Unlike the last time the Hoyas’ took to the road, two weeks ago at DePaul when the biggest question was center upon the Blue Demons’ and whether star Sammy Meija would play, Thursday against Marquette the biggest question will be about Georgetown.
In the days after Duke, how will the Hoyas respond after a loss?
It was confidence that led Georgetown (17-5, 8-3) to three convincing victories over Cincinnati, DePaul and St. John’s, and a strong comeback win over then-No. 9 Pittsburgh nine days ago. It was also confidence that helped the Hoyas take down Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., though it was overconfidence that made them need 50 minutes to do so.
Jeff Green, Darrel Owens and Jon Wallace all mentioned that confidence when they spoke to the media last Wednesday in advance of the St. John’s game.
But now, savoring the bitter aftertaste of defeat for the first time in nearly a month, the Hoyas’ dethroning of the Blue Devils seems like ages ago. Even if Sunday night’s loss to West Virginia was to a top-10 team, it could spell the end of a joyride if Georgetown is not careful.
Head Coach John Thompson III insisted his team can regroup and simply focus on the next game on the schedule.
“Just like I’ve said after some good wins we’ve had, we now have to go back to campus and tonight start to prepare for Marquette,” Thompson said. “There’s a sense of urgency with the next game. It has been that way for us and that’s not going to change right now. We did not play our best ball in that second half [against WVU]. We’re a better team than that. We’ve had a run here where we looked pretty good and so we’ve got to bounce back. I think this group understands that. I think this group knows what we’re playing for.”
If the pre-Duke Georgetown team shows up in Milwaukee on Thursday – the one that eked out a 50-47 decision over South Florida – the Hoyas will get laughed out of the Bradley Center, where the Golden Eagles (16-8, 6-5) drawn over 13,000 people per game and have lost just twice this year.
Marquette, one of the better unranked teams in the Big East, has had two different seasons: one at home and one on the road. The Golden Eagles are 11-2 when playing host, but have lost six of eight contests when visiting other schools.
To date, the most memorable moment of Marquette’s season was a surprising 94-79 victory over Connecticut in the Big East opener on Jan. 3, as senior forward Steve Novak poured on career highs of 41 points and 16 rebounds.
Their only conference loss at home came immediately after that on Jan. 7 at the hands of Cincinnati. Marquette squandered a 12-point second-half lead and lost to the Bearcats, 70-66.
Though the upset of UConn was an impressive one, Marquette is looking for a few more solid wins to solidify their resume and make the NCAA Selection Committee forget about the Golden Eagles’ road woes. Georgetown and Pittsburgh, the latter of whom comes to town on Saturday, present great opportunities for exactly that.
Against the Hoyas, the Golden Eagles will have the added benefit of a national audience. Thursday’s game, to be aired on ESPN, is Marquette’s only scheduled nationally televised game.
The team was hit hard in its last non-conference game Dec. 28, when starting freshman guard Wesley Matthews suffered a fractured right foot. After sitting out for more than four weeks, Matthews is expected back any day now. His absence has had a negative effect on the Golden Eagles’ defense, their rebounding, and Head Coach Tom Crean’s full-court press.
Crean, in his seventh season, has been tweaking the lineup ever since Matthews went down. Three players have remained constant throughout – Novak and freshman guards Dominic James and Jerel McNeal.
Novak, one of only three players remaining from the squad that reached the Final Four in 2003, is among the most reliable shooters in the Big East. He leads the conference in three-pointers made (83) and is third in three-point percentage (.461) behind West Virginia’s Mike Gansey and Notre Dame’s Chris Quinn.
Novak’s success from beyond the arc has spurred arquette’s offense, which has the best three-point percentage in the conference (.408).
Meanwhile, James has averaged 16.5 points in Big East play, while McNeal puts up 12.2 points per game. Senior Joe Chapman has filled in for Matthews, averaging 8.2 points per game and knocking down 16 of 33 three-pointers since joining the starting lineup.
Center Mike Kinsella, a 7-foot junior, will not be available against Georgetown after undergoing emergency appendectomy surgery early last week. Though Kinsella has started just twice all season – in an 81-61 win over St. John’s on Feb. 1 and a 72-67 loss at No. 4 Villanova on Feb. 4 – he would have made a good matchup against the Hoyas’ 7-foot-2 Roy Hibbert.
In their last outing on Sunday afternoon, the Eagles suffered a 91-84 loss to Rutgers at the Louis Brown Athletic Center, surrendering 32 points to Quincy Douby. The Scarlet Knights (14-10, 4-7) won despite the absence of Head Coach Gary Waters, who was stuck in Ohio after Saturday’s blizzard grounded air travel in the Northeast.
Thursday’s meeting marks the first matchup between the Hoyas and the Golden Eagles since 1972. The all-time series is tied, 1-1.
Tip off is set for 9 p.m. EST at Milwaukee’s Bradley Center.
