MARCH ON: Georgetown Not Enough Hosting Marquette, 76-61

Hoyas not quite ready to compete with No. 21 Marquette

It was a tough outing for your Georgetown Hoyas, getting knocked down by the Marquette Golden Eagles on Senior Night at Capital One Arena, ultimately dropping by a score of 76-61.

Micah Peavy recalibrated after a slow first half to drop 15 points and grab six rebounds. Curtis Williams Jr. added 13 points off the bench, while Jordan Burks racked up a double-double, with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Jayden Epps stepped up as a facilitating force, dishing out seven assists on a night where baskets were hard to come by.

Shaka Smart has not yet lost to Georgetown since taking over at Marquette; the Golden Eagles used a +22 second half to upend the Hoyas earlier in conference play. Georgetown was coming off two consecutive road losses at UCONN and Creighton.

Forced turnovers and travels stymied both teams early; they combined for only a single field goal in the first three and a half minutes. Burks’ quick hands were responsible for multiple deflections and second chances, including one where he knocked down a triple on the bonus possession. It was all tied up 6-6 at the first media break.

Malik Mack had a quick answer to a three from Ben Gold, though that was the last offense the Hoyas generated for many minutes. Marquette went on a 13-2 run as they effectively prevented good looks and engineered steals. Epps finally ended the field goal drought with a corner three as the shot clock was about to expire, but Georgetown was in a 27-16 hole.

The Hoyas were unable to score in the paint and their outside shooting was frigid. The disparity was only compounded by Georgetown’s inability to decipher or disrupt the ball movement Kam Jones was facilitating at the other end. The missed transition layup from Mack where Williams Jr. also had his athletic tip-follow roll awry summed up how the half went.

Considering that the Hoyas only scored 5 field goals in the entire first half, it makes sense that they went into the break trailing 39-22.

Peacock was experiencing audio difficulties early in the second half, treating the audience to a period of raw basketball audio. It would have been nice if that outage had continued long enough to avoid hearing the call on Joplin’s one-handed slam, but alas, we are not that lucky.

A quick pair of buckets from beyond the arc for Williams Jr. provided a brief respite from the onslaught, but the Golden Eagles continued to roll. Coming off baskets from Mack and Peavy, it was 60-40 with 11 minutes left to play and Georgetown had the momentum.

Caleb Williams was back in the lineup tonight, and the freshman showed that he might be learning something from Peavy’s defensive clinic. His pressure forced Stevie Mitchell into a bad shot and turnover that flipped into a bucket for the Hoyas at other end. This cut the deficit to sixteen from 28, the closest it had been since the first half, triggering a quick timeout by the Marquette bench.

A 9-0 run for Georgetown — with an extra possession delivered as Williams tied up Gold for the jump ball — was capped off by a driving layup from Mack that made it 64-51 with 7:18 remaining. A full court press by the Hoyas forced a turnover, but Peavy was whistled for an offensive foul, to which the newly awakened crowd loudly expressed their disapproval.

Another steal from Peavy off Jones allowed him to bring it up then find Williams Jr., who sliced and soared in for the finish, cutting the Golden Eagles’ advantage to 12. Mitchell, Jones, and Gold all hit again for Marquette before Burks knocked down a jumper for Georgetown. The Hoyas’ final basket of the night saw Epps find Kayvaun Mulready who banked in a three to make it 76-61.

Ed Cooley frequently looked grim during the middle 20 minutes of this game, and understandably so. Without Thomas Sorber the Hoyas have relied heavily on Peavy, but his offense was muted by Marquette’s zone and his ability to force turnovers doesn’t work as well against opposing guards are this sure-handed.

Beyond that, Georgetown’s shooting was ice cold, getting only unlucky rolls and missing many clean looks. Add in consistent lapses getting back into defensive positions in transition, and it was pretty bleak…until about the midpoint of the second half, when the Hoyas mounted an impressive rally. Even if the effort was primarily symbolic, it was not futile because the resilience and fortitude to pull off that kind of run speaks to the kind of culture shift the program is experiencing this season.

Next up, the Hoyas host Villanova on Tuesday at 8pm, also airing on Peacock.