hoyas look a lot like a tournament team to me. They need results to get there, especially on the back of a soft non-conference schedule. But they are in the mix.

There’s a lot to digest from this good basketball team. Let’s dive in.

Malik Mack – B+
Xavier: 26pts, 8-16 50% FG, 3-9 33% 3PT, 7-9 FT, 2 REB, 3 AST, 1 BLK, 4 TO, 35 MIN
Marquette: 18pts, 7-17 41% FG, 3-7 42% 3PT, 1-2 FT, 2 REB, 5 AST, 2 STL, 1 BLK, 6 TO, 38 MIN

Malik took a lot of the offensive load in Jayden’s absence. He has let the game come to him a lot this year and looks for his shot late – after the team has settled in. I thought he did that a bit against Xavier. He had a dominant five-minute stretch in the middle of the second half when he scored at least 10 in a row. Against Marquette, he came out firing and clearly understood the assignment. Malik is Georgetown’s best shot-maker without Jayden (and maybe even with him in the lineup). He was asked to play that role on top of initiating the offense, dealing with Marquette’s pressure and defending some tough perimeter players. He was up to the challenge for 30 out of his 35 minutes. He was great. Ultimately, a couple of his four turnovers came in crunch time. He made some mistakes. It’s hard to blame him too much, given the load he was carrying. Georgetown is certainly not even in that game without his shotmaking. He hit a massive, deep three in the second half after Marquette made their run. He’s a big shot-maker and looks like he’s poised to take a leap offensively. He’s already taken a leap defensively.

Simply put, he was outstanding defensively in both games. He had big blocks in each game, which resulted from moving his feet and getting the attacking player to take a desperation layup. I was in attendance for the Xavier game, and his toughness and strength defensively really stood out.

Micah Peavy – A-
Xavier: 15pts, 7-14 50% FG, 0-2 3PT, 1-2 FT, 10 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 0 BLK, 4 TO, 39 MIN
Marquette: 13pts, 5-12 41% FG, 0-1 3PT, 3-4 FT, 6 REB, 4 AST, 1 STL, 1 BLK, 2 TO, 40 MIN

He was incredibly consistent in both games. The only knock is his shooting, but that is not his primary skill set. Offensively, he settles the team down with his ability to drive in traffic. He can go to the rim or get a nice mid-range pull-up whenever he wants, which is a nice plan C to have when the offense sputters. While he’s making those at a slightly above-average clip, just the ability to generate his own shot helps this team. Particularly because they can crash the boards on a miss. Defensively, he’s special. He’s been called (including by Coach Cooley) one of the best defenders in the Big East. Screw that. He IS the best defender in the Big East and may be the best in the country. It’s not just his incredible one-on-one defense. It’s everything that he’s asked to do defensively while also being an elite on-ball defender. He does everything. Guards everyone. He’s great positionally. Generates steals and blocks and, oh, by the way, elevates the entire team defensively. You could pick out a great defensive contribution on nearly every possession – and I encourage you to just watch him on that end. I think this play from the Marquette game sums it up.

This is, frankly, insane. He shows off so many elite-level defensive skills here. Starting with his navigation of the initial screen (elite). He then cuts off the dribble (elite), quickly forces him away from his preferred left hand with his body position (elite), and slides his feet to stay in front without fouling while staying big to prevent a quick pull-up (elite). Finally, you think he’s made a mistake (!). He’s shading the attacker back to the basket. Oh no! He’s overplayed it. No. He was just setting him up to recover and swat the layup. Oh, and by the way, that attacker happens to be player-of-the-year candidate Kam Jones.

Drew Fielder – B
Xavier: 5pts, 2-4 50% FG, 0-1 3PT, 1-4 FT, 7 REB, 0 AST, 1 TO, 27 MIN
Marquette: 6pts, 2-6 33% 3PT, 1-2 50% 3PT, 1-1 FT, 5 REB, 1 AST, 2 TO, 19 MIN

Drew does a lot for this team that doesn’t show up in the box score. Ed called him the unsung hero of the Xavier game, and I completely agree. Despite not recording an assist, he makes their offense work and has a knack for picking up big loose balls, rebounds and buckets when they need them most. Against Marquette, he hit an absolutely massive contested corner three at the end of the shot clock to put Georgetown up 1 with three minutes left. It was only his fourth made three of the year, but he took it with confidence. I think the shooting woes may be a result of where his focus is – he’s doing a lot as a team defender and connector offensively. He’s a better shooter than he’s been this year. I am not sure the shot is going to come back this season. It may be an offseason project, but it will come back (he shot 40% from three last year), and when it does, he will be a scary player. Like everyone else, his defense has been the most impressive. Last year, he was a bit slow-footed and foul-prone and looked like he couldn’t guard anything besides an undersized 5. That player is long gone. He is switching guarding the perimeter and has been great going from big to small and vice-versa. He made a few key mistakes in the Marquette game, including a moving screen on the Hoya’s last real chance to win the game. Those will happen. For each one of those errors, he makes two winning plays.

Thomas Sorber – A-
Xavier: 12pts, 5-12 41% FG, 0-2 3PT, 2-3 FT, 5 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 2 BLK, 2 TO, 35 MIN
Marquette: 11pts, 3-5 60% FG, 5-5 FT, 13 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL, 5 BLK, 4 TO, 35 MIN

If you just look at the stat lines, you’d think Sorber had OK games this week. The stats don’t show that he is getting double- (sometimes triple-) teamed on the catch, even after opposing defenses deny him the ball. He is line one on the opponent’s scouting report, and the full game plan starts with denying him the ball and disrupting his offense. He’s a Freshman getting the Nikola Jokic treatment. It’s actually insane to watch the hoops opponents are jumping through to shut him down. And yet, he still manages to make winning plays and put up numbers. Certainly, part of the game plan against him is because opponents know Georgetown doesn’t have a lot of other great offensive options.

I think he and Ed have been good at adjusting when the Hoyas haven’t been able to get him traditional post-touches. And the adjustments highlight his versatility. Against Xavier, they moved him out of the paint and ran some five-out offensive sets with him at the three-point line. They also ran some dribble hand-off actions that have worked well. He’s just really good. He’s a reliable three-point shot away from being one of the best players in the country. Georgetown ran two nice pick-and-roll sets at the end of the Xavier game to get him going to the rim, and he made exceptional catches and finishes on both. He has pro hands and used them when Georgetown had to have buckets. Against Marquette, they ran a nice empty-side pick and roll that gave him a chance for a nice lefty finish. And when they had to have a bucket, Cooley called for a dribble handoff with Peavy and Mack running to the strong side corner. Sorber executed that so quickly and precisely that the only defense Marquette had was to stick out a leg and trip Peavy on his way to a dunk or a wide-open Malik Mack Three. And he’s taken a giant step defensively. Five blocks against Marquette with a handful of other layups he impacted with his backside rim protection. All of which he managed to do with four fouls. His defense also just happens to be elite. Whew.

Caleb Williams – A-
Xavier: 7pts, 3-6 50% FG, 1-2 3PT, 0-1 FT, 9 REB, 1 AST, 1 BLK, 0 TO, 36 MIN
Marquette: 0pts, 0-3 FG, 0-2 3PT, 5 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 0 TO, 26 MIN

Caleb continues to grow as a starter, and it’s great to watch. He was great against Xavier and looked comfortable taking and making open shots. He’s not looking for his shot yet – just taking it in the rhythm of the offense. That’s great. I think he can look for his shot a little more, but it’s hard to argue with what he’s doing. He just needs to be sure to knock down free throws. He missed the front end of a couple of one-and-ones late against Xavier, which could have hurt them. He was in foul trouble against Marquette and wasn’t in the flow of the game as much as a result. The offense probably suffered as a result, but he also just got unlucky. Both threes he took looked good, and one was halfway down before somehow popping out (someone needs to check those rims). I like everything he does offensively.

Just do more. Overall, he’s played so well that I think there’s a question of whether you let Jayden come off the bench (at least for a bit) when he gets healthy. I’m not saying he’s the scorer that Jayden is, but Caleb just makes winning plays. I could make a case for it. Defensively, I see him turning into his own version of Micah and it’s glorious. I’m ecstatic that he’s on this team with Peavy. That’s exactly who he can be (with even more offensive upside). He moves his feet so well and rebounds well above his size. He came up with some huge rebounds against Marquette that you don’t see from Freshman.

Jordan Burks – B
Xavier: 3pts, 3-4 FT, 4 REB, 0 AST, 1 TO, 13 MIN
Marquette: 8pts, 3-5 60% FG, 2-2 3PT, 2 REB, 1 STL, 1 BLK, 1 TO, 15 MIN

Jordan has settled into his role. He was fine against Xavier, though he didn’t do much except for foul out in 13 minutes. He attacked the basket and got to the line, which was nice to see. I thought he was really good on both ends against Marquette. He hit a couple of really big shots and was active defensively. He seems to know his role and executes it well. He’s a great guy to have coming off the bench.

Curtis Williams – A
Xavier: 1pts, 0-4 FG, 0-2 3PT, 1-2 FT, 1 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 0 TO, 10 MIN
Marquette: 10pts, 4-7 57% FG, 2-5 40% 3PT, 3 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 3 TO, 26 MIN

Curtis was great against Marquette. He was a big reason Georgetown went on their big run in the first half. He hit a crazy end-of-shot clock three that the Hoyas needed. His acrobatic finish was one of the best of the game:

He seems to be getting more comfortable and gives them a solid offensive punch off the bench. He should have been 3-5 from three, as one of his shots was 70% down before somehow popping out (again, we need a rim investigation).

Offense – C Currently ranked 119th in Off. efficiency per KenPom (previously 98th)
Xavier: 97.4 Off. Rating, 48% eFG, 22% 3PT (18 att.) 44% AST Rate
Marquette: 90.7 Off. Rating, 50% eFG, 42% 3PT (19 att.), 54% AST Rate

Ultimately, the offense is going to be what decides if this is a tournament team or not. And it’s not even their offensive process or execution; it’s just making shots. They are just young and don’t have many proven and consistent shotmakers. Particularly without Epps, they have inconsistent three-point shooting. But they actually get really good shots. The offense has looked good up until the moment of the shot. I think Cooley has done a great job getting easy looks for guys. The process looks good for the most part. They are just a young team that will either make shots or not. If they make shots, they are going to win. They’ve dealt with the Sorber double teams well, and I think they need to continue building counters to that. They can get easier buckets off cuts because of how good Sorber is at handling the double and passing the ball. Getting those dunks and layups off cuts and playing in transition will help them steal easy points and take some pressure off their shooting. Ultimately, if they shoot 42% from three, as they did against Marquette, they will have a chance to beat almost anyone. If they shoot 22% like they did against Xavier, they can beat the bottom half of the Big East but will struggle against the top teams.

Defense – A+ Currently ranked 31st in Def. efficiency per KenPom (previously 51st)
Xavier: 88.9 Def Rating, 39% eFG, 13.8 TOV Rate, 80% DRB Rate
Marquette: 101.7 Def Rating, 43% eFG, 15.3 TOV Rate, 75% DRB Rate

Coach said it, this defense is elite. It’s honestly a beautiful thing to watch. Each and every guy who steps on the floor is doing their job defensively. They look brutal to play against. It makes me so happy. The defensive schemes have been great, too. Particularly against Marquette, they went to a zone in the first, which precipitated a 23-3 Hoya run. Marquette looked absolutely shook. When Marquette started to figure out the zone, they shifted back into dominant man to man.

They have a top-30 defense. That’s as good as they’ve had since 2015. That was the LJ Peak, Jabril Trawick, Mikael Hopkins, and Josh Smith team, which was also the last Hoyas team to win an NCAA Tournament game. I think they have a legitimate shot to be a top 25 or even top 15 defense, which would put them up there with the Otto Porter 2012 and 2013 teams. And frankly, I don’t think they’ve ever had as good of a defensive combo as Peavy and Sorber. Their two-point defense is fifth in the country. That’s 355 spots better than last year when they were almost last. Elite.

Next Week

If you’re a tournament team, you win your home games, even against the best teams in the conference. Georgetown can make a big statement against UConn, who was on an eight-game winning streak before a loss to Villanova. We’ll also know just how elite the Hoyas’ are defensively after Saturday as UConn comes in with the 2nd-rated offense in the country. Even without their star Freshman, McNeeley, the Huskies are excellent offensively. It’s a massive game.

And the schedule doesn’t let up. The Hoyas then travel to NYC to face St. John’s. They will be underdogs in both games, but if they come out of the next week 1-1 (or better), watch out. These are two of the three best teams in the Big East (according to KenPom). Georgetown will have no margin for error, but if they play like they did against Marquette, they have a chance to win both.