After a gutsy 85-82 win against the Washington State University Cougars (19-15, 8-10 West Coast) in the first round of the College Basketball Crown Tournament, the Georgetown University men’s basketball team (18-16, 8-12 Big East) squared off with the Nebraska Cornhuskers (19-14, 7-13 Big Ten) April 2.
Due to illness, injury, the transfer portal and potential NBA Draft preparations, the Hoyas played the first round against the Washington State University Cougars March 31 without junior guard Jayden Epps, graduate guard Micah Peavy, first-year center Thomas Sorber, first-year guard Kayvaun Mulready and sophomore forward Drew Fielder. Sophomore guard Malik Mack shouldered the brunt of the offense in their absence, scoring a career-high 25 points and knocking down 4 threes.
Although Mulready returned to the hardwood for the quarterfinal, the Cornhuskers’ stout first half defense and game-long efficient offense proved too much to overcome as the Hoyas fell 81-69, bringing their season to an end.
The game’s first bucket followed a steal and subsequent deep ball by Nebraska guard Brice Williams, the play outlining what would happen during the game. Williams had his prints all over the game, scoring a game-high 28 points, adding 3 rebounds and 3 assists.
First-year forward Drew McKenna missed a jumper, and Nebraska failed to convert on both a three and a second-chance jumper. Sophomore forward Jordan Burks, coming off a double-double, sank a 3-pointer to tie it.
The Georgetown offense went stagnant as Nebraska enjoyed a brief 7-3 spurt, where Williams hit another three. Georgetown’s lone bucket was scored by first-year forward Caleb Williams.
The Hoyas went on an 8-2 run, highlighted by all-around play from Burks. The run began when he recorded a steal, then tipped in a missed Mack attempt from downtown. Sophomore guard Curtis Williams Jr. got a steal of his own, then was fouled on the fastbreak, converting 1 of 2 from the charity stripe. Mack laid one in before Burks hit his second three of the night to cut the deficit to 1 point.
Just as the Hoyas got close, it was the Cornhuskers’ turn to go on another run to open up their lead. This time it was 9-1, with the score at the under-eight timeout now at 23-15.
Williams stopped the bleeding with an and-1 bucket in the paint, but missed the free throw. The Hoyas got a stop, and McKenna was sent to the line after a foul for a 1-and-1 opportunity. He missed the front end, and Nebraska recovered possession. McKenna returned to the line on the next possession, going 1-for-2.
Free throw shooting has been a problem all year for the Hoyas, and the first half of this game was no different. Georgetown shot a miserable 2/7 from the line. Nebraska, on the other hand, was a perfect 6/6 on first-half free throws.
Nebraska then continued its torrent stretch of shooting and defense. They rang in a 9-0 run to extend the lead to 12 as the Hoyas missed everything they attempted, whether from close, far or the free throw line.
This time it was Mulready who would stop the bleeding for Georgetown with a three, but Nebraska immediately responded with a layup. Mulready nailed another three to cut the deficit to 10. The Hoyas had an opportunity to make it a single-digit game before halftime, but turned in a disastrous possession in transition instead.
Sophomore Austin Montgomery came up with a huge block, and Mulready took the ball up. He instantly pulled up for three, but missed. McKenna recovered the board and missed the putback. Montgomery then had a chance to tip in the miss, and he too could not find the net. The frustrating possession seemed to sum up the offensive feel of the first half for the Hoyas.
Along with the terrible free throw shooting, the Hoya offense shot 29% from the field on 31 shots and 29% on 14 three-point attempts. Without a post presence, Georgetown was forced to pass the ball around the perimeter to find shots. Their shot selection was subpar and led to several questionable misses.
Nebraska picked up right where it left off with forward Juwan Gary draining a three to open the second half’s scoring. Williams followed with a three of his own to extend the Cornhusker lead to 16. McKenna stopped the brief 6-0 run with a bucket in the paint, but proceeded to foul Williams on a three on the next possession, and Williams calmly knocked down all three free throws.
Another bucket for Williams, this time an easy layup, gave Nebraska a 19-point lead. In a turn of events, first-year guard Michael Van Raaphorst got in the scorer’s column for the first time this season. He caught a cross-court pass in the corner and fired to put three points on the board.
With 14 minutes left in the second half, a previously quiet Mack found his groove. He first sank a three in transition, before Nebraska went down the floor and converted on an and-1. Mack responded with another deep ball, but Nebraska went 2/2 from the line after a foul. Mack promptly got fouled on a three and hit all 3 free throws. Another Mulready three pulled the Hoyas back within single digits for the first time since the 4:38 mark of the first half.
Nebraska then went for 4 unanswered points before Mack hit yet another three, and Caleb Williams fouled Nebraska forward Andrew Morgan. The foul was his fifth, and Williams left the game. Morgan went 1-for-2 from the line and McKenna recorded an and-1 on the other end to cut the Hoyas’ deficit to 8.
Mack scored the following 4 Hoya points, but the defense could not get a stop. It seemed as though every time Georgetown inched closer towards a comeback, Nebraska had an answer. Georgetown would be within anywhere between 8 and 14 points for the rest of the game, but never got closer than that. Nebraska comfortably dribbled the clock out, ending Georgetown’s season.
Although many agree that the 2024-25 season marked improvement for the Hoyas, Head Coach Ed Cooley said he was not satisfied.
“It’s my goal to never be in this tournament again. I think the accommodations are great, it’s nice to see all the bright lights, but this is not what we’re trying to build our program to be,” Cooley told Georgetown Athletics.
Even though the Hoyas missed out on the guaranteed $50k in NIL granted by making the semifinals, some good news came out of the Hilltop as the Hoyas’ season came to a close.
Cooley successfully landed his first transfer portal recruit Wednesday in Baylor guard Langston Love. Love averaged just under 9 points for a Baylor team that went to the second round of the NCAA tournament. He spent this season battling injuries, but when healthy, he is one of the best perimeter shooters in the country.
With the season officially over, Cooley will continue to set his sights on building next year’s roster through the transfer portal. It is pivotal for Cooley’s future that Georgetown makes a strong push towards the NCAA Tournament given the immense resources granted to him. After losing a recruiting battle for Providence forward Bryce Hopkins to Rick Pitino and St. John’s, Cooley is expected to pivot to other high-level players. Only time will tell, but expect a revamped and reloaded Georgetown roster when it comes time for them to return to Capital One Arena in November.