HEAT CHECK: Hoyas Have Hope on Hinkle Hardwood

The Georgetown Hoyas have had some pretty good luck at Hinkle Fieldhouse when facing the Butler Bulldogs and Hoyas fans could use some time watching good shooting right now.

Patrick Ewing’s teams have not lost in Hinkle and over the past 7 years the Hoyas are 6-1 when visiting Butler. A quick look at the percentages indicates that Georgetown shoots the ball well in Hinkle Fieldhouse, which may go a long way for a team who struggles with consistency, to say the least.

Each performance at Butler, below, has its own top shooters from inside and outside the arc, but there appears to be a general commonality in Georgetown’s offensive performances against Butler: high percentages. Whether this extends to all Butler games is something to look into another time, but Butler’s defense and preferred tempo are certainly contributing factors.

Still, it’s hard to deny that Georgetown’s shooters like D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera, L.J. Peak, Rodney Pryor, Marcus Derrickson, Jessie Govan, and Greg Malinowski have demonstrated that Hoyas can be timely heroes at the Hinkle Fieldhouse itself.

Do players better see the hoop with the gym’s different depth? Is there some Hoosier-Hoya-Hinkle-magic? Did Indiana-native DSR share some tips with the squad? Will not having the usual crowds affect the shooting? Which game stands out in your memory?

February 15, 2020: 73-66 (Recap)

January 2, 2019: 84-76

February 13, 2018: 87-83

January 28, 2017: 85-81

February 2, 2016: 76-87

March 3, 2015: 60-54

January 11, 2014: 70-67

Last year, Georgetown turned in a gutsy performance against Butler, where the Hoyas made 10 of their (only) 15 attempts from beyond the arc:

The Georgetown Hoyas (5-7) beat the #19 Butler Bulldogs (7-6) in Indiana on Saturday afternoon, 73-66, with another day of solid shooting at Hinkle Fieldhouse and a lot of heart. Georgetown was 10-15 from three-point land and 25-48 overall from the field. Despite not playing McClung or Yurtseven, the Hoyas stole one in Indiana.

The Hoyas worked hard to find the open man on every possession, and fought for every good look the stout Butler defense gave them. Terrell Allen led with 22 points on 9-14 from the floor and a perfect 4-4 from beyond the arc. Blair scored 16 points on 4-10 shooting (3-6 3PT) and 5 of 6 free throws. Mosely played 40 minutes, along with Blair and Allen, and scored 8 points on 2-4, with 4 free throws down the stretch. Pickett made 3 of his 4 threes and was 4-10 from the floor for 12 points, along with 6 rebounds. Georgetown made 25 of only 48 field goal attempts (52.1%) but remarkably nailed 10 of 15 threes (66.6%).

Two years ago, Greg Malinowski had the game of his life against Butler while Mac McClung sat out. Other years include two or more players hitting at a high percentage, so perhaps a healthy tandem of Jahvon Blair and Donald Carey, plus maybe Dante Harris letting it fly is the recipe this year. Jamorko Pickett shot 3-4 from three last year, but prior to that last visit, Pickett was only 2-12 from the field (2-9 3PT) in his career at Hinkle (2 games).

We’ll see if the Hoyas can continue their hot shooting at Hinkle on Wednesday. We can hope, right?