Hanging with the Hoyas: Part 5

Posted on January 5, 2023 by Jon Teitel

HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel will spend the upcoming months covering several Georgetown basketball home games, with (hopefully) a very special reward coming in March. You can find Parts 1-4 at:

https://hoopshd.com/2022/11/12/hanging-with-the-hoyas-part-1-2
https://hoopshd.com/2022/12/03/hanging-with-the-hoyas-part-2-3
https://hoopshd.com/2022/12/17/hanging-with-the-hoyas-part-3-3
https://hoopshd.com/2023/01/02/hanging-with-the-hoyas-part-4-3

See below for his photo essay about the Hoyas’ game last night against Villanova.

Delicious pregame meal: make-your-own chicken/pork BBQ sandwiches with mac and cheese! Let’s tip it off:

I was hoping that Villanova G Justin Moore would get to make his triumphant return to the DMV after starring at DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, MD, but he is still recovering from surgery last March to repair his torn Achilles tendon. The injuries continued piling up for the Wildcats when Jordan Longino crumpled to the court with 2 minutes left in the 1st half and then had to be carried off by his teammates because he could not put any weight on his left leg:

I was excited to see 2022 McDonald’s All-American Cam Whitmore in person. There were certainly some flashes of offense/athleticism…but 4-11 FG/0 FTA/0 AST/0 BLK/0 STL did not give me the impression that he will be a 1st round pick…yet:

The more impressive freshman was his teammate Mark Armstrong. After scoring just 12 combined PTS in his past 4 games and getting demoted from starter to sub, he bounced back in a big way with a career-high 14 PTS off the bench and continued his perfection at the FT line, where he is now 13-13 in his short college career:

Georgetown G Brandon Murray was able to get to the basket at will and provided the dunk of the night:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2BPdVgmNK0
In contrast, Villanova G Caleb Daniels did damage from the outside, knocking down a trio of trifectas in the 1st half: more on him later. Hoyas’ F Akok Akok has an inside game so nice they named him twice, and his layup/pair of dunks kept it close as the score was tied 35-all at halftime:

With his teammate Primo Spears continuing his trend of being a great facilitator (25 AST in past 3 games) but poor shooter (8-28 FG in past 3 games), I expected Murray to try to win this 1 all by himself. Unfortunately, he injured his right shoulder early in the 2nd half and was taken to the locker room after the under-16 media timeout with his team trailing 42-38. The Wildcats went on an immediate 15-5 run to extend their lead to 57-43 and by the time Murray was back in the huddle for the under-4 media timeout it was too late:

Daniels kept raining in threes and tied his career-high with 6-13 3PM after making just 10-38 3PM during his previous 6 games:

Villanova also continued its fantastic FT shooting: after missing just 1 FT in each of its past 4 games (48-52) they knocked down all 18 of their attempts from the charity stripe vs. Georgetown and are now an unthinkable 66-70 (94.3 FT%) since mid-December! The Wildcats won 73-57 and gave the Hoyas’ their 25th straight Big East loss to break the record for the longest losing streak in conference history.

In the postgame press conference I asked Villanova coach Kyle Neptune how he has been able to assemble the greatest FT shooting team in the history of the sport. I expected him to sing the praises of his team’s intense focus or detail the long hours of practice spent in the gym…but all I got were 3 words: “Really good recruiting!” When he saw the stunned response on my face he followed up with “That’s it.”

After someone else asked Patrick Ewing about his coaching future I played it safe by checking on Murray’s health. He admitted that they were unsure at the moment but that the medical staff would keep looking at it. While it was an uphill battle after Murray and teammate Bryson Mozone both had to be helped off the court due to injury, he was proud that his team did not quit:

That is a wrap for now..and for the foreseeable future. I am going to take a few weeks off to see if my presence is what has been jinxing the Hoyas, but will return later this month when DePaul visits DC.

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Hoops HD Daily Rundown – Thursday, Jan 5th

Posted on January 5, 2023 by David Griggs

NEWS AND NOTES:

-For our latest UNDER THE RADAR VIDEO PODCAST – CLICK HERE

-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day, which may be the OVERALL game of the day – CLICK HERE

-UConn suffered their second straight loss as they fell at Providence 73-61 yesterday.  The Friars pretty much had a lead for the entire game and while it was never really out of reach for UConn until the final minute or so, it never looked like Providence wasn’t in control either.  The Friars are really good.  Again.  As for UConn, while they have lost two in a row, both were on the road to really good teams, so it won’t set them back too badly.

-Miami FL had been one of the hotter teams in the country, but they lost just their second game of the season yesterday in a bit of a surprise at Georgia Tech.  It was close, but GA Tech led for most of the way and ended up pulling it out 76-70.  Winning on the road is tough.

-Missouri had been red hot, but also lost their second game of the year 74-68 on the road against a really good Arkansas team in a highly entertaining game that seesawed back and forth.  While Missouri didn’t win, they were able to be competitive against a really good team on the road, which was one of the questions I had about them, so my opinion of them hasn’t been lowered at all.  If anything, it may have been raised a little bit.

-Duke went on the road to NC State, and WAS NOT competitive.  They were down 16-0 to start the game and never got any closer.  It was actually quite pitiful.  Having said that, it was a nice win for NC State.

-Auburn went on the road to Georgia, and while they weren’t blown out like Duke was, they weren’t really ever in control of the game either.  Georgia picked up a really nice 76-64 win over the Tigers.

-TCU got a monster road win at Baylor 88-87 in a hard fought game that was close the whole way.  Baylor had a chance to win on their last possession, but was unable to convert.  It was a big win for TCU because it came on the road against a ranked team, and it was also their first Big 12 win.

-Iowa State is in the top 25, and showed they were deserving of it after they picked up a really big road win against Oklahoma 63-60.  Any conference road win against a team that’s within reach of the NCAA Tournament is a good win.

-Michigan has now won two straight and looked impressive in both wins since their loss to Central Michigan.  They were in control for pretty much the entire game against a fairly good Penn State team and ended up with a 79-69 win.

-Clemson picked up a hard fought win over Virginia Tech 68-65 and is now off to a 4-0 start in ACC play.  Clemson hasn’t been garnering all that much attention, but at 12-3 overall, and 4-0 in the ACC, and with some pretty solid wins on their resume, they look like an NCAA Tournament team to me.

-Northwestern bounced back from their pitiful showing against Ohio State with a very impressive showing against rival Illinois.  They were at home, but it was still an impressive looking win.  Northwestern looks like they can be in the discussion come March.

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-MARYLAND AT RUTGERS (Big Ten).  Rutgers picked up their biggest win of the year at Purdue earlier this week, so I think we now all think of them as being a solid NCAA Tournament team.  Maryland also looks to be on their way to landing in the field, and a road win like this would really help out their resume.  In short, this is a game between two good teams and winning it would look good on either resume.

-PURDUE AT OHIO STATE (Big Ten).  Purdue is coming off their first loss of the season, and this won’t be an easy bounce back by any means.  It’s a game they can win, but it’s against a top 25 team on the road.  Still, if they want a #1 seed, then this is the kind of road game that #1 seeds are expected to be able to win.

-UAB AT FLORIDA ATLANTIC (Conference USA).  This is perhaps the most important game of the day, at least in regards to what the stakes are for making the NCAA Tournament.  Both teams are good enough to make a run at the bubble, but both also have limited chances at the kinds of wins that would impress the committee, which is what makes this game today so important for both of them.

-SOUTHERN MISS AT LOUISIANA (Sun Belt).  Southern Miss is off to a fantastic start, and while this is a game they can/should win, it’s not an easy game, and the committee likely knows it.  Louisiana has lost their last two, but they were really strong out of conference and won’t be easy to beat at home.  Then again, if a team wants to make the NCAA Tournament, they need to be able to win games that aren’t easy to win, and that’s what Southern Miss needs to do tonight.

-INDIANA AT IOWA (Big Ten).  Iowa has come completely off the rails.  They don’t even look like an NIT team.  I keep waiting for them to bounce back, but am also questioning whether or not it will actually happen.  This should be a winnable road game for the Hoosiers.

-USC AT UCLA (Pac 12).  It’s a rivalry game between a USC team that’s played really well at times and is overall good enough to make the Tournament, and a UCLA team that’s played outstanding at times and has looked good enough to make a run at the Final Four.  It’s always fun when these two match up, and it should be fun tonight.  I like the contrasting styles, the rivalry, and the stakes of the game!

OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:

-Maine @ UMass Lowell (America East) – A win for UMass Lowell gets them to 14-2 on the year
-SMU @ Houston (American) – should be a winnable conference home game for the Cougars
-Texas State @ James Madison (Sun Belt) – James Madison has an outside shot at making a run at the bubble, but their margin for error is basically zero
-Grand Canyon @ Sam Houston (WAC) – I still think Sam Houston can make a run at the bubble despite a recent loss to Utah Valley.  They can’t slip up tonight at home against a GCU team that’s also pretty good
-Washington State @ Arizona State (Pac 12) – Wazzu has shown they can be tough to beat at home, but not so much on the road.  Arizona State should be able to hold serve int his one
-Louisiana Tech @ Rice (Conference USA) – I don’t think Rice will end up inside the bubble, but a win tonight gets them to 12-3 and the conference will give them some opportunities at good wins, so it’s not impossible
-North Texas @ Western Kentucky (Conference USA) – this is a challenging, but winnable, road game for North Texas who has a shot at making a run at the bubble
-Santa Clara @ Pepperdine (West Coast) – a winnable road game for Santa Clara that would get them to 14-4 on the year
-Washington @ Arizona (Pac 12) – Arizona looks to be among the teams that are good enough to make a run at a #1 seed, and they should be able to hold serve at home in this one
-Gonzaga @ San Francisco (West Coast) – I was excited about San Francisco for a while, but they have not looked good lately.  Gonzaga should roll in this one

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Under The Radar Game of the Day – Thursday, January 5th

Posted on January 5, 2023 by John Stalica

UAB (12-2, 3-0) at Florida Atlantic (12-1, 2-0) – 7:00 PM ET (ESPN+)

Tonight’s UTR Game of the Day is a featured Conference USA matchup between the UAB Blazers and the Florida Atlantic Owls. UAB came into the season with expectations of winning the conference and have won their first 3 games in C-USA on their home court against Charlotte, UTEP and UT-San Antonio. This week is their first road trip in conference play and they get their toughest road game right out of the bat. Jordan Walker leads the Blazers with an incredible 25.2 points a game.

The Owls’ winning streak has now reached 11 games and are coming off of a grinding 50-46 victory at North Texas last week. Against the Mean Green, Vladislav Goldin had 11 points and 13 rebounds to give FAU a resume-boosting victory. Tonight’s game is the beginning of a 5-game stretch that includes games against Charlotte, North Texas and a road trip to Western Kentucky.

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Under the Radar – Jan 4th

Posted on January 4, 2023 by David Griggs

This week’s feature conference is the MAC.  We talk about Kent State’s chances of making the bubble if they can dominate the league, but also discuss just how hard it will be for them to dominate it because of all the rivalries and tough road games that exist in this league.

From there we run through the other 22 UTR leagues and discuss how much better Dayton has been playing and how dangerous they could be if they can win the Atlantic Ten and make the NCAA Tournament, the strength of conferences like Conference USA, the Sun Belt, and the WAC and how we could see multiple teams from all of those leagues making runs at the bubble, how disappointing some of the conferences like the Horizon League, the SoCon, and Missouri Valley have been, and more.  And, as we do every week, we close with this week’s UTR Top Ten.

Audio Only version:

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Hoops HD Daily Rundown – Wednesday, Jan 4th

Posted on January 4, 2023 by David Griggs

Instead of calling this “News, Notes, and Highlighted Games” I’ve decided to rebrand this as the “Hoops HD Daily Rundown.”  When you’re a puppet, you have that kind of administrative authority!!

NEWS AND NOTES:

-For John Stalica’s Under the Radar Game of the Day – CLICK HERE

-There simply aren’t very many nights that aren’t crazy.  Even when you’re expecting a normal night, you almost never get it.

-Kansas held a lead at Texas Tech for most of the game, but the Red Raiders kept chipping away and chipping away, and appeared to have a chance to win it with the shot clock off, but a big defensive play by Kansas gave them a breakaway dunk to seal up the 75-72 road win, which looks really nice on the resume of a team that’s fighting for a #1 seed.

-Kansas State’s defense was AWFUL last night at Texas!  But the offense was out of their minds.  If you’d have told me Texas was going to score 103 points AT HOME against K State, I would have wondered just how much they blew them out by, but K State held a lead for pretty much the entire game, diced up the Texas defense (which is really good), and seemingly scored on every possession in their 116-103 road win.  This will look fantastic on K State’s resume and probably vault them into the rankings.

-Pitt was down double digits to Virginia about midway through the second half, and then Virginia’s offense went through a stretch where it looked a lot like the offense of a team that was playing against Virginia.  Pitt pulled even, then went ahead, and then it was close the rest of the way with Pitt making some big plays in the final minute to pick up the 68-65 win.  It’s a huge win for the Panthers despite it being a home game, and it follows up another big win against North Carolina (also a home game).  One thing we can say for certain is that Pitt is VERY tough to beat at home!

-New Mexico suffered their first loss of the season in a 71-67 game to a Fresno State team that is just 6-8 on the year.  It was a road game, but it’s the kind of road game that a legit top 25 team should be able to win.  I like New Mexico’s team and think they can finish inside the bubble, but I also wonder how much of their 14-0 record was due to their strength of schedule being in the 280s rather than them being a legit top 25 team.  With teams like San Diego State, Nevada, and UNLV in their league they will be tested multiple times between now and the end.

-Marquette picked up a decent road win at Saint John’s 96-85 and improves to 4-1 in conference play and appears to be moving further and further inside the bubble.

-Kentucky had to sweat at home against LSU, but held on for the 74-71 win.  It’s not a win that screams “protected seed!!” but it is arguably (and perhaps not even arguably) Kentucky’s best win of the season so far.

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-AUBURN AT GEORGIA (SEC).  This is a game that a protected seed should be able to win on the road, but it’s still not an easy game to win.  Georgia is 10-3 and looking for some notable wins of their own, so Auburn will definitely be tested.

-DUKE AT NC STATE (ACC).  Like the game previously mentioned, this is a road game that a protected seed should be able to win, but it will be a tough test against an NC State team that should be fired up for this one and who needs some notable wins of their own.

-PENN STATE AT MICHIGAN (Big Ten).  Michigan has been very schizophrenic this year.  One week they look like they don’t even belong in the NIT, and then they’ll go out and absolutely blitz a pretty good Maryland team.  Penn State is having a good year and this would be a very good conference road win for them to get on their resume, so there is something at stake for both teams.

-UCONN AT PROVIDENCE (Big East).  I really like how Providence has been playing, but if you look at their resume it’s a little light when it comes to big time wins.  Tonight is a chance for them to get a big time win.  Even though it’s a home game, it would still look really good.  UConn is coming off a tough loss to Xavier and will be tested in a big way again tonight.  They are still a solid protected seeded caliber team, and they could still even end up as a #1 seed, but to get there they need to win these types of games.

-MISSOURI AT ARKANSAS (SEC).  No one expected much out of Missouri, then they racked up a big record but people questioned their strength of schedule, and then they started beating some quality opponents and now people are wondering if they can do it on the road.  They keep making themselves look better and better, but this will be a HUGE test tonight against a very good Arkansas team.  Both teams are in the rankings, and this win would look really good on both teams’ resumes.

-TCU AT BAYLOR (Big 12).  This is a showcase game between two top 20 teams, both of whom may be better than what they’ve shown us so far this season.  As good as Baylor is, they did lose their conference opener and some may even say they’ve underperformed this year.  A win tonight would certainly be big for either team.

-CLEMSON AT VIRGINIA TECH (ACC).  Both teams are 11-3, both appear to be within reach of the bubble, but neither team seems to be making that big of a splash on the national radar, and both could really use this game tonight.

-ILLINOIS AT NORTHWESTERN (Big Ten).  I think this Northwestern team has a lot of potential, but when they have a bad game, they certainly go all out!!  they were absolutely clobbered by Ohio State a few nights ago.  They’re at home tonight against a rival and this would be a great way to bounce back, but it would also be a really nice road win for Illinois.  In short, it’s a rivalry game that could help out both teams’ resumes, so it should be fun.

OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:

-Charleston @ NC A&T (Colonial) – Charleston should land inside the bubble so long as they hold serve the rest of the way in games like this
-Villanova @ Georgetown (Big East) – This is a winnable road game for Nova that they kind of need to not lose
-Miami FL @ Georgia Tech (ACC) – Miami appears to be good enough to earn a protected seed and should be able to get this one on the road
-UCF @ East Carolina (American) – I still think UCF is a Tournament caliber team, but their margin for error the rest of the way is incredibly small
-Texas A&M @ Florida (SEC) – both teams need to start stringing together wins to get back into the picture
-Drake @ Southern Illinois (Missouri Valley) – Drake can be good, and they’ll need to be for the rest of the year.  Anything short of winning out may not be enough to get them inside the bubble

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Under The Radar Game of the Day – Wednesday, January 4th

Posted on January 4, 2023 by John Stalica

VCU (10-4, 1-0) at Duquesne (11-4, 1-1) – 7:00 PM ET (ESPN+)

For the first time since the Atlantic 10 was relegated to Under The Radar, the conference will be featured tonight as the Duquesne Dukes host the VCU Rams in an early-season conference matchup. The Rams just finished a 6-game homestand going 5-1; they concluded with an 80-67 win against La Salle to open up league play. Ace Baldwin had 19 points, 6 assists and 4 steals in their win against La Salle.

Duquesne opened A-10 play with a loss against preseason favorite Dayton, but quickly rebounded with a win at home against Rhode Island. In nonconference play, the Dukes got off to a 7-1 start that included a win against UC-Santa Barbara and a buzzer-beater against Ball State. They did come back to earth a little bit with home losses against New Mexico State and Marshall. Dae Dae Grant leads the Dukes with 17 points a game.

Posted in CBB on TV, Daily Rundown, News and Notes, Under the Radar | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment