In its largest home loss in Big East history, the Georgetown University men’s basketball team was trampled by then-No. 9 Marquette Golden Eagles 91-57 on Feb. 3 in a game that was never truly close.
Adorned in pink in celebration of World Cancer Day, the student section was ready for the first of two consecutive home matchups against Associated Press Top 25 teams. On Feb. 10, No. 1 UConn (21-2, 11-1 Big East) will visit.
However, the Hoyas (8-14, 1-10 Big East) were not up to the challenge, looking a step behind a talented Golden Eagles (17-5, 8-3 Big East) team yet again — the Hoyas lost their earlier matchup against Marquette 81-51 on Dec. 22 — while squandering offensive opportunities and playing poor defense.
Marquette took an early 8-4 lead with 17:18 remaining behind hot 3-point shooting, a trend that would continue; the Golden Eagles shot 45.2% from beyond the arc and 55.6% from the field overall for the game. During the first five minutes, Georgetown turned the ball over four times, a recurring theme for the group. In fact, Marquette scored 35 points off turnovers in the game.
The Hoyas managed to keep the game close, with a layup by senior guard Jay Heath bringing the team within 4 points, down 18-14 with 10:17 left in the half.
The defensive intensity was high for Georgetown early on, especially from senior guard Wayne Bristol Jr., whose impressive switching and numerous pass deflections do not appear on the score sheet. Nonetheless, poor shot selection plagued the Hoyas, who failed to capitalize on the Golden Eagles’ relatively slow start.
Coming out of a media timeout with just under 10 minutes remaining, Marquette scored 16 unanswered points, building the Golden Eagles’ lead to 34-14. Even the crowd began to turn, with the student section quieting and booming “We are Marquette” chants emerging from the stands.
Although a dunk by graduate forward Ismael Massoud on a find from first-year guard Rowan Brumbaugh ended the Marquette scoring run, the Georgetown offense was largely lifeless in those final 10 minutes, scoring just 8 total points over that span.
Entering halftime, the Golden Eagles had the Hoyas doubled up, leading 44-22.
Coming off a career-high 32 points against Villanova (12-11, 5-7 Big East), Marquette’s sharpshooting guard Tyler Kolek was especially impressive. He scored 15 of his 17 points in the first half and added 8 assists on the day.
Georgetown’s woes continued to build in the second half, with potentially momentum-shifting fast break opportunities ending without a bucket. Just four minutes into the period, the Marquette lead grew to 55-29 — and it only grew more painful from there.
Marginal Hoya help defense and weak box outs, combined with consistent Golden Eagle shooting, allowed Marquette to score with ease as the team authored a 28-12 run over the next 10 minutes to push the score to 83-41; that 42-point difference marked Marquette’s largest lead.
During that stretch, Marquette guard Kam Jones — who was questionable to play entering the game — shined, scoring 23 points, including 11 straight at one point. He finished with a game-high 31 points on 12-15 shooting, including 7-9 from deep.
Marquette Head Coach Shaka Smart unloaded his bench with two minutes remaining, the nail in the coffin on a forgettable Georgetown loss.
The lacking Hoya offense was particularly striking. Marquette held the Georgetown and Big East leading scorer, sophomore guard Jayden Epps — who entered averaging 19.2 points per game — to only 2 points in the first 33 minutes of the contest.
In hindsight, Georgetown Head Coach Ed Cooley admitted that he should not have played Epps, as well as a few other starters like Bristol Jr., senior forward Supreme Cook and junior guard Dontrez Styles, because the flu had been spreading around the locker room.
“If I had to do it again, I wouldn’t have played Jayden; he hadn’t practiced since last Tuesday. [Wayne] didn’t practice this week, Supreme and Dontrez,” Cooley said in the postgame press conference. “We got a little bug going through us, but I didn’t, I didn’t like our fight today. I didn’t like our will.”
Nonetheless, Cooley was supremely disappointed in his team’s performance, especially at home.
“We got to find a way to play better at home. I mean, our last two home games just haven’t been good. It’s not a good look,” Cooley added. “You know we take five steps forward and 32 steps backward.”
With three games in one week — Marquette, Seton Hall and UConn — the Hoyas must regroup quickly. On his locker room role, Cooley said he would be there to comfort and coax his team through the difficult period.
“Right now, I can’t be a coach. Right now, I got to be a caretaker. Again, this is where you got to be a great person to 22, to 23, 24 year olds. Take off your head coach hat, make sure you’re there for them,” Cooley said. “Let them know, ‘Okay, it’s okay to make mistakes. It’s okay to do this. But how are we going to improve?’”
The Hoyas lost their seventh straight game at Seton Hall (15-8, 8-4 Big East) 76-70 on Feb. 7. They continue against No. 1 UConn on Feb. 10 in a game that should draw a large home crowd.
