NASHVILLE ” Just two teams beat now-No. 8 Georgetown playing man-to-man defense last season. One was Connecticut, an eventual No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, and the other was the National Champion Florida Gators. Wednesday at Nashville’s Memorial Gymnasium in its season opener, Vanderbilt (17-13 last year) and its man defensive scheme didn’t stand a chance.
The Commodores started slowly, but trailed just 39-35 at the break with Hoya junior forward Jeff Green playing just seven minutes in the first half due to foul trouble. But Green proved too much in the second stanza, as the Hoyas pulled away for an 86-70 victory.
Green led the way with 19 points, eight rebounds, six assists, two blocks and two steals in just 23 minutes of action. Hibbert added 18 points and 10 boards, and junior guard Jon Wallace chipped in 16 points. Junior swingman Tyler Crawford missed the contest with strep throat, Georgetown Head Coach John Thompson III said yesterday.
‘It’s very good to come in here to play against what I think is a very good team,’Thompson said. ‘[We were up against] a very well coached team, first game of the year, in a hostile environment, and to come away with the win, our team showed some mettle right there.’/p>
Just four days earlier at Verizon Center, Hartford, behind a confounding zone defense, played the Hoyas close from start to finish; it was not until 1:20 remained that Georgetown extended its lead to double figures.
The Hawks were, for much of the contest, able to keep the ball out of the post and prevent the Hoyas from both maximizing their size advantage and making the smooth cuts to the basket that define the Princeton offense.
Vanderbilt Head Coach Kevin Stallings, however, stuck with his preferred man-to-man defense and Georgetown made him pay for the questionable decision. From the outset, the Hoyas relied upon quick post moves from Hibbert and a mixture of strong drives and crisp passes from Green.
‘That was kind of funny,’Green said of Stalling’s decision to play man. ‘It was our first time to run our offense this season cause the first game they played zone, so it was kinda good for us to really get a touch, get a feel for what we can do on offense.’/p>
Hibbert paced the Hoyas early, taking advantage of the bevy of 6-foot-9 forwards that tried futilely to keep him in check. He scored the game’s first point on a free throw and went on to score eight more ” six on dunks ” in rapid succession. Georgetown led 19-9 through nine minutes behind nine points from ‘the Big Fella.’/p>
‘I was going stronger to the basket today,’Hibbert said. ‘I was trying to dunk whenever I had a chance.’/p>
It was at Green’s urgings that the 7-foot-2 sophomore made a more conscious effort to dunk the ball.
‘Roy, last game, missed a lot of little layups,’Green said. ‘And so this game, I was in his ear the whole week about how we need him to make those kind of shots.’/p>
Just seconds before Hibbert’s third slam of the half, however, Green was whistled for his second foul, sending the preseason first team all-Big East selection to the pine.
The Hoyas’ other member of that team, Hibbert, did his best to keep the Hoyas in the game, finishing the half with 14 points and seven boards, as did junior point guard Jonathan Wallace who scored nine points, but a five minute, 13-4 Vanderbilt run pulled the Commodores to within three points with four minutes to go in the half.
Georgetown built its lead back up to six with 22 seconds remaining and appeared poised to hold for the last shot of the period, but a missed three-pointer by sophomore guard/forward Marc Egerson gave the ball back to Vanderbilt with seven seconds on the clock. Junior guard Alex Gordon hit a pull-up jumper from the foul line with time expiring to close the gap to four.
‘[In the] first half we had a bunch of young kids out there,’Thompson said, ‘and [the Commodores] made a run and, you know, we made a few bone head plays at the end of the first half and we’ll work on it and work through it.’/p>
The second half, though, was different. Green was back on the floor and the difference was noticeable. Relying mostly on strong drives to the hole, the 6-foot-9 Wooden Award candidate scored 14 points on 3-of-8 shooting (8-of-9 from the line). He added six rebounds and four assists to his second-half masterpiece.
‘It felt like he was only out there five minutes,’Thompson said. ‘It’s different when Jeff Green is on the floor ‘ It was a collective effort, but Jeff was very good. Jeff was very good in the second half.’/p>
Vanderbilt cut the Hoyas lead to five on a long three-pointer by senior swingman and leading scorer (14 points) Derek Byars with 11:32 left, and for the first time in the half, Memorial Gymnasium was alive. But as they did all evening, Georgetown had an answer, this time in the person of Wallace.
The native of Harvest, Ala., swished a picture-perfect three pointer on the next trip down the floor to silence the crowd and push the lead to eight. After an officials’ timeout, freshman guard Jeremiah Rivers telegraphed a Vanderbilt pass and dunked the ball home at the other end. For the game’s final 10 minutes, it was all Georgetown.
Georgetown’s 86-point effort was considerably more efficient than its 69 against Hartford. The Hoyas shot 52.5 percent from the field ” up from 41.5 ” and took just 12 threes, compared to 23 against the Hawks. A hallmark of the Princeton offense, Georgetown recorded an assist on nearly half its baskets. Still, Thompson was not entirely pleased.
‘I don’t think our offense was that good to tell you the truth. I don’t think our offense was good at all,’he said. ‘We’re not there yet ” it’s gonna take some time before we get smooth and before we get good.’/p>
Defensively, the Hoyas struggled at times ” Vanderbilt had far too easy a time getting layups and had several uncontested looks from outside ” but did manage to shut down the Commodores’ top offensive threat.
Junior swingman Shan Foster, who led Vanderbilt with 20 points in a win over Georgetown last November, was held to just two points on 0-for-5 shooting (0-for-4 from three).
‘Shan just had a bad night,’Thompson said. ‘I think our guys were extremely attentive to where he was. He’s such a good player.’/p>
‘Coach did a great job of scouting the team, players tuned in and were aware of what they’re trying to accomplish,’Wallace said.
The Hoyas return to the action on Sunday in McDonough Gymnasium against Old Dominion. The opening tip is set for 6 p.m.