At one time the Georgetown men’s basketball program was feared throughout the country. Three consecutive Final Four appearances and a national championship in the mid-1980s left a fear of the hilltop in every opponent’s heart. Unfortunately, times have changed.
With a chance to surprise critics and re-establish their place among power national programs, the Hoyas lost two games against ranked opponents in three days, an 85-66 loss to Duke and 65-50 loss to Providence. After being totally dominated by top-ranked Duke and the 24-ranked Friars, Georgetown sees its chances to impress the NCAA tournament selection committee dwindling.
With a national TV audience and the first ever sold out Hoyas game at the MCI Center, Georgetown had a golden opportunity to rocket into national prominence by beating Duke on Saturday. While the team held even with the Blue Devils for the opening 10 minutes, Duke’s multiple offensive weapons eventually overpowered a smaller Hoyas squad. Simultaneously, the Blue Devils’ tenacious defense used their size advantage at each spot on the court to cause a number of Georgetown turnovers and missed shots on fast breaks. Sophomore forward Brandon Bowman paced the Hoyas with 19 points and 9 rebounds but was overwhelmed by Duke power forward Sheldon Williams, who finished with a season-high 26 points in only 25 minutes. Williams shot a remarkable 12-for-15 in the game and hit a devastating three point shot at the close of the first half that gave Duke a controlling 48-24 lead. With a deficit as large as their scoring output from the first half, the Hoyas headed to halftime searching for ways to halt the Duke scoring barrage.
Unfortunately, the team’s search for a more effective defensive strategy was fruitless. Blue Devil senior point guard Chris Duhon continued to distribute the ball on offense, hit key three pointers and frustrate Georgetown sophomore guard Ashanti Cook and junior Darrel Owens. “Chris Duhon was all over the floor,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “He’s had a terrific season and is our most important player.”
After a huge game with the winning dunk over St. John’s four days earlier, senior co-captain Courtland Freeman was shut down by Williams and sophomore forward Shavlik Randolph, who provided key minutes for the Blue Devils. Freeman was on the court for only 19 minutes in the game because of foul trouble and fouled out with over 12 minutes left in the game. “We run a lot of our offense through Courtland,” Georgetown coach Craig Esherick said. “It was smart for them to go inside and get him in foul trouble. When Courtland plays, we’re successful.”
Duke’s lead reached blowout proportions when it stretched to 60-30 early in the second half, and the chants of “twice your score” from raucous Blue Devil fans rubbed salt in the wounds of a once-proud Georgetown program. Krzyzewski replaced his starters with seldom used reserves with close to six minutes left in the game, and Georgetown was able to use easier looks against the lesser players to close their gap to the final 19 defeat after the game was essentially sealed.
Smarting from their blowout loss, Georgetown entered Providence’s Dunkin’ Donuts Center with new resolve to get their conference record back to .500 at 3-3. Additionally, after Providence’s upset of fourth ranked UConn, the Hoyas could gain some respect and attention by grabbing a win on the road. Again the team was able to start with hot shooting and even gained an early advantage over the streaking Friars. Unfortunately, Providence clamped down on defense and was able to shut off the Georgetown shooters, holding them to their second lowest first-half total of the season at 18 points. Using a unique trapping zone designed by Coach Tim Welsch, Providence caused numerous Georgetown turnovers and forced the team into hasty forced shots. At only 28 percent, the Hoyas shooting percentage was just over half of Providence’s. The Friars shot 52.2 percent for the half.
Gerald Riley broke out of his long scoring drought with a strong second half, but was unable to spark more than an early run for the Hoyas. After cutting the lead to nine early in the second half, Providence used balanced scoring from role players Donnie McGrath (18 points), Sheiku Kabba (15 points), and Dwight Brewington (12 points) to pull away from Georgetown. While shutting down the Friars’ potential all-American forward Ryan Gomes, the Hoyas were unable to get any scoring outside of Riley’s 22 points and Bowman’s consistent addition of 13. In the end, despite resuscitating Riley’s scoring and containing Gomes, Georgetown was forced to swallow another disappointing loss. “We just can’t make mistakes against a good team like this,” Riley said.
With their record plummeting back towards .500, the Hoyas will need a string of victories to put themselves into conference and national contention. After starting 10-0 with one of the nation’s easiest schedules, the team has struggled against tougher Big East conference opponents. With five losses in their past six games, the Hoyas will be desperate for a win Saturday at Miami. Georgetown will return home to face the Villanova Wildcats on Feb. 5. Tip off is set for 7:30 at the MCI Center.
