In classic worrisome fashion, Georgetown punched hard first, but when the Hoyas got punched back by Syracuse, they hit the mat and never got up in last night’s gruesome loss. A few thoughts:
It’s like the Hoyas tried to get past page one of the offensive game plan, and quite possibly didn’t need to. Who would’ve ever imagined that a team hitting it’s first five shots, including four 3-pointers, would be a bad omen? Georgetown dissected the Syracuse zone perfectly on its first few possessions, with patient ball movement and good looks from outside. But it was as if the Hoyas couldn’t believe how much success they were having, and they started trying to thread passes into places they couldn’t reach due to the lengthy and disciplined defenders they faces,. That led to doubt, which led to players trying to take players off the dribble and eventually, an avalanche of bad decisions.
But offense wasn’t the real problem. If the Hoyas blinked after a missed shot in the Carrier Dome, they didn’t even need to run the floor because it was two more points for Syracuse at the other end. The Orange transition game is stunning. By my count, Syracuse also had 12 first-half points directly off of Georgetown turnovers.
Despite the box score, depth might not be what separates Georgetown from being truly elite. Instead, it’s length. All five Syracuse starters were at least 6-foot-4. Of Georgetown’s top four players – Greg Monroe, Austin Freeman, Chris Wright, and Jason Clark – only one is taller than that. Yes, in the Hoyas media guide, Freeman is listed at 6-3.5. Even when the Orange found itself in a halfcourt offensive set, they repeatedly got behind the Georgetown defense for layups, and when the Hoyas tried to do the same, they got their stuff swatted into the Finger Lakes. Like Syracuse, which can go with any combination of 6-9 Arinze Onuaku, 6-9 Rick Jackson, 6-7 Wesley Johnson and 6-7 Kris Joseph, the best teams in the country have multiple athletic bigs. Georgetown has one, and it’s not Julian Vaughn, despite his significant improvement this season. To overcome that type physical mismatch when it comes up again, they can’t wither mentally like they did with a 14-0 lead last night.
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