After a lethargic 2-6 stretch during the month of January, which culminated with a five-game losing streak, the now reinvigorated Georgetown men’s basketball team (13-9, 4-6 Big East) has rediscovered their winning ways. Bolstered by the strong play of senior guard Markel Starks and the return of junior guard Jabril Trawick, now recovered from a broken jaw, the Hoyas have indefinitely revived their NCAA Tournament hopes with their recent two wins.
This past Saturday, in a rare mid-season non-conference matchup at New York’s Madison Square Garden, the Hoyas used an all-around team effort to defeat No. 7 Michigan State (19-3, 8-1 Big Ten) in their second win this season against a Top 10 opponent. The loss ended the Blue and Gray’s five-game losing skid.
“You lose a couple in a row and life is hard. It’s hell,” Georgetown Head Coach John Thompson III said. “It’s a good win and I would feel that way regardless of the opponent the way we’ve been going.”
Starks led the Hoyas, who had five players tally at least eight points, with 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting. Starks also dished out four assists. Despite his shooting struggles, at 2-of-13, sophomore guard D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera found other ways to contribute, especially on the defensive end, with both a game-high eight rebounds and three steals.
“It’s a relief to get a win,” Starks said. “It feels good, finally.”
In increased minutes in his second game back from injury, Trawick also added eight points and effectively contained Michigan State sophomore guard Gary Harris on defense. Harris, the Big Ten Pre-Season Player of the Year, had to work hard for a game-high 20 points due to Trawick’s defensive toughness.
“You’re not going to beat Michigan State or any team in the Big East if you aren’t physically tough,” Thompson said. “You need to be tough enough to make the hustle plays, run down the loose balls, run down the long rebounds, and have communication on defense.”
As a unit, the Georgetown frontcourt played their best game in recent memory, as they out-rebounded the Spartans 37-30, including 15 offensive rebounds, and provided a much-needed scoring punch. Junior forward Mikael Hopkins scored 10 points and had a game-high four blocks, while Lubick scored eight points and pulled down six rebounds. Senior center Moses Ayegba also returned to the lineup after his perplexing one-game suspension by the NCAA due to “pre-enrollment reconciliation.”
“Today we got out-toughed. We got thrown around on the boards,” Michigan State Head Coach Tom Izzo said in frustration following his team’s loss. “We got posted up. I thought they manhandled us.”
Following their much-needed win in New York, Georgetown traveled to Chicago to resume Big East play this past Monday against conference cellar dweller DePaul (10-13, 2-8 Big East). The Hoyas’ strong second-half play propelled them over the DePaul Blue Demons in a convincing 71-59 win, which starts the Blue and Gray’s first winning streak of 2014. Starks, who was named to Big East Weekly Honor Roll prior to the contest, justified the award by scoring a game-high 26 points. Smith-Rivera also added 17 points and Lubick pulled down 10 rebounds.
Despite the win, Starks expressed disappointment with the team’s effort in the first half. The Hoyas entered halftime down 30-27 after a lackadaisical first half. The Blue and Gray shot an anemic 9-of-30 from the field, including 2-of-10 from three-point range, and seemed out of sorts at times on the defensive end.
“Don’t get me wrong. I don’t want to take away from the Michigan State win,” Starks said. “That was a great boost for us, but at the end of the day, we can’t come out and play like we did in the first half, regardless of how big that win was or what have you. Every game, every single day we’ve got to come out with that same intensity as we did in [the Michigan State] game.”
Trawick had his best game since returning from injury. In 28 minutes, Trawick scored 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Trawick’s intensity and determination at both ends of the floor help lift his teammates’ play in the second half.
“What Jabril brings to this team doesn’t always show up in the stat sheet,” Thompson said. “But he adds a whole new element, above and beyond just being able to rest other guys, I mean he brings an element to our team, and I’ve said it for two or three years now, our guys feed off his energy.”
The Hoyas will look to extend their winning streak when they return home to the Verizon Center this Saturday to face Butler (12-10, 2-8 Big East) at 1:00 p.m. They then will have a quick turnaround, as they oppose emerging league contender Providence (16-7, 6-4 Big East) on Monday night. Both these games will provide insight into whether the Hoyas are NCAA or NIT bound in March.
