For a team that played its way out of an NCAA bid, the Georgetown men’s basketball team showed no signs of malaise as they throttled visiting Boston University 64-34 in Wednesday’s National Invitation Tournament first round. The Hoyas jumped on the Terriers early in the first half on the way to the blowout victory, matching a season-low in allowing only 34 points.
“We’re playing next week, and come next week, how many teams in the country are going to be playing?” Head Coach John Thompson III said. “You start off the year, you want to make it to the postseason. We’re here and we’re playing.”
Early on, Boston seemed intent on doing what Holy Cross did to Notre Dame on Tuesday night in another NIT first round game by walking into a better team’s arena and walking out with an upset victory. The Terriers, who led the America East Conference in scoring defense allowing just 54 points per contest, were tenacious early on. After being held scoreless for the game’s first two minutes, Georgetown opened the scoring on a baseline jam courtesy of Big East Rookie of the Year Jeff Green. Following a steal by first-year guard Jonathan Wallace, Green flushed another one down and drew the foul for an early 5-2 lead. He would finish with 17 points and seven rebounds.
Boston, however, struck back on a dunk by senior forward Rashad Bell to take a 9-7 lead with just under 13 minutes remaining. On the ensuing possession, senior swingman Darrel Owens nailed his first three-pointer of the game and the rout was on. He finished with 17 points on five-of-seven shooting from behind the arc. Boston would score just one field goal over the next eight minutes as the Hoyas went on a 25-2 run.
“We tried to play a little bit of zone and then they shot the ball well,” Boston University Head Coach Dennis Wolff said. “For us, though, when you can’t make shots, it becomes painful.”
Plainly put, it was eight minutes of beautiful basketball keyed by stellar defense, beginning with a huge block from junior forward Brandon Bowman that led to another Owens trifecta from the corner. Wallace followed with another steal and lay-up, and Green then caught a missile from Wallace before slamming it down and drawing the foul again. After starting the game four-of-11, Georgetown went on a tear, going 10-of-16, including eight points from junior guard Ashanti Cook.
“I was comfortable with the flow of the game,” Thompson said. “We just had to knuckle down, concentrate, and make some shots. It was not much of a tactical change.”
By the time the damage was done, Georgetown was looking at a 34-15 halftime lead, their first in the past nine games. The Terriers’ 15 points on only six field goals matched the lowest point-total Georgetown has allowed in a half this season. Additionally, Georgetown capitalized on every one of Boston’s seven first half turnovers, turning them into 17 points.
As the second half opened, the Hoyas showed no signs of letting up on the hapless Terriers. Green, who scored the Hoyas’ first five points of the game, opened the second half as well. From there it was the Darrel Owens Show as he scored eight consecutive Georgetown points to keep Boston at bay.
“Darrel is in a rhythm right now,” Thompson said. “He seems to make more shots when he’s doing other things. When he’s really guarding, the ball goes in. When he’s going after rebounds, the ball goes in. He makes shots when he’s not just focusing on making shots.”
The win marked Thompson’s first postseason win as a head coach. He was previously 0-3 in two NCAA appearances and one NIT appearance with Princeton. For the heralded first-years, the win was the first postseason win, and although it came in the NIT, the NCAAs cannot be too far off.
“The freshman and sophomores are going to benefit from this tournament,” Owens said. “They’re getting a little taste of what the postseason is like, so they have something to strive for to find out what the NCAA tournament is like.”
