HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel has spent the past few months covering several Georgetown basketball home games, and as a result there will be a very special reward coming in March. He was in attendance Wednesday evening for the Hoyas’ game at Capital 1 Arena and prepared this photo essay about their matchup against Creighton.
Another great pregame meal: lamb skewers/chicken/spinach/rice/pita bread/brownies! Let’s tip it off as Georgetown tries to win its 4th in a row:
I did not have high hopes for the Hoyas after learning that 7-footer Julius Halaifonua would be missing his 2nd straight game due to a back injury, but PG Malik Mack picked up the slack with a 3 and a layup:
Creighton PF Jasen Green was the 1st half hero, making several wide-open layups, a bank shot, and an alleyoop dunk for 10 quick PTS on 5-7 FG (which is all the more impressive because he is averaging under 11 PPG):
The teams went back and forth for 20 minutes with some underwhelming shooting until PG Nik Graves made a fadeaway jumper with 1 second left to give his team a 29-27 lead entering intermission:
Georgetown came out strong in the 2nd half with KJ Lewis (left) making a 3 and a pull-up jump shot in the lane to cap off a quick 10-0 run in just 78 seconds, and big man Vince Iwuchukwu (right) had several put-backs/dunks to finish with a double-double:
I missed the final 10 minutes while visiting an old friend who was sitting up in Section 218 (worth it!), but it did not seem to bother the home team as they held on to win it 76-68. In the postgame press conference I asked Creighton coach Greg McDermott about how stressful this week’s trade deadline is for him considering that his son Doug plays in the NBA. He said that Doug has been moved a couple of times at the deadline during his career, but after 12 years in the league it is not as stressful now as it was in the past:
I asked Georgetown coach Ed Cooley how it feels now that the Hoyas have a 4-game Big East regular season winning streak for the 1st time since JT3 was coach back in January 2015. He said the food is good and you look better…but it is still 1 game at a time. He is proud that they have won 3 conference road games this year, but they still have to take care of their homecourt because when you win, everything is fine:
That is a wrap for tonight but check back later this month to see if the home team can keep the streak alive!
-Miami OH needed late game heroics (again) to remain unbeaten, but they got a defensive stop on Buffalo’s last possession and held on to win 63-61.
-Akron, who I believe to be as good (better) than Miami OH and is my pick to win the MAC, did not look it last night against an exceptionally weak Eastern Michigan team, but they did hold on to win 66-64 after being behind late in the second half.
-NC State got a big road win at SMU 84-83, which is one of their better wins of the season. NC State has won five straight, four of those five came on the road, and two of them were at SMU and at Clemson. The Wolfpack were a little late to the party, but they have definitely arrived at the party!
-USC got a nice 81-75 win over Indiana as the Hoosiers could not complete the LA road trip. Still, Indiana is well positioned and while this was a missed opportunity, I wouldn’t necessarily call it a setback.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-SETON HALL AT VILLANOVA (Big East). Seton Hall’s tournament chances are still very much in play, but they’ll need a win in a game like this to make it a reality. In fact this could make the difference of whether or not they end up safely inside the bubble. They’re on the road against a Villanova team that appears to be in the top half of the bracket and who should be able to hold serve at home.
-UCF AT HOUSTON (Big 12). UCF has won some big games, but beating a solid protected seed in a true road game would put them on a whole other level. This would basically fault them into the top half of the bracket. Houston is one of the toughest arenas in the country to win at. The Cougars are a solid protected seed and are perhaps still within reach of a #1 seed.
-TEXAS A&M AT ALABAMA (SEC). Bama has dropped two of their last three games and is starting to slide down the SEC standings and down the seedlist some. Texas A&M is atop the SEC, but they’ve got a backloaded schedule so their toughest games are still ahead of them and that includes this game tonight. In fact this may be their toughest game of the season so far. If TAMU can win it, they can start to argue that they are good enough to deserve a protected seed.
-UTAH STATE AT NEW MEXICO (Mountain West). This is a massively important game. For Utah State it would be their best win on paper of the season so far being that it’s a road game against a very strong opponent. For New Mexico, we have them squarely on the bubble which gives every game a pivotal feel to it. This would help strengthen their resume, which is something they need to do.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-Michigan State @ Minnesota (Big Ten) – you can’t take any road win for granted, but Michigan State is clearly the superior team and should be able to rebound from their loss to Michigan
-Notre Dame @ Louisville (ACC) – the Cardinals shouldn’t have too much trouble holding serve at home
-Duquesne @ George Mason (Atlantic 10) – George Mason can still land inside the bubble, but they pretty much need to win out to do it
-Tulsa @ Florida Atlantic (American) – Tulsa is having a great year overall and can get to 20-3 on the season. They are outside our bubble right now but may be able to get there if they can win out
-Georgia Tech @ California (ACC) – Cal is right on our bubble. It is important that they hold serve at home against teams that are nowhere near the bubble
-Northwestern @ Illinois (Big Ten) – Illinois is playing as well as anyone in the country right now and they should cruise tonight
-BYU @ Oklahoma State (Big 12) – BYU has dropped two straight and while they were against big time opponents it is still important that they get things turned back around with a win tonight
-Oklahoma @ Kentucky (SEC) – Kentucky is coming off their best win of the year at Arkansas and has been playing really well these past few weeks (minus a blowout loss at Vanderbilt). They should be able to keep that going tonight
-Gonzaga @ Portland (West Coast) – it’s a conference road game, and you never want to take those for granted, but the Zags are way undermatched tonight
-Clemson @ Stanford (ACC) – Stanford just hasn’t been the same since they were hit with injuries. Clemson is solidly in the field and this is the kind of road game that isn’t easy to win, but that they should still be able to win
-San Diego @ Saint Mary’s (West Coast) – SMC should be able to hold serve at home
-Iowa @ Washington (Big Ten) – this could be a tough road game to win, but Iowa should still be good enough to win it. They could use a few more true road wins on their profile
UTR WATCH:
-Winthrop @ Radford (Big South) – Winthrop is deadlocked with High Point atop the Big South standings and will face a tough road test tonight
-Charleston Southern @ High Point (Big South) – High Point and Winthrop are neck and neck in the Big South
-Navy @ Lafayette (Patriot League) – Navy has a two game lead in the PL standings as we enter the last half of conference play
-Wright State @ Robert Morris (Horizon League) – Wright State is trying to hold on to a half-game lead over Oakland
-Furman @ East Tennessee State (SoCon) – The top of the SoCon standings are tight. ETSU has a one game lead over Furman, Wofford, and Mercer. They have the chance to put some distance between themselves and Furman tonight
-Troy @ Georgia Southern (Sun Belt) – Troy appeared to be running away from the rest of the SBC, but after two straight losses the standings are logjammed at the top. They really need to win this one on the road tonight
-Liberty @ Delaware (Conference USA) – Liberty is running away from CUSA and if they can win out, which they are good enough to do, they probably deserve to be inside the bubble
-Lipscomb @ Austin Peay (Atlantic Sun) – these are the two best teams in the ASun and this is a pivotal game that will likely determine the 1st place finisher. That’s not quite as important anymore since the tournament is no longer at campus sites, which ruins what used to be a fun regular season storyline, but it’s still a big game
-Kansas was pretty good for the first half of the season. Since they’re loss at West Virginia on Jan 10th, they’ve gone from being pretty good to being outstanding. They followed up a big win against BYU over the weekend with a 64-61 road win at Texas Tech last night, which may be their best of the season to date. Texas Tech has now dropped two straight and needs to rebound if they want to end up as a protected seed.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-NC STATE AT SMU (ACC). Both of these teams are good, and NC State in particular has been playing a lot better these past couple of weeks, but both still have work to do and both could use this win tonight. For NC State it’s a quality conference road win that would elevate their profile. For SMU it’s a notable win that could help keep them inside the bubble.
-INDIANA AT USC (Big Ten). Indiana is coming off a strong week where they’ve really been able to add some big wins to their profile and they’ve got a chance to pick up another big one tonight against USC. The Trojans could really use this one as well. In short, both teams are fighting to get into the NCAA Tournament and a win tonight would be helpful.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-Miami OH @ Buffalo (MAC) – Miami needed overtime to win the first meeting between these two and they’re on the road tonight. Having said that, Buffalo has been struggling having lost six of their last seven, but they should be way up for this one
-Xavier @ Connecticut (Big East) – UConn is good enough to win out and if they do they should be on the #1 line
-Boston College @ Duke (ACC) – this might as well be a buy game
-Ole Miss @ Tennessee (SEC) – Tennessee has won four of their last five, including two big road games, and is playing better now than they have at any point in the season. They should be able to hold serve tonight
-VCU @ Fordham (Atlantic 10) – people have kind of forgotten about VCU, but they have strung together quite a few wins and may have a path to the bubble
-South Carolina @ Texas (SEC) – Texas is right on the bubble and cannot afford to lose these types of games.
-Saint John’s @ DePaul – The Johnnies are really rolling and have lost just one game since Dec 20th and are keeping pace with UConn in the Big East standings. They should be able to win this one
-Pittsburgh @ Virginia (ACC) – Virginia is still within reach of a protected seed. They should be able to hold serve tonight
-Saint Louis @ Davidson (Atlantic 10) – SLU is good enough to win out and if they do they may be flirting with a protected seed
-Drake @ Belmont (Missouri Valley) – I will keep banging this drum! Belmont should be inside the bubble and if they win out until the end of the regular season they should be in the field regardless of what happens in the conference tournament!!
-Rutgers @ UCLA (Big Ten) – UCLA is just outside our bubble and needs to hold serve in games like this where they’re playing teams nowhere near the field at home
Wyoming @ San Diego State – San Diego State is coming off a rough loss to Utah State and needs to bounce back tonight to keep themselves within reach of making the field
UNDER THE RADAR WATCH:
-Stephen F Austin now has a two game lead over McNeese in the Southland standings after a solid 67-60 win against the Cowboys last night. Unfortunately, all that really means is that they’d get to wear white jerseys on McNeese’s floor since McNeese is hosting the conference tournament, but up to this point SFA has looked like the better team.
-Bethune Cookman won handily at Alabama A&M 80-62 and remains on top of the SWAC standings
-Portland State had no trouble with Idaho State and is still in control of the Big Sky
-Little Rock @ UT Martin (Ohio Valley) – UT Martin is alone in 1st place and appears to be the best team in what has been a very competitive OVC this year
Chad and the panel recap a very busy week and discuss how well Texas A&M is playing in the SEC, how Kentucky has racked up some big road wins recently, how Georgia is in a tailspin, and how Florida has really turned it on. In the Big Ten Michigan had a huge week and Illinois is playing as well as anyone in the country. The Big 12 also has multiple teams that are high in the rankings and in contention for protected seeds, including Arizona who is ranked #1 in the nation. We discuss all that and more as we run through all of the major conferences.
And for all you radio lovers, below is an audio only version of the show…
-Illinois is currently playing as well as anyone in the country and yesterday they picked up one of the single most impressive wins that any team in the country has managed so far. They knocked off Nebraska 78-69 in Lincoln to avenge a home loss to the Huskers from earlier this year. We used to call this the ‘Road-Win-Exchange-Program.’
-Since adding Charles Bediako to the roster, Alabama has looked noticeably worse than they did before they got him, and they did not look good at all yesterday as Florida blew them out 100-77. Now to be fair, the Gators looked fantastic and have been looking fantastic for the past several weeks now, but Alabama looked as if they were on the level of a team that was playing a road buy game.
-Iowa won decisively at Oregon 84-66. While it isn’t a huge profile win, to be able to win it that decisively as a road team is a statement for the Hawkeyes. As much as I have admittedly criticized their profile, this is a legit good team.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-KANSAS AT TEXAS TECH (Big 12). Nothing out of the ordinary here. Just another Big 12 game between two probable protected seeds. Texas Tech is looking to rebound from their loss at UCF and Kansas is looking to pick up what would probably be their single best win of the season so far.
-Syracuse @ North Carolina (ACC) – UNC seems to be playing their best ball of the year right now and shouldn’t have too much trouble at home in this one
UNDER THE RADAR WATCH:
-It’s February, which means we will be eyeing all the conference races in the daily write ups.
-East Tennessee State picked up a huge 86-72 win at Wofford last night to put themselves a game in front of the Terriers in the SoCon standings. Wofford had been playing really well, so for ETSU to get this one on the road is a big statement.
-McNeese @ Stephen F Austin (Southland) – it’s unlikely that either team will land inside the bubble, but both are potentially very dangerous teams in the Round of 64 and there is probably only room for one of them to get there. It will come down to the conference tournament to see who gets the bid, but this could be a game that helps propel one of them to the #12 line. Rocco Miller will also be in the building for this game!
-Bethune Cookman @ Alabama A&M (SWAC) – this is a road test for Cookman, who is currently atop the SWAC standings
-Idaho State @ Portland State – Portland State sits atop the Big Sky and should be able to hold serve tonight and stay there
A full panel has been assembled and they build this week’s seedlist line by line! They debate, discuss, assess, and argue about each team as they go. Find out who they have on the #1 lines so far, who is safely in, who still has work to do, and who on the bubble just made it in and just missed it.
Below is a final copy of The Bracket, but don’t look at it until you’ve watched the show!!
And for all you radio lovers, below is an audio only version of the the show…
