The questions surrounding the departures of James Akinjo and Josh LeBlanc have ripped a bandage off the first two seasons of the Hoyas under Ewing and has more than a few people asking how he will hold this team aloft with a depleted lineup and the loss of its two best defenders.
Were this a safe home game to build back the team, this would be one thing, but the circumstances could not be more challenging. Georgetown goes on the road for a pair of games beginning at Oklahoma State, arguably the hottest team in the nation not named Michigan. The Cowboys (7-0) are on a roll after a sweep of the Pre-Season NIT tournament. In the opener, the Cowboys defeated Syracuse 86-72, holding the Orangemen to 33 percent shooting and just 19 rebounds. The next evening, OSU routed Ole Miss, 78-37, holding the Rebels to 15 first half points and 25 percent shooting on the evening.
OSU has dominated defensively. It has allowed just one opponent this year a shooting mark of 40 percent or better and no tam better than 31 percent from three. The defense has covered over some flaws with weak rebounding and inconsistent free throw shooting which may be a factor in close games, but if the opponent can't shoot, it's not likely to be close. OSU will also see limited action from grad transfer Jonathan Laurent, most recently at UMass, and by freshman twins Kayleb and Keylan Boone, averaging 8.0 points per game between them.
"It demoralized Ole Miss, which...made just 1 of 20 3-pointers and turned the ball over 20 times, wrote The Oklahoman. "It started and finished with defense," said OSU coach Mike Boynton.
Ranked fourth nationally in both field goal defense and three point defense, Oklahoma State will bring the heat. Georgetown needs to replace 20 points a game and get a lot of defense from its bench, which hasn't been in sight outside of Madison Square Garden this season. The sooner the Hoyas find themselves, the better.
OSU does not go deep but its starting lineup is all back from last season. Georgetown must start with point guard Isaac Likekele, whose 26 points in the win over Syracuse was a career high. While not a prolific shooter, his 56 percent average is very strong, and at five assists per game he is the driver of the Cowboys' offensive sets. Defensively, he has forced 20 steals in seven games and a healthy 5.3 rebounds a game at 6-4. With a 8 point pre game average as a freshman, Likekele is, well, likely to build upon this as a sophomore with good shot selection and improving his three point volume, with just two threes so far this season.
The Cowboys will look to 6-4 Thomas Dziagwa to focus his attention on shot selection, with just 9 of his last 24 from the field. A 42 percent three point shooter in 2018-19, Dziagwa hasn't caught fire this season but is capable of doing so. A perfect 9-9 from the line this season, he was a 90 percent shooter at the line last season.
The key to elevate OSU into the upper half of the Big 12 may well rest with 6-6 forward Lindy Waters. The senior forward is OSU's best outside threat and was an even 50 percent from three in Big 12 play, but has been less heralded to date this season at just 38 percent for the season and 30 percent in his last three games. The Cowboys do not focus on the three but if Waters gets hot, they will, because of a lack of perimeter pressure in LeBlanc's absence.
For Georgetown to contend it must put pressure on the Cowboys' front line. 6-9 Cameron McGriff scored 15 in the game with Ole Miss but has struggled from the field and is prone to foul trouble. His rebounding will be a point of emphasis for OSU to support 6-10 center Yor Anei. The sophomore combined for 33 points and 17 rebounds in the pre-season NIT and is one of the premier shot blockers in the nation to date. If he stays out of foul trouble, he could be a challenge for Georgetown to cover him outside the pivot--Anei won't take threes but he can draw the defense out to open up room inside. Coach Patrick Ewing has limited options on offense, which figure to go through Mac McClung. After seven games where it seems McClung and James Akinjo were not on the same page offensively, it's McClung's show now and he needs a 40 minute effort and must avoid hanging his head if the first shots of the game do not go through. This should also be a game that will elevate Jahvon Blair, whose outside game is hot and cold--anything less than warm will be a huge blow to a Georgetown team which is poorly positioned on offensive rebounding this season. Some keys to the game:
Avoid Foul Trouble: The Hoyas' depth isn't there, so don't overreach.
Zone Defense: Ewing must resist the temptation to play man defense and think he can overwhelm OSU..
Interior Defense OSU will challenge the perimeter but are most dangerous on run-outs and inside play. This puts additional pressure on Omer Yurtseven to be mobile on both ends of the court and avoid foul trouble.
This isn't the end of the season, but for Georgetown to exceed expectations in January and February, it must learn from games like this and work as a team, no matter the score. With the situation surrounding Galen Alexander and Myron Gardner by no means settled, the rest of the team must come together, lest they all hang separately.
Were this a safe home game to build back the team, this would be one thing, but the circumstances could not be more challenging. Georgetown goes on the road for a pair of games beginning at Oklahoma State, arguably the hottest team in the nation not named Michigan. The Cowboys (7-0) are on a roll after a sweep of the Pre-Season NIT tournament. In the opener, the Cowboys defeated Syracuse 86-72, holding the Orangemen to 33 percent shooting and just 19 rebounds. The next evening, OSU routed Ole Miss, 78-37, holding the Rebels to 15 first half points and 25 percent shooting on the evening.
OSU has dominated defensively. It has allowed just one opponent this year a shooting mark of 40 percent or better and no tam better than 31 percent from three. The defense has covered over some flaws with weak rebounding and inconsistent free throw shooting which may be a factor in close games, but if the opponent can't shoot, it's not likely to be close. OSU will also see limited action from grad transfer Jonathan Laurent, most recently at UMass, and by freshman twins Kayleb and Keylan Boone, averaging 8.0 points per game between them.
"It demoralized Ole Miss, which...made just 1 of 20 3-pointers and turned the ball over 20 times, wrote The Oklahoman. "It started and finished with defense," said OSU coach Mike Boynton.
Ranked fourth nationally in both field goal defense and three point defense, Oklahoma State will bring the heat. Georgetown needs to replace 20 points a game and get a lot of defense from its bench, which hasn't been in sight outside of Madison Square Garden this season. The sooner the Hoyas find themselves, the better.
OSU does not go deep but its starting lineup is all back from last season. Georgetown must start with point guard Isaac Likekele, whose 26 points in the win over Syracuse was a career high. While not a prolific shooter, his 56 percent average is very strong, and at five assists per game he is the driver of the Cowboys' offensive sets. Defensively, he has forced 20 steals in seven games and a healthy 5.3 rebounds a game at 6-4. With a 8 point pre game average as a freshman, Likekele is, well, likely to build upon this as a sophomore with good shot selection and improving his three point volume, with just two threes so far this season.
The Cowboys will look to 6-4 Thomas Dziagwa to focus his attention on shot selection, with just 9 of his last 24 from the field. A 42 percent three point shooter in 2018-19, Dziagwa hasn't caught fire this season but is capable of doing so. A perfect 9-9 from the line this season, he was a 90 percent shooter at the line last season.
The key to elevate OSU into the upper half of the Big 12 may well rest with 6-6 forward Lindy Waters. The senior forward is OSU's best outside threat and was an even 50 percent from three in Big 12 play, but has been less heralded to date this season at just 38 percent for the season and 30 percent in his last three games. The Cowboys do not focus on the three but if Waters gets hot, they will, because of a lack of perimeter pressure in LeBlanc's absence.
For Georgetown to contend it must put pressure on the Cowboys' front line. 6-9 Cameron McGriff scored 15 in the game with Ole Miss but has struggled from the field and is prone to foul trouble. His rebounding will be a point of emphasis for OSU to support 6-10 center Yor Anei. The sophomore combined for 33 points and 17 rebounds in the pre-season NIT and is one of the premier shot blockers in the nation to date. If he stays out of foul trouble, he could be a challenge for Georgetown to cover him outside the pivot--Anei won't take threes but he can draw the defense out to open up room inside. Coach Patrick Ewing has limited options on offense, which figure to go through Mac McClung. After seven games where it seems McClung and James Akinjo were not on the same page offensively, it's McClung's show now and he needs a 40 minute effort and must avoid hanging his head if the first shots of the game do not go through. This should also be a game that will elevate Jahvon Blair, whose outside game is hot and cold--anything less than warm will be a huge blow to a Georgetown team which is poorly positioned on offensive rebounding this season. Some keys to the game:
Avoid Foul Trouble: The Hoyas' depth isn't there, so don't overreach.
Zone Defense: Ewing must resist the temptation to play man defense and think he can overwhelm OSU..
Interior Defense OSU will challenge the perimeter but are most dangerous on run-outs and inside play. This puts additional pressure on Omer Yurtseven to be mobile on both ends of the court and avoid foul trouble.
This isn't the end of the season, but for Georgetown to exceed expectations in January and February, it must learn from games like this and work as a team, no matter the score. With the situation surrounding Galen Alexander and Myron Gardner by no means settled, the rest of the team must come together, lest they all hang separately.
