LINKS: Georgetown Visits Seton Hall on Wednesday Night

The Georgetown Hoyas (3-4, 1-2) will venture to New Jersey to play the Seton Hall Pirates (5-4, 2-1) on Wednesday night (5PM) for their second away BIG EAST game of the season.

After yesterday’s big news, it’s hard to shift focus back to this season. Hopefully no one will hold it against this humble blog contributor that the site was lacking a “links” post after the St. John’s loss, but the game was a tough pill to swallow. Not to sound like a broken record, however, there are only so many quotes from articles that don’t bluntly reiterate that Georgetown’s perimeter defense, especially in the first half, was abysmal. Facing a beatable-but-desperate team back-to-back over final exam week is really a poor draw but that’s really not an excuse. A typically 30% 3PT shooting team hitting 40% for 10 minutes is some hot shooting—shooting 10-19 in a first half indicates a breakdown.

Still, it’s fixable. The Hoyas can learn from the pressure and runs in a BIG EAST road loss. Hopefully losing to the Johnnies means Ewing will have a better chance of beating St. John’s when the Hoyas inevitably face them in the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament.

As for Seton Hall, the Pirates are looking solid again this year and Georgetown will likely have their hands full with Sandro Mamukelashvili, their 6’11” senior forward who averages 20 ppg and 7 rebounds. He’s made a big minutes and scoring jump from his junior year. He starts alongside 7’2” junior center Ike Obiagu (5.9 ppg) and three guards. Their front-court size doesn’t necessarily limit their game plan.

SHU attempts about 20 three-pointers per game and hits about 36% of them. Mamu (34%) and senior guard Myles Cale (40.5%) will lead the charge from the arc with about 4 or 5 attempts per game, but Shavar Reynolds (55%, 2.2 3PA per game), Takal Molson (35%, 2.2 3PA), or even Rhoden (29%, 3.8 3PA) could heat up if left alone more than once. Perhaps highly touted grad transfer from Harvard, Bryce Aiken, gets more minutes and makes an impact for the first time this season after dealing with an ankle sprain.

Here are the links:

Hoyas Set for Wednesday Contest at Seton Hall | GUHoyas

The Pirates average 76.6 ppg while shooting at a 45.7 percent clip. Their opponents are scoring 71.3 ppg and shooting 43.3 percent from the floor.

Sandro Mamukelashvili is scoring 20.0 ppg, which ranks third in the BIG EAST. Jared Rhoden (14.6 ppg) and Myles Cale (10.7 ppg) are also in double figures. Mamukelashvili and Rhoden lead the squad with 7.1 rpg. Shavar Reynolds Jr. is dishing out 5.0 apg...

Sunday will be the 111th all-time meeting between Georgetown and Seton Hall, with the Hoyas holding a 59-51 series advantage.

Georgetown has dropped the last three games to the Pirates, with Seton Hall winning both matchups last year, taking a 78-62 win in Newark before edging the Hoyas 78-71 at Capital One Arena.

Patrick Ewing, Jimmy Jackson tout Seton Hall’s ‘Mamu’ as a future NBA player | NJ.com

Ahead of Wednesday’s Georgetown-Seton Hall game at Prudential Center (5 p.m., FS1), Ewing was asked by NJ Advance Media his thoughts on “Mamu’s” NBA potential.

“Oh definitely, he probably will be an NBA player,” the former Knicks legend and Naismith Hall of Famer said Tuesday on a Zoom call, “He can shoot it, he can handle it, he’s tall, he’s athletic so all the things that NBA teams are looking for, he definitely fits that mold.”

The 6-foot-11 Mamukelashvili has been playing a point forward role, averaging 20.0 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists for Seton Hall (5-4, 2-1 Big East), which is coming off an 80-77 overtime loss to Providence on Sunday at Prudential Center.

5 observations from Seton Hall’s overtime loss to Providence: Mamu takes the blame, integrating Bryce Aiken, more | NJ.com

Sandro Mamukelashvili entered as the Big East’s third-leading scorer at 20 points per game, but had just three points at the half when Seton Hall led 40-38. He finished with 20 points, six rebounds and six assists but blamed himself for not being more aggressive earlier.

“It happens, it was that type of day where shots were not falling,” he said. “I couldn’t get no easy looks because they had a great defensive scheme. I should’ve tried to get going earlier but it happens and I’m just proud of my teammates because even though I was not playing good, they stepped up....and helped me get in a groove because they were doing their part.”

Pirates coach Kevin Willard knows opponents are going to key in on “Mamu,” and wants him to be more aggressive earlier.

Georgetown, Seton Hall aim to overcome tough losses | SI

Georgetown (3-4, 1-2 Big East) lost 94-83 at St. John’s on Sunday after beating the Red Storm in a 97-94 overtime thriller on Dec. 13 in Washington, D.C.

The Pirates (5-4, 2-1) squandered a nine-point lead in the second half against Providence and had their four-game winning streak snapped. They forced overtime when Sandro Mamukelashvili scored the Pirates’ last six points of regulation, including a three-point play on a drive down the right side with eight seconds left.

Seton Hall and Georgetown Meet Wednesday Night at Prudential Center | SHU Pirates

Seton Hall will look to head into the holiday break on high note Wednesday night when it hosts Georgetown in old school BIG EAST action. This is the 111th all-time meeting between the two programs; the Pirates and Hoyas are two of four schools who have been BIG EAST members all 42 seasons.

The Pirates have a chance to start 3-1 or better in the BIG EAST for the fourth straight season and fifth time in the last seven seasons. They’re also hoping to continue a recent trend of success against the Hoyas, which includes wins in nine of the last 11 meetings and five wins in a row at Prudential Center.

Basketball Big East Preview Primer: vs Seton Hall Pirates | Anonymous Eagle

The good news is that Seton Hall’s defense is actually less turnover prone than Creighton’s is, at least so far [after 7 games] this season. It’s safe to say that [opponents] should be able to control that issue against the Pirates. Still, Shavar Reynolds will have to be contended with, as the 6’2” senior guard currently ranks #226 in the country in steal rate.

Defending the three-point line is going to be an intriguing proposition for [opponents]. Seton Hall is currently knocking down 35.5% of their long balls while attempting a fewer amount of them that they tried a year ago... Mamukelashvili is hitting his shots. However, Myles Cale and Jared Rhoden are not. Those are the only other two SHU players averaging more than three attempts from behind the three-point line per game, and both men are not getting it done.