LINKS: Georgetown’s Slow Start Against Seton Hall Was Brutal

The Georgetown Hoyas (3-5, 1-3) lost to the Seton Hall Pirates (6-4, 3-1), 67-78, and no one feels better about it the next day. Maybe Georgetown did have a chance to steal one if they had found better fortune with their early field goal attempts, but the Hoyas still allowed a lot of good looks to SHU.

The first half defensive stats were better for Georgetown, however, no one is praising the Hoyas’ defense as markedly improved in that period. Even if attributing Mamu’s neutralization to Pickett and the team’s efforts, letting Myles Cale and Jared Rhoden score career highs is inexcusable. The Pirates also benefited nicely from 6 assists (5 in the first half) by Bryce Aiken coming off the bench—the Harvard grad-transfer point guard many Hoyas fans thought would be perfect for GU.

All in all, SHU had only 9 turnovers, with Georgetown only scoring 5 points off of turnovers and 0 fast break points.

Long story short, a team that is destined to have stretches of poor shooting needs to be able to hang their hats on getting stops, converting turnovers, and getting to the line.

Attempting only one free throw during your first half scoring drought—while getting blocked 7+ times—reveals an offensive game plan that needed more flexibility.

Anyway, this loss was barely meriting my lousy game recap, but the Casual Hoya team has access to some awesome teal-jersey game photographs from SHU, so I figured I’d share some other articles on the game. Give them all a read.

Here are the links:

Georgetown’s struggles continue with a 78-67 loss at Seton Hall | WASHINGTONPOST

The Hoyas shot just 22.2 percent from the field in the first half as Seton Hall center Ike Obiagu blocked seven shots. He had nine blocks in the game.

“That hurt us a lot,” Ewing said about the interior defense. “[Obiagu] affected our game in the first half. “And then we’ve got to just step up and make shots.”

Seton Hall Coach Kevin Willard said his team’s defensive effort set the tone, noting the plan was to run Georgetown’s shooters off the three-point line and filter them toward Obiagu. Willard said the Hoyas then got hesitant around the rim. Pickett’s shooting struggles continued for a third straight game. The senior, a key part of the Hoyas’ attack, made just 3 of 13 attempts, finishing with eight points.

Seton Hall basketball: Myles Cale takes charge in win over Georgetown | APP

Impressive Obiagu ... You’d be hard-pressed to find a player in Division I who impacted a game without scoring more than junior center Ike Obiagu. The 7-footer finished with four points, nine rebounds and nine blocks. He altered fistfuls of additional Hoyas shots. And he looked mean doing it — something that hasn’t always been the case.

“Guys did a good job paying attention to the scouting report; we really wanted to chase them off the 3-point line and send them into Ikey,” Willard said. “Ikey is continuing to get better and better. Those (Georgetown) guys, they got a little hestitant getting around the rim and that’s what you want.”

Georgetown is bad ... Yes, a big-time recruiting class is on the way. But the Hoyas looked abysmal, shooting 22 percent in the first half, missing tons of open looks and turning the ball over left and right.

Myles Cale, Jared Rhoden notch career-highs as Seton Hall routs Georgetown, heads into holiday break feeling upbeat | NJ

Myles Cale and Jared Rhoden got going early, Ike Obiagu had a block party and Seton Hall overcame a poor scoring game from star Sandro Mamukelashvili to roll over Georgetown in their final game before the holiday break. Cale went off for a career-high 30 points on 10-of-16 shooting and Rhoden tied his career-best with 26 points and a career-high 12 rebounds as the Pirates prevailed, 78-67, at Prudential Center. Seton Hall improved to 6-4, 3-1 in the Big East heading into the holidays. Cale, who shot 5-of-9 from deep, had a previous career-high of 23.

Sluggish start dooms the Hoyas in loss to Seton Hall - The Georgetown Voice | GEORGETOWNVOICE

Over the course of the game, it was obvious that Seton Hall’s depth overwhelmed Georgetown’s inability to execute in the halfcourt offensively. The Hoyas once again had trouble guarding the three-point line, as Cale and Rhoden combined for 8-16 shooting from beyond the arc. On offense, Georgetown lacks consistent creators, which led to an abysmal first half in terms of shooting and a second half where the Hoyas could not sustain a run to get back into the game. It didn’t help that Obiagu amassed nine blocks in the game, rejecting any hopes of offense inside the paint.

“We don’t have a guy that we can throw the ball to go get me a bucket,” said Ewing. “We have to be able to do it as a team. We’re gonna have to move people around. Ball movement, body movement, and then take your shots and make your shots when you have them.”

Hoyas Fall At Seton Hall in Last Game of 2020 - Thompson’s Towel | THOMPSONSTOWEL

Eight out of the nine Hoyas who saw the floor managed to score, but none of them were able to do so consistently and efficiently, with Jamari Sibley being the only player to shoot over 50%, going 2-3.

While the offense finally showed up to the party, defensively the Hoyas were unable to ever effectively stop Seton Hall’s offense led by Myles Cale and Jared Rhoden. The two guards continued to make shots down the stretch, extinguishing any chances Georgetown may have had of drawing back within striking distance.

In the postgame press conference, Coach Ewing specifically lamented the team’s difficulties defending beyond the three-point line, stating “we need to run them off the three-point line and make them put the ball on the floor.” Ewing’s comments were not unwarranted as Seton Hall shot 62.5% from behind the arc in the second half.