The Georgetown University men’s basketball team (17-14, 8-12 Big East) entered today’s game against the DePaul University Blue Demons (13-18, 4-16 Big East) knowing they will face each other in the first round of the Big East men’s basketball tournament.

After suffering a 73-68 loss to the Blue Demons on their home court of Capital One Arena on Jan. 17, a game that saw DePaul end their 39-game conference losing streak, the Hoyas aimed for a win in Chicago.

Exasperating anxious Hoya fans, Georgetown did just the opposite, allowing DePaul to complete a regular season sweep with an 83-77 win.

Both sides came out gunning from beyond the arc. Sophomore forward Drew Fielder won the tip and subsequently took the game’s first shot, a three that clanked off the rim. DePaul forward Troy D’Amico sank a triple in response to kick off the scoring. Graduate guard Micah Peavy knotted things up at 3-3 with a deep ball of his own before DePaul guard CJ Gunn drained a three to put the Blue Demons back in front.

Peavy knocked down a jumper to bring the Hoyas within 1, but DePaul kept lighting up the Georgetown defense with another three, courtesy of guard Layden Blocker.

A brief 8-1 burst then put the Hoyas ahead. Sophomore guard Malik Mack drove to the rim in transition for an easy two before sophomore forward Jordan Burks corralled a missed jumper and found junior guard Jayden Epps for a transition three. Coming out of the under-16 timeout, DePaul guard Isaiah Rivera went 1-2 from the line and Peavy hit another three.

DePaul responded with a 7-0 spurt of their own, 5 points of which came from Blocker. Georgetown missed three layups during the run.

Epps scored in the paint, rebounded Gunn’s miss and found Fielder on the fastbreak for a dunk to even the score at 17-17. The Blue Demons’ next run, 7-2, led Hoyas Head Coach Ed Cooley to call a timeout.

Whatever Cooley said in the huddle sparked the Hoyas, as they came out of the timeout to go on a 7-0 run. Fielder’s missed layup was tipped in by Peavy, before sophomore guard Curtis Williams Jr. notched his first points of the game with a layup of his own. Both sides traded missed jumpers before Peavy found the bottom of the net from beyond the arc. With seven minutes left in the half, Peavy had accounted for 15 of the team’s 26 points.

Things remained even for some time, with the score tied at 32-32 with 2:31 left in the half. DePaul jumped up by three before Burks floated the ball towards the rim; his shot was blocked but called a goaltend. Rivera sank a three and first-year forward Drew McKenna tipped in a missed Mack shot to cut the Hoya deficit to 2 entering halftime.

However, while both teams were in the locker room, the officials managed to review several plays back and reversed the goaltending call to a clean block. Not only did the two points for the Hoyas get erased, but Peavy’s offensive rebound and score were also called back, arguably dampening the Hoyas’ outlook of the rest of the game. 

DePaul’s 4-point lead before halftime ballooned to 9 early on, thanks to a jumper by DePaul forward JJ Traynor and an and-1 opportunity for D’Amico, where he converted on the free throw.

The Hoyas responded valiantly, drawing back to within 2 by the under-16 timeout. Williams Jr. scored the first bucket of the half for the Hoyas before Burks scored in the paint and first-year guard Kayvaun Mulready nailed a rare triple. On the next possession, Epps found Williams Jr. in the corner for a deep ball, tightening the score to 46-44.

For the next six minutes, Georgetown remained within 5 but could never tie or take the lead. Peavy continued his torrent of shooting. He would end with a game-high 29 points on 11-19 shooting and 4-6 from three. He also had 10 boards for a double-double.

With five minutes left, it seemed as though DePaul finally shook the Hoyas off their tail, taking a 10-point lead after buckets from Gunn and D’Amico.

Georgetown, however, did not go quietly. Burks scored a quick 4 points on back-to-back possessions and Epps scored in the paint in transition to bring the Hoyas’ deficit back down to 6. DePaul responded with a set that disoriented the Georgetown defense and found Gunn open under the basket for a dunk. Peavy and Rivera each missed a jumper before Epps came down the court and cut DePaul’s lead to 5 with a triple.

Unfortunately, the Hoyas’ defense simply could not find a stop when they needed to. DePaul scored and Fielder immediately responded with a layup that cut the lead back down to 3. Once again, DePaul scored, this time after a block by Burks and an offensive board and subsequent layup by D’Amico.

DePaul went up 8 with 10 seconds left on free throws and a dunk to seal their victory. Fielder scored at the buzzer to soften the blow for Georgetown.

Depth stands out as one of the key causes of Georgetown’s loss. Minus Peavy, Georgetown shot 36% from the field and 25% from deep. Although Epps scored 17, it was on an inefficient 5-17 and 3-9 from three. Mack had one of his worst games in his Georgetown career, scoring only 2 points on 5 shots. He also committed 4 fouls.

Perimeter defense was another area of concern. Georgetown’s 2-3 zone allowed DePaul to find open looks on the wings. They connected on 8 of 15 threes. Georgetown’s abysmal free throw shooting continued as well, as they went 63% from the charity stripe.

 In a fiery opening statement, Cooley called out his team’s defensive effort, saying it was the worst he’s ever seen.

“That was the worst defensive game I’ve seen in my 31 years of coaching. That was dog shit. Dog shit. Terrible defensively,” Cooley said in a postgame press conference.

Cooley continued to criticize, saying his own coaching and his players’ game were among the reasons for the loss.

“That was a piss poor coaching effort, piss poor defensive effort, physicality. We had two guys show up today, two guys, Peavy and Epps, everybody else, they were just impostors,” Cooley added. “Really, really disappointed in our energy, our effort, our attitude, our enthusiasm, just a piss poor performance by my group.”

Still, Cooley has set his sights ahead, saying he plans on leading this team through the daunting task of winning the conference tournament.

“I’m really disappointed in my group, but it’s a new season again,” Cooley told Georgetown Athletics.

Georgetown has another shot at DePaul in the first round of the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden. They will play at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 12.