Positive Postgame Prognosis: Liberty

Despite the fact that this game was over as soon as the Hoyas went on a 17-0 run to open up a 13 point lead early in the first half, the Negative Nancy's over at HoyaTalk have already declared the season over and this team incapable of achieving anything this season. I'm here to tell you that's far from the case. This team will continue to get better throughout the year. Now let's break down the game against the Flames.

Transition Scoring:
The Hoyas showed even more of a transition game against Liberty than against Duquesne. The Hoyas officially got 14 points in transition against Liberty, which I think slightly underestimates the number but is still more than the Hoyas have scored in this area in prior years. The Hoyas were very good at picking their spots and only had 9 turnovers all game.

Defending the Paint:
The Hoyas held the Flames completely scoreless from the paint in the first half and limited them to 16.7% offensive rebounding. At the end of the game Liberty had only managed to grab 6 offensive rebounds (4 individual 2 team) and 10 points in the paint.

First Half domination:
The Hoyas dominated this game in the first half with their starters. The Hoyas had a 16 point lead at the half posting an offensive rating of 130.4 and a defensive rating of 79.5. When the Hoyas used their bench more in the second half, the domination waned, but the first half was much more indicative of the level of this team. Georgetown posted a eFG% of 63.5%, a TO rate of only 9.5% a block rate of 14.3%, a steal rate of 15.9%, forced the Flames into a 35.7% turnover rate and as mentioned above limited them to 16.7% offensive rebounding. Those are all very good numbers.

Player Evaluations:

Markel Starks:
While starks had a quiet game in terms of scoring he actually had a much bigger impact than most people realize. His team leading 4 assists was really responsible for 11 points. Starks lead the team in +/- the Hoyas were +26 with Starks on the court.

Jabril Trawick:
Another state line where he managed to contribute in all the important categories. Jabril had 5 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 block, 1 steal, and no turnovers. He also posted a team high offensive rating of 167.3 and a very good defensive rating of 73.1.

Greg Whittington:
I don't think you need me to tell you how great Greg was - the 18 point, 9 rebound, 4 assist, 2 steal, 1 block, and 0 turnover stat line kind of speaks for itself. Greg actually ran the offense at points against Liberty and looked very good doing so. He showed his impressive offensive arsenal hitting midrange jumpers, driving to the hoop, scoring off of offensive rebounds, and in transition. An impressive 141.1 Offensive rating and 73.5 defensive rating, team leading +10.2 in net points and a +16 in +/-, so yeah he was pretty good.

Nate Lubick:
13 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists. Nate continues to impress with his grit and tenacity. Nate had a very efficient game going 4-6 from the field and 5-6 from the line. A solid 119.8 offensive rating coupled with a respectable 85.5 defensive rating coupled with +14 shows Nate had another quality outing.

Mikael Hopkins:
Hopkins showed improvement over his Duquesne performance. Hopkins was second on the team in +/- as the Hoyas were +20 with him on the court. He also posted an Offensive efficiency of 100.6 and a team leading defensive rating of 63.0. He was also second on the team in net points at +7.4. Hopkins tied his career high 13 points but did it on a more efficient 4-8 from the field than his 5-12 from the Duquesne game. Mikael also chipped in 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, and 3 steals.

D'Vauntes Smith Rivera:
He once again showed why he's such a dynamic scorer. His impressively used his body control to draw contact on the fast break for an and one basket and showed the ability to get into the lane in addition to hitting jumpers in the mid range and beyond the arc. Another double digit scoring game for the freshman.

Stephen Domingo:
Scored his first points as a Hoya ending with 5 points in the game. He also impressively had 3 assists and grabbed a steal for good measure. Also posted a solid 115 offensive rating.

Aaron Bowen:
Was given ample playing time. He grabbed 17% of available defensive rebounds.

Moses Ayegba:
In limited time managed to also grab 17% of available defensive rebounds and block 1 of the 4 shots that were attempted while he was in the game.

John Caprio:
The Human Victory Cigar got into the game signaling a Hoya Victory.

Bradley Hayes:
While Hayes did nothing but foul when he got into the game the fact that he got in at all suggests there is some hope for him this season. He was a late bloomer in both senses of the word. He spouted from guard size to 7' over the course of a year and missed a year of high school competition as his body caught up. He did show solid quickness while in the game. He certainly has a lot of potential with his mobility and size.

With 4 days off between games look for the Hoyas to rectify a lot of their early short comings and be improved in time for the step-up in competition. There are still areas to improve on but the Hoyas are showing a lot of potential playing without leader Otto Porter. The Hoyas hope to have the dynamic forward back for the UCLA game, but have proven to be very capable even in his absence.