Neworked: Georgetown Gets Routed by Seton Hall, 90-75

Your Georgetown Heart-Attack Hoyas didn’t so much as raise a pulse Wednesday night, getting run off the floor early and never really recovering en route to a 90-75 loss to Seton Hall. The Pirates had a decisive energy advantage from the jump, attacking the rim and raining from beyond the arc en route to 48 first-half points that established a lead that the Hoyas never really threatened. This loss drops the Hoyas to 15-10, 5-7 in conference ahead of a much-needed break.

There just wasn’t much good to say about tonight’s performance. After a few minutes and back-and-forth, Seton Hall rattled off a 17-2 run, creating a margin that would last for essentially the rest of the evening. Four Pirates scored in double figures on the evening, each chipping in during the decisive early push that put the game beyond reach.

Georgetown just didn’t match the hosts’ urgency. The Hoyas let the Pirates get pretty much whatever they wanted, yielding a scorching 1.3 points per possession on the evening. When Seton Hall did miss, the Pirates got nearly half of those rare bricks as offensive rebounds. 50-50 balls ended up in the hands of the home team time and again. Myles Powell, second in the conference in scoring, led the Pirates as usual Wednesday night, pouring in 30 points by getting to the rim and the line and hitting from beyond the arc.

The Hoyas’ offense actually was adequate. Jessie Govan, amid a typically lackluster defensive effort, scored 20 points on just 14 shots, while Greg Malinowski scored in double figures for the first time in over a month, amassing 16 points, nearly all in the second half, as Georgetown tried in vain to make it a game. The freshman guards combined to shoot just 2 of 11 while committing 6 turnovers, but the Hoyas could have made it a game had they lifted a finger on defense.

On the heels of a decisive win at Providence a week ago, the Hoyas’ last two games have been underwhelming. Both against Butler and at Seton Hall, Georgetown fell behind early, giving up hot starts to opposing offenses. In neither instance were the Hoyas able to climb out of that early hole. Wednesday night, Georgetown just couldn’t get enough stops to mount a serious comeback. A Hoya defense that had looked anywhere from fine to maybe good over the previous two weeks has looked porous of late.

Three losses in four games, in the midst of Georgetown’s toughest stretch of games, has adjusted the Hoyas’ outlook for the season. While they were previously flirting with the NCAA Tournament bubble, the Butler and Seton Hall losses, with dates against Villanova and at Creighton looming, make even a .500 finish in conference seem like a pipe dream.

Things change quickly. For now, the Hoyas look to be stuck in a mid-February swoon. But a home win in a rematch with the Wildcats, or a surprise upset in Omaha, could reset expectations yet again.