Throughout this storybook basketball season, Georgetown has shown again and again the importance of team effort. The patient Princeton offense outlasted the lightning-fast transition game of UNC. As the Hoyas prepare to take on Ohio State in Saturday’s semi-final, however, they will face a new challenge in a team whose parts are very similar to their own.
It will be a match-up between the country’s best big men, most efficient guards, and most promising up-and-coming coaches. Even as Georgetown impresses fans and analysts with the continuing success of its team-based system, Saturday will require that the Hoyas win the many individual battles on the court.
Junior guard Jonathan Wallace and his backcourt companion, sophomore Jessie Sapp, combined for 15 assists and only three turnovers against the Tar Heels. They are the leaders of the Princeton offense, and its success depends on their efficiency. Their Ohio State counterpart is a heralded freshman, Mike Conley Jr. Conley can get to the rim himself or feed his teammates, but what has set him apart all year is the calm leadership he has shown, even as a freshman. Despite this cool confidence, Conley is facing a combined five years of experience in Wallace and Sapp and a perimeter defense that held UNC’s star freshman guard Ty Lawson to five points last Sunday. Advantage: Georgetown.
A large part of the guard battle will be the ability of each to get the ball inside to the big men—junior center Roy Hibbert and State’s freshman phenom Greg Oden. This is another battle between talent and experience. Hibbert, a developmental player from the moment he arrived on the Hilltop, has come a long way in the past three years. He is a stronger passer in the post and has become more and more of a defensive force. Oden, on the other hand, is a far more athletic center, whose size and skills at both ends of the court are far beyond those of a typical freshman. These are not the tall power forwards that have dominated college basketball of late, but true low-post centers who require good entry passing from their guards to be successful. Hibbert and Wallace are playing their third season together, but Oden and Conley, high-school teammates, are going on year five. Advantage: Ohio State.
The final battle will be waged on the sidelines, between Ohio State Head Coach Thad Matta and Georgetown’s John Thompson III. Both coaches are in their third year with their respective teams, and both have proven to be very effective in the late stages of games. Matta’s greatest strength is his recruiting ability, scoring both Oden and Conley to go along with his other strong acquisitions Daequan Cook and David Lighty. Thompson, however, is the better game coach. Trailing by double digits to one of the best offensive teams in the country last Sunday, Thompson stayed with his system, and the Hoyas were able to score quickly within this framework to keep up with the Tar Heels. Advantage: Georgetown.
Ohio State will be the biggest test the Hoyas have had all season, but they have all the necessary tools to move on to the championship game. The Princeton offense makes Georgetown a special team, but in order to be effective against a talent factory like Ohio State, the Hoyas will need to win the one-on-ones battles within the framework of their system.
