Feel free to add a “Refs Grade” in the comments
The Georgetown Hoyas came up short in their first road test of the season at West Virginia. The 73-60 final score doesn’t reflect how close this game was. This was back and forth until about the seven-minute mark of the second half, and they added a flurry late in garbage time. There was plenty to like in this game. And there’s quite a lot to like about this team generally. I really think they are headed in a good direction. But none of that matters. without wins.
Let’s dive in.
Malik Mack – B
WVU: 10pts, 4-14 28% FG, 2-6 33% 3PT, 0-0 FT, 3 REB, 2 AST, 3 STL, 3 TOV, 39 MIN
Malik was solid in this one. A few more made shots, and I think this is easily an A performance, but his last bucket came with more than 7 minutes left in the game. The Hoyas need him to be more efficient and more active. He has been in previous games, feeling things out early and scoring late. He just didn’t have the scoring push. I thought he was excellent on defense. He and Jayden had a tough matchup, with Cooley electing to have them trade off chasing Tucker DeVries around screens (I thought this would have been the clear Micah matchup, but more on that below). Malik (and Jayden) did a nice job, and they were able to make DeVries uncomfortable for most of the game before he got hot late in the game. Overall, Mack’s performance was very solid, but it was not quite enough offense in a tough road environment.
Jayden Epps – B
WVU: 17pts, 6-14 42% FG, 3-9 33% 3PT, 2-2 FT, 3 REB, 1 AST, 2 TOV, 35 MIN
A very solid effort from Jayden. He had a bit more scoring punch than Malik, but a couple of possessions started with Jayden dribbling and ended with Jayden chucking a three without anyone else getting a touch. Those were a staple last year, and he’s done better in reducing those possessions. The few he had in this game just came at really bad times. You can understand the idea. The team goes on a scoring drought,t and Jayden is looking to get a big bucket that his team needs. It’s not necessarily the thought but the process. I’d much rather he call for a pick and roll or give the ball up and relocate to try and get it moving. The iso, off-the-dribble stuff is just not a good shot, and it doesn’t help the offense. I thought, like Malik, he was very good defensively. He got beat a couple of times because of size, but his effort to stay in front and chase DeVries off screens when it was his turn was impressive. If these two guards keep up that defensive intensity and focus, this team can be the best version of themselves.
Micah Peavy – D
WVU: 4pts, 2-7 28% FG, 0-2 3PT, 0-0 FT, 5 REB, 2 AST, 1 BLK, 3 TOV, 40 MIN
Yikes. I don’t like giving out grades this low unless there’s clearly an effort issue, but this was how bad Micah was in this game. It was an outlier, as he has been excellent this year, but there were just way too many mistakes from him. The lack of offensive production is one thing. I expect that to be a little inconsistent, but he made way too many loud and untimely errors. For example, right after Sorber’s fourth foul that swung the game, Micah got beat back in transition and gave up a transition layup. He was trying to organize the defense (which is great) but was just not running hard and didn’t recognize the player on his wing (which is not). That sequence was probably the nail in the coffin for Georgetown. And there were a lot of those. He just didn’t look locked in at all. Zero steals indicate that, as he’s been a machine at forcing steals this year. He had a very difficult defensive assignment – starting out on WVU’s lead ball handler and penetration threat, Small, and switching onto DeVries when he started getting hot. Cooley is asking him to do a lot on the defensive end, but he seems up to the task. This is just a throwaway game for him. It’s a shame that it came in their first real road test, but hopefully, he will respond against Cuse.
Drew Fielder – B
WVU: 8pts, 3-6 50% FG, 1-4 25% 3PT, 1-2 FT, 8 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 2 TOV, 25 MIN
Drew was very good early in this game. As he has previously, he fell off a bit in the second half, and ultimately, Cooley went away from him. I would have probably stuck with him more, given how he helps connect the offense, but I don’t have much of an issue with the rotation. I think he’s getting more comfortable in his role; he had a couple of nice cuts in the first half of this game that came off nice reads. His rebounding continues to be surprising and excellent. He just needs to shoot better. It’s getting there. He looks better than he did early in the year, but it’s not reliable. The pick and pop with him is a legit action that defensive struggle to cover because of Mack’s ability to get into the lane and the threat of Sorber on the baseline. That pick-and-pop three is available any time they want it. He just has to knock it down.
Thomas Sorber – B-
WVU: 13pts, 4-9 44% FG, 1-2 3PT, 4-4 FT, 4 REB, 3 AST, 1 BLK, 3 TOV, 27 MIN
When he was on the floor, he was great. He showed everything you wanted to see in his first real test against legit, high-major competition (he was sick for ND, so that doesn’t really count). He just wasn’t able to stay on the floor enough. He definitely got a tough whistle. One ref, in particular, appeared not to be a fan, but this looked like inexperience to me. His first foul was the worst. He just cleared out Amani Hansberry with a two-hand shove to the back. The two were battling,g and Hansberry was giving as good as he was getting, but that’s going to be called 10 times out of 10 and being able to create the space with his body and not hands is something that will come with more experience. His fourth foul was an absolutely egregious call, but you open yourself up to those when you give away fouls early. Still, they called a moving screen because the WVU player ran into Sorber’s leg and tripped. It was an awful call. If he’s able to stay on the floor, I think the Hoyas would have had a shot, but you also saw how much they miss Halaifanoua. Even though he is raw, when they went small with Sorber off the floor, it was a disaster. Perhaps most encouraging, and there was a lot to like from Thomas, he hit a monster three late in the game that they had to have. It didn’t end up helping, but it was a clutch shot. If he were able to stay on the floor, this would easily be a full letter grade higher. He was that good when he was out there.
Jordan Burks – C
WVU: 2pts, 1-3 33% FG, 0-1 3PT, 0 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 1 BLK, 1 TOV, 15 MIN
I don’t think Jordan was bad in this one. He just showed some limitations. Those minutes were a disaster, particularly when the Hoyas went small with a frontcourt of him + either Peavey or Fielder. He’s much more comfortable on the wing and just looked uncomfortable when asked to play up in size, particularly on the defensive end.
Caleb Williams – B+
WVU: 6pts, 2-5 40% FG, 2-3 66% 3PT, 3 REB, 0 AST, 1 BLK, 0 TOV, 12
I absolutely love this kid. I’m giving him a B+ because they ultimately lost, but I think he was one of the best Hoyas on the floor relative to his role. It’s so refreshing to watch a kid who just knows how to play. He does all the little things right, and it was nice to see him get rewarded with a couple of big threes. One of which, like Sorber, came late on a shot that the Hoyas had to have. He looks more comfortable with every passing minute. His shot looked good in this game, and not everyone’s did. He can be a solid if not elite, set shooter from the corner and wing. Fire away, Caleb. And keep doing everything else you’re doing.
Curtis Williams – INC
WVU: 0pts, 3 REB
I thought Curtis gave them a good few minutes and didn’t make many mistakes.
Offense – C- Currently ranked 123rd in Off. efficiency per KenPom (previously 108th)
WVU: 89.6 Off. Rating, 45% eFG, 33% 3PT (27 att.), 36.4% AST Rate
The offense definitely did some good things in this one. Ultimately, I think poor shooting sunk them. This is the clear sticking point for this time. They are 304th in the nation in three-point percentage (29.2%) and last in the BE. Their offense is self-aware – they are not forcing threes (37.5% of their shots are from three – below the national average of 39.5%), but you just can’t be under 30% as a team and win much. Are they better shooters than that? I think so, but probably not much better. Their shots in this game frequently missed on the back rim, an indication to me that they were a little nervous and overly amped up in their first road game. I think they can shoot better than the 33% they managed in this game. I am just not sure it will be that much better – 35% is probably a good target for them (which is probably one to two more made threes). Their challenge is that their highest volume three-point shooters – Epps and Mack – are also inconsistent, particularly Jayden, a career 30% three-point shooter. They have other guys who I think can shoot it but need open looks (Fielder, Sorber, Caleb, etc.). They need to focus on paint threes – that is, threes coming off of either dribble penetration or the ball getting into the paint. They, like most teams, are much more effective on those shots. I think they have some opportunity there with Malik’s ability to get into the lane and Fielder’s pick-and-pop potential. We also saw Sorber draw some double teams in this game. Teams will continue to do more of this, and Sorber has the skills to pass out of those to an open shooter. The Hoyas need to be better at reversing the ball off those actions to find open shooters on the weak side. That will help significantly.
Defense – B+ Currently ranked 75th in Def. efficiency per KenPom (previously 87th)
WVU: 109 Def Rating, 53% eFG, 13.7% TOV Rate, 79.2% DRB Rate
Something about giving an A in a loss doesn’t feel right, but I am hard-pressed to find much that they didn’t do well defensively. It’s been years since a Georgetown defense has bothered an opponent. Even during stretches of good defense, it’s mostly been them just getting by. WVU was bothered by Georgetown’s defense in this game. I do think there were a few individual mistakes here and there and a couple of bad transition possessions that could be cleaned up, but this was the best defensive game from a Hoya team in I genuinely don’t know how long. The scheme was interesting – as I noted, Cooley largely had Jayden and Malik on DeVries, with Micah taking the primary ball handler, Javon Small. This was smart as Devries is primarily a perimeter, movement shooter despite his size, and Micah is by far the Hoyas’ best on-ball defender. On top of this base scheme, they peppered in some zone (that looked as good as we’ve seen from the Hoyas) and flipped the matchups once DeVries started to get hot/figured out he could post up the smaller defenders. The players executed well. The only real hiccups came when the Hoyas went small – guys looked a little out of sorts on where to be. If the Hoyas continue to play defense like they did in this one, they will win more than their currently projected seven conference games. I am wary of being hyperbolic, but I was absolutely floored by the defense they played in this game. It was great. And it kept this game much closer than the final score indicates – WVU scored at least eight points during garbage time in the final minute or so.
Next Week
Juice ‘Cuse. Georgetown heads to Syracuse with probably their best chance to beat Syracuse since 2021 and the first time at Syracuse since 2016 (A team with a starting unit of LJ Peak, Rodney Pryor, Jessie Govan, Akoy Agau and Jagan Mosely). KenPom has Syracuse ranked 99th and projects this game as a two-point Cuse win, which means the Hoyas would be favored on a neutral floor. Syracuse is fresh off a win against old friend Albany (102-85). I would point out that Georgetown beat the Danes by 32. This is another decent matchup for Georgetown. Syracuse will test the Hoyas’ top 25-rated two-point defense. Syracuse is almost last (353rd) in three-point attempt rate, and they somehow shoot a worse percentage than the Hoyas (27.3%). ‘Cuse is driven by Jyare Davis, who should earn the Peavey matchup (we need a big bounceback from him) and big Eddie Lampkin, who will be an excellent test for Sorber. I am hopeful Georgetown is a little more comfortable coming off their first road test and can execute their offense against an OK, but certainly not great, Syracuse defense. This is as shockingly winnable as an away rivalry game gets. Famous last words, right?