LINKS: Hoyas Just Warming Up in Conference Play

Plenty of learning to do from this icy road win

Your Georgetown Hoyas (10-2, 2-0) held on to defeat the Seton Hall Pirates (5-8, 0-2) on Sunday evening at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey by a final score of 61-60. A win is a win—especially when GU fans have seen so few BIG EAST victories over the past few years—but Georgetown’s scoreless last four minutes was scary.

Ed Cooley mentioned a plausible explanation for some of this—it was very cold outside and inside the Prudential Center.

Certain things certainly seemed off. SHU shot a glacially cold 20-67 (29.9%) from the field and 3-24 (12.5%) from three, leading to 18 second-half offensive rebounds off of some wild bounces and tips. There was more than enough suspicious calls/no-calls to call it some bitter refereeing. There were five frigid turnovers by the Hoyas in the last four minutes. Peavy had a polarizing last foul call before a piercing disqualification. Talk about nippy.

Georgetown shot 23-43 (53.5%) for the game (4-12, 33% from three), but was a chilly 11-22 from the free-throw line. Way too many ice-cold front-ends of 1-and-1 missed. Also, it is a bit numbing that the Pirates were able to take 24 more field goal attempts than the Hoyas—and GU still won with points-in-the-paint 34-26.

Yes. the Hoyas need to rebound better. Yes, the young Georgetown squad needs to shoot better at the line. And, yes, perhaps they need to work on breaking the press a bit more. Sorber likely shouldn’t have passed it off on a couple late possessions. They’ll learn and grow.

But when is the last time Georgetown has been able to take all that “learning experience” and still drive home with a BIG EAST win? Too long.

Hopefully, they’re just warming up.

Here are the links:

Christmas in Big East basketball: A holiday tune of triumphs and trials | NCAA

At Georgetown, do they still have the pictures of the past great Hoyas teams turned to the wall? OK, maybe they never were, but they could have been. Georgetown has had one winning record in nine seasons, and the Big East record for the past three years was 4-55. But things have changed in the second year of the Ed Cooley regime with an influx of new faces. Top rebounder Thomas Sorber is a freshman, and steals leader Micah Peavy is a grad student from TCU. Jayden Epps, in his second Georgetown season after moving from Illinois, is the top scorer. The other Hoya who’s averaging in double figures, Malik Mack, came from Harvard.

Consider the handiwork of the new collection. The Hoyas slipped past Seton Hall 61-60 Sunday to go to 10-2 and see their first 2-0 conference start in nine seasons. Earlier in the week, they had pummeled Creighton by 24 points with 12 steals, seven by Peavy. The defense is back in style at Georgetown. The Hoyas are 31st in the nation in scoring defense and 35th in field goal percentage defense. Last season, they were 328th and 360th. Cooley was Big East coach of the year in 2022 at Providence. If this keeps up, he’ll make it again at a different league school.

Hoyas Hold On for 61-60 Victory at Seton Hall | Georgetown University Athletics

The Georgetown University men’s basketball team held on to defeat the Seton Hall University Pirates on Sunday evening at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey by a final score of 61-60. With the win, Georgetown improves to 10-2 overall and 2-0 in BIG EAST action, while the Pirates slide to 5-8 on the season and 0-2 in conference play…

“I think the injuries really hurt us in particular, right? We had lineups out there I’ve never seen even in practice, so it’s a testament to our players that when their number was called, they were able to deliver, and we got the stop we needed to at the end, it wasn’t pretty, but I’m very proud of our guys.” – Head Coach Ed Cooley

“They tell me before the game that they are going to be physical with me, because they know who I am, so I just try to keep my head in the game, you know, listen to my teammates, and just continue to keep playing my game. Don’t mind the physicality.” – Thomas Sorber

Despite Late Comeback, Pirates Fall to Hoyas in BIG EAST Home Opener | Seton Hall University Athletics

Facing a deficit, the Pirates would draw closer to their BIG EAST foe thanks to a stretch of strong guard play. An additional six points from Coleman, alongside a pair of buckets from Dylan Addae-Wusu and Chaunce Jenkins, drew The Hall within 7, 27-20, with 2:06 left in the half. Scotty Middleton would also add a three, but the Pirates entered the break down 32-23 against the Hoyas.

Out of the break, The Hall immediately cut into its deficit. Coleman and Addae-Wusu secured a pair of layups to draw the Pirates within five, 37-32, with 18:51 remaining in the half. The Hoyas responded with their own 5-0 run to stall the Pirates momentum momentarily, but the home side continued to push. In the ensuing eight minutes following Georgetown’s run, both sides would trade buckets as the Pirates deficit vacillated from as high as 10 points to as low a six. A Jahseem Felton jumper with half cut The Hall’s deficit back to seven, 50-43, as the midway point of the second half approached.

The game remained in a stalemate until with 3:51 remaining in the half, the Hoyas expanded their lead over the Pirates to 11, 61-50. Facing a double-digit deficit, The Hall went on a run that enlivened the Prudential Center and drew The Hall within a possession. Coleman and Jenkins both converted a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to seven, 61-54, with 3:03 left in the half. Gus Yalden quickly followed suit, converting a layup to cut the deficit to five, 61-56. After forcing a Georgetown turnover, Scotty Middleton netted a pair of free throws to make it a one-possession game, 61-58, with 1:40 on the clock.

Seton Hall falls to Georgetown for 4th straight loss despite career night from Isaiah Coleman | NJ (Zagoria)

Sorber, the 6-foot-10 Georgetown freshman and Trenton, N.J. native, went for 19 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists with NBA scouts from the Hawks, Spurs, Warriors, Timberwolves and Jazz in attendance.

He showed his versatility by hitting several 15-foot face-up jumpers, backing Seton Hall big man Godswill Erherience down for a layup and throwing down a dunk. Sorber, who turns 19 on Christmas, said he had 27 family and friends in the building.

“The best is yet to come for this guy,” Georgetown coach Ed Cooley said of Sorber. “The best is way yet to come.”

Seton Hall basketball falls short vs. Georgetown on Mark Bryant Day | Asbury Park Press

“You’ve got to go get that ball,” Holloway said afterwards in response to reporters’ questions about the play. “The play is for you – you’ve got to go get the basketball. You can’ t get denied. I don’t want to blame him (Coleman). That didn’t lose the game for us. What lost the game for us, we can’t keep spotting teams points in the first half.”

Holloway continued: “But the good ones and the great ones, they go get the basketball. I give him a lot of credit: He said, ‘Coach I want the ball.’ That’s why I switched the play up. Go ahead, go get it. Can’t get denied. He got denied and just stopped. I told Dylan at the same time, if you can’t get it to him, you go. He kind of got stuck and ran out of time.”

Weekly MBB Awards | Big East

Jayden Epps, Georgetown, G, Jr. – Averaged 18.0 points, 2.5 assists and 2.0 steals in a 2-0 week. Had 21 points in a win against Creighton (81-57).

Thomas Sorber, Georgetown hang on to beat lowly Seton Hall | Field Level Media

With the win, Georgetown (10-2, 2-0 Big East) surpassed its win total from last season. The Pirates (5-8, 0-2), who only shot 29.9 percent Sunday, have lost four in a row. The win also snapped a seven-game losing streak for Georgetown against Seton Hall.

Coleman had a game-high 25 points for Seton Hall. The Pirates never led.

Georgetown opened the game with a 14-3 burst as Seton Hall started the game 1-for-9 from the floor. The lead grew to 23-11 when Jayden Epps converted on a drive.

Sorber was born in Trenton, but played his high school basketball in nearby Philadelphia. He was too good for the Pirates in the low post, especially in the first half, when he had 13 points.

Georgetown’s third win in nine days a sign of upward mobility for young Hoyas | Daly Dose of Hoops

Sorber has changed the trajectory of Georgetown’s program as a true freshman, and in his return to his home state of New Jersey, he delivered a team-high 19 points. He also grabbed eight rebounds and swatted four shots, making his presence felt on both ends. He doesn’t turn 19 until Christmas Day, but Cooley called Sorber “one of the best Christmas gifts (he’s) ever received.”

Sorber has helped Cooley build the program on the face of toughness and interior defense. His length and instincts have made life difficult for opposing offenses, and freed up the rest of the defenders to be more aggressive. After ranking outside the top 300 in defense last year, Georgetown is in the top 50 defensively right now. Sorber’s incredible presence has led the 16th-best 2-point defense in the country.

“My coaches are always telling me to not mind the physicality,” Sorber said. “They tell me before the game that they’re gonna be physical to me because they know who I am, so I just try to keep my head in the game.”