The Georgetown University men’s basketball team led for over 30 minutes against the Seton Hall University Pirates, but poor shooting and sloppy play doomed the Hoyas to a 76-67 loss Jan. 10 — their third consecutive conference loss at Capital One Arena.
Throughout the game, the Hoyas (9-7, 1-4 Big East) led by as much as 11, but struggled to generate interior shots against the Pirates’ (14-2, 4-1 Big East) tall frontcourt. The Hoyas were out-rebounded 41-38 and conceded 16 second-chance points. Seton Hall’s centers also denied Georgetown’s guards many opportunities off the drive. Junior guard Malik Mack converted only 4 of his 16 field goal attempts, finishing as the only Hoya starter with a negative plus-minus at -6.
Despite the paint struggles, the Hoyas got out to an early lead, though they did not extend it significantly. Sophomore forward Isaiah Abraham knocked down a corner 3-pointer to start the game off hot from the field. Abraham remained solid from the corner for most of the game, racking up 13 points before fouling out.
However, similar to the Dec. 31 game against St. John’s, the opponents’ press severely disrupted the Georgetown offense. At the press’s heaviest, the Hoyas struggled to get the ball in bounds for long stretches of game time. While Georgetown turns over the ball at the ninth-lowest rate in the country, the Hoyas had 12 in the game, including 4 in a period of two minutes in the second half.
Overall, the Pirate defense was suffocating. The Hoyas racked up only 8 assists, and neither center — senior Vince Iwuchukwu or sophomore Julius Halaifonua — recorded a single dime as they struggled to get involved.
Once Georgetown’s perimeter shooting cooled off in the final 8 minutes of the first half, everything began to fall apart. The Hoyas scored no field goals in the final 6:47 of the first half, and a multipossession lead became a 29-29 tie at the break.
The second half began on much the same note as the first. Abraham and junior guard KJ Lewis both knocked down 3s and forced the Pirates to call a timeout after the Hoyas went on a 15-7 run. At the Hoyas’ largest lead, the team led 47-36 with 14:15 to play.
Once again, though, shots stopped falling and Seton Hall quickly got back into the game. A series of turnovers and poor inbounds — including a short sequence where graduate guard Jeremiah Williams subbed in, gave away possession twice and was promptly benched — epitomized an offense that failed to generate much production for long periods of the game.
With 9 minutes to play, the Pirates took the lead and slowly built up their advantage. The Hoyas’ final shooting numbers — a poor 33.9% from the field — revealed the depths of the offensive struggles. The Hoyas failed to mount a comeback in the closing stages of the game.
After taking a long 30 minutes to talk the game over in the locker room, Georgetown Head Coach Ed Cooley addressed the media. Cooley spoke plainly, saying he was to blame for the loss.
“I don’t think I’m doing a good job with this group at all,” Cooley said. “I’m failing this group right now, given we’re going into halftime, and in the second half, we’re coming out totally different.”
“It’s just unacceptable,” Cooley added. “It’s unacceptable for me as a coach, and something has to change. I’m very disappointed in the entire mindset of our group right now.”
Cooley said he believes he is a “close-game coach,” but this season he has been surprised at his team’s inability to hold a second-half lead.
“Historically the way I coach, I like close games,” he said. “For whatever reason, I’m not doing a really good job in these close games here. I don’t know why. Right now I’m failing the group.”
Cooley also said the team’s struggles to share the ball were particularly inexcusable.
“We have 12 assists in 2 games, 80 minutes,” Cooley said. “You got to share the sugar, man.”
Cooley added perhaps the most succinct statement of the state of the Hoyas.
“Right now, we’re boring as shit.”
Georgetown will look to get out of their current rut in a visit to Omaha, Neb., to face the struggling Creighton University Bluejays (10-7, 4-2 Big East) on Jan. 13 at 9 p.m. EST.
