The Georgetown men’s basketball team’s trip to tropical paradise will start out as anything but relaxing when they kick off a three-game slate at the Maui Invitational as underdogs against No. 12 Kansas.
Starting the season unranked for the first time in six years, the Hoyas (2-0) have looked impressive through two home games, winning by a combined score of 169-99 against Savannah State (1-2) and UNC-Greensboro (0-2). However, the Jayhawks (1-1) are in a completely different class than either of these squads.
Despite losing star forwards Marcus and Markieff Morris — who await the end of the NBA lockout in Houston and Phoenix, respectively — Kansas still looks dangerous this season. Led by senior guard Tyshawn Taylor and junior forward Thomas Robinson, Head Coach Bill Self and theJayhawks finished first in the Big 12 coaches’ poll even though the team lacks an all-Big 12 preseason first-team selection.
Kansas has lived up to its billing so far in the young season, blowing out Towson 100-54 before losing by only 10 to No. 2 Kentucky (2-0) in a marquee battle at Madison Square Garden Tuesday night.
If Georgetown wants any chance at pulling off the upset, it will have to focus on shutting down theJayhawks’ deep backcourt. Taylor, junior point guard Elijah Johnson, junior guard Travis Releford and senior guard Conner Teahan are all capable shooters whom the Blue and Gray can ill afford to leave open on the perimeter. Teahan has been particularly impressive off the bench this year, albeit in limited action, hitting 5-of-9 three-point attempts thus far after seeing limited action in his first three years in Lawrence.
Taylor is also adept at getting to the line and went 15-of-17 from the stripe against Kentucky. This bodes poorly for Georgetown sophomore guard Markel Starks, who has struggled to stay out of foul trouble in the first two games and will likely match up with Taylor.
But while the Jayhawks hold a definite advantage in backcourt scoring, the Hoyas plan to make use of their height to get some easy points in the paint. Kansas’ frontcourt is shallow beyond Robinson and 7-foot junior center Jeff Withey, who is playing a major role on the team for the first time. Georgetown, in contrast, has occasionally run with four players 6-foot-8 or taller, and both senior center Henry Sims and sophomore forward Nate Lubick have looked excellent so far.
Head Coach John Thompson III has uncharacteristically favored the full-court press in the early season, using the length of his versatile freshman forwards to trap guards and cut off passing lanes. Whether the Hoyas will stick with this strategy against the much more adept Kansas ballhandlersremains to be seen, but it could a crucial factor in determining the outcome of the game.
Ultimately, though, the Blue and Gray will need senior guard Jason Clark and junior forward Hollis Thompson to play at least as well as they did against UNC-Greensboro (17 and 19 points, respectively) to have a shot at winning. If those two shoot well, Sims dominates the paint, and theHoyas’ press can slow down the dangerous Jayhawk guards, Georgetown could pull off the upset. Otherwise, it could be a long 40 minutes for the Blue and Gray. Tipoff is scheduled for 11:50 p.m. Monday night.
