Georgetown men’s basketball (13-15, 5-12 BIG EAST) descended to the second-to-last spot in the BIG EAST rankings after a blunderous loss against the Marquette Golden Eagles (10-18, 5-12 BIG EAST) on Wednesday, Feb. 24. Despite a standout performance by senior center Vince Iwuchuku, the Hoyas lost their momentum about 11 minutes into the game and failed to gain it back, resulting in a 76-60 loss.
The game started slow, but it became immediately clear that Iwuchuku was dominating the court. With two consecutive dunks and an impressive defensive performance, Iwuchuku seemed to set the pace for the Hoyas. He scored 15 of Georgetown’s 35 points in the first half, along with a block, three offensive rebounds, and a pair of defensive rebounds. He also had incredible accuracy, making seven out of nine field goals. Shot-success would quickly become an issue for Georgetown as the first half continued.
Photo by Sydney Carroll
Around the eleventh minute Marquette began to pick up the pace. However, senior guard Jeremiah Williams broke up a Golden Eagle fast break, turning it over to Iwuchukwu who scored a field goal. Junior guard KJ Lewis also had a great breakup and a steal under the net a few possessions later. Despite relative success on defense, the Hoyas began to have trouble following through on their shots, as several of those steals resulted in no points earned. Noticeably struggling was the typically solid junior guard Malik Mack, who made only two of ten shots in the first half, overshooting all three of his three-point attempts.
Marquette continued to pick up the pace, and Georgetown couldn’t keep up—the game seemed to swing in the Golden Eagles’ favor whenever Iwuchuku was benched. With five and a half minutes left in the half, Georgetown lost the lead for the first time after a shot by Marquette freshman guard Nigel James Jr. brought the Golden Eagles up 27-25. Over the next four and a half minutes, Marquette went on a 15-6 scoring run. Things only got worse from the Hoyas when Lewis remained on the ground after a crowded scuffle beneath the net, where it appears he fell on his ankle. Lewis was helped off the court and into the locker room, and it was announced at halftime that he would not return for the remainder of the game.
After the injury timeout, the frantic pace of the half continued, and both Cooley and his players appeared frustrated. Iwuchuku returned to the court and scored both a layup and a dunk, while Marquette responded with a three-pointer by freshman guard Adrien Stevens. The half ended with Marquette up 40-35 over the Hoyas.
Photo by Sydney Carroll
The Hoyas were the overall more accurate team in the half, shooting 48% from the field compared to Marquette’s 47%, and making four of five free throws compared to only two of four for Marquette. Georgetown also out-rebounded with 22 to Marquette’s 14. However, Georgetown only made one of 10 three-point attempts, while Marquette made six of 14. This disparity created a 15-point differential between the two teams in the first half.
The second half started strong with a three-pointer by Jeremiah Williams. The Golden Eagles responded with three of their own. From there, it seems that the Hoyas couldn’t catch a break. Strangely, both teams inadvertently launched the ball into the crowd multiple times, livening up the second half for at least some Hoya fans. Despite a clear effort, Georgetown wasn’t able to break through, and the Hoyas were down by nine points just five minutes into the half after a 15-8 scoring run by the Golden Eagles.
Their accuracy issues from the first half continued through the second half. Georgetown made just eight of 30 field goal attempts in the second half, a measly 26%. The Hoyas have not been a second-half team this season, and this game did not change the narrative. The tide did not seem to sway in Georgetown’s favor even once in the second half, with the team failing to build momentum and the players becoming visibly frustrated and drained.
Both teams had several sloppy turnovers—Georgetown had 15 total, with six in the second half, while Marquette had nine, four of which were in the second half. Several plays on both ends of the court looked more like a game of hot potato than basketball. With around ten minutes left in the half, a pass by Georgetown sophomore guard Kayvaun Mulready was batted down by Marquette sophomore forward Damarius Owens, recovered by James Jr., then knocked back down at the rim by Mulready, tipped backwards by Georgetown sophomore forward Jayden Fort, briefly skimmed by both Georgetown sophomore forward Isaiah Abraham and Marquette sophomore forward Caedin Hamilton, before finally landing in the hands of Marquette’s Stevens, who converted the saga into two points.
There were some bright spots for Georgetown—three pointers by Abraham and sophomore forward Caleb Williams, another dunk by Iwuchuku, and a generally fruitful time at the free throw line (a 75% success rate). However, with five minutes left in the game, James Jr. had a dunk that had the Marquette section of Capital One on their feet. From there, the deficit only grew. At the two-minute mark, Cooley called a timeout while Marquette’s players returned to the huddle, with a cheering visitor section behind them. Down 12 points, then 15, then 18, then 16, the clock slowly ticked down as the Hoyas seemed unable to muster up a last-minute surge. The game ended with a Georgetown loss, 76-60.
Photo by Sydney Carroll
In the post-game press conference, Cooley acknowledged that as much as Marquette beat Georgetown, the Hoyas also beat themselves.
“Where do you start?” Cooley said. “Credit to Marquette, I thought they were lackluster to come out, and I think we did everything to help them beat us.”
“The teams that want it the most are winning. And right now, it’s very disappointing that we’re not playing the way we should be playing at home. Having two league wins at home, back-to-back games where we were lackluster with our energy. [There is] really some soul searching in our locker room going on, definitely with myself,” he said. “There’s a lot of frustration, just around Hoya nation, but you know what, it’s part of what we do, we’ll rise above it, and we’ll prepare for the next game.”
Iwuchuku led the Hoyas with 19 points, and James Jr. led the game with 20. The Hoyas will play Xavier this Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati. The game will be available to stream on TNT and truTV.
