Georgetown men’s basketball (13-8, 4-6 BIG EAST) was completely unwatchable in a blowout loss to the No. 15 St. John’s Red Storm (18-3, 9-1 BIG EAST) at Capital One Arena on Jan. 28. With the Hoyas on a 1-5 skid and in desperate need of a win, they put up no fight in an embarrassing loss to their conference rival.
It’s never easy to beat a top-15 team in the country, especially one that stands atop your conference in wins. But one thing you absolutely cannot do if you’re going to try to win one is let them get up early.
Well, that’s exactly what happened in this one.
In a game that was never close, the Johnnies landed two early killshots (runs of 10-0 or more) as the Hoyas couldn’t take care of the ball, falling into an early 23-3 hole by the under-8 media timeout. The Hoyas simply could not get going on either end of the floor, turning the ball over five times before they were able to even make their second shot. I wish I could give you a silver lining, but the reality is that, to my eyes, there was not a single thing the Hoyas did well in the first half. On defense, they failed to get any stops or even force a tough shot. On offense they played selfishly and paid the price for it, starting 7-30 from the field and entering the half with just one assist to six turnovers. By halftime the advantage was 47-21 St. John’s, but that scoreline undersold the gap in play, with the Johnnies nearly completely emptying their bench and getting guys who had not seen many minutes in BIG EAST play on the floor.
Graduate guard Kadary Richmond led the game with 11 points on 5-of-6 from the field as St. John’s shot 62 percent from the field in the first half, while sophomore guard Malik Mack led the Hoyas with nine points at the break.
To open the second, freshman forward Thomas Sorber scored back-to-back baskets and Drew Fielder hit a triple as a part of a Hoyas 8-0 run to start the half. That would be about it though, as the two teams would battle to a near draw for the next ten or so minutes.
While the Hoyas looked lifeless for much of the first half, at least they looked like they belonged on the floor in the second. With just six-and-a-half minutes to go, Sorber hit a free-throw to get the deficit down to 15, but with such little time left on the clock, there really wasn’t much hope for the home team. In the end, the Hoyas would lose by a score of 66-41.
Mack, Richmond and St. John’s junior forward Zuby Ejiofor led the game with 13 points apiece as the Hoyas shot a putrid 14-57 from the field.
Next, the Hoyas continue their hunt for a win, staying at home Jan. 31 to take on the Butler Bulldogs (9-11, 2-7 BIG EAST) at 6:30 p.m. EST on FS1. For continued coverage and updates on Georgetown sports, follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter.
