HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel will spend the upcoming months covering several Georgetown basketball home games, with (hopefully) a very special reward coming in March. He was in attendance Friday night at Capital 1 Arena and prepared this photo essay about the Hoyas’ matchup against DePaul. If you would like to check out his prior coverage, please go to:
Another great pregame meal: multiple types of pasta/garlic bread/brownie/chocolate chip cookie. The student section is hungry for a win and looks quite packed:
I noticed that the radio analyst for DePaul was Dave Corzine. I got to interview him about his fellow alum George Mikan a couple of years ago and he was super-nice:
Let’s tip off an eventful weekend in DC:
It is hard to feel confident about a DePaul team that has lost 39(!) straight Big East regular-season games over the past 3 seasons, but they certainly have the health advantage as Georgetown was down a pair of starters. Their leading 3-PT shooter (Jayden Epps) was out for the 3rd time in the past 6 games due to a left hamstring injury, while their leading scorer/rebounder/shot-blocker (Thomas Sorber) was out for the 1st time all season due to a right elbow injury:
DePaul coach Chris Holtmann has been waiting even longer for a win, as the last time he beat a Big East team was on 11/22/21 in a 3-PT win at Seton Hall when he was coach at Ohio State:
For a guy whose name sounds primarily like a defensive star, Blue Demons G Layden Blocker displayed his offensive repertoire in the 1st half with a layup, a jumper, and a pair of threes en route to 14 PTS in just 14 minutes of action:
Caleb Williams/Malik Mack tried to pick up the offensive slack for the Hoyas by getting to the basket for layup after layup, but they needed a bit more help:
DePaul entered the locker room up 39-28 at halftime thanks to Georgetown making exactly ONE shot from behind the arc and having just 3 AST. After coming back onto the court, Blue Demons PF NJ Benson missed a dunk but was still strong enough to wreck part of the stanchion, so the maintenance crew had to bring out a stepladder to fix it:
With Sorber out, Benson was able to use his 6’8”/235-pound frame to his advantage in the 2nd stanza with a layup, an alley-oop dunk that thankfully did not do any further damage to the basket, and even a 3 from the top of key to beat the shot clock. His 4 BLK on the defensive end were not too shabby either:
To the Hoyas’ credit, they did not go gently into that good night despite their depleted roster. Drew Fielder made several shots around the basket, a turnaround jumper, and a 3 to finish with 19 PTS:
Both Mack and his teammate Curtis Williams Jr. made a pair of threes down the stretch as they were able to chip away at a 17-PT 1st half deficit and whittle it down to a 1-possesion game in the final minutes. However, DePaul G CJ Gunn gave his team a shot in the arm with a layup, a jumper, and a corner 3 to finish with a team-high 17 PTS and lead his team to a 73-68 victory and their 1st conference road win since beating the Hoyas in DC on 2/24/22:
In the postgame press conference I asked Coach Holtmann (who spent the past 7 years at Ohio State) how close he was to Buckeyes’ football coach Ryan Day and whether he thought Day was 72 hours away from becoming a national champ. He smiled and said that Coach Day is 1 of the best people he knows and a hell of a guy. While he refused to make an official prediction, he admitted that he would like nothing more than for Coach Day and his staff to win it all on Monday night:
I wondered if Georgetown coach Ed Cooley and his team would have time to celebrate Martin Luther King Day on Monday considering he had a game at Villanova at 6PM that evening. He explained that he requested to play on MLK Day because it is something special, and much like King the Hoyas want to be a leader in discussing justice/injustice. He is grateful that the league has allowed him to play on Monday, and that King’s dream is coming true by virtue of Cooley being able to talk to us today:
That is a wrap for now but check back later this month when St. John’s visits DC.
-For the latest Hoops HD Staff Bracket, which was put together this week by Chad Sherwood – CLICK HERE
-Indiana snapped a two-game losing streak where they were blown out in both games by getting a really nice 77-76 road win at Ohio State. Every year we see schizophrenic teams, and Ohio State is a team with a profile that fits that category this year. They have a blowout win against a team like Kentucky away from home, and last night they lost at home to an Indiana team that appeared to be on the bubble at best.
-UCLA also ended their losing streak with a blowout home win against Iowa. The final score was 94-70, but the lead was much bigger than that until late in the game.
-Ever since beating UConn and showing signs of possible tournament life, Villanova has now gone backwards after losing at St. John’s (forgivable) and Xavier (less forgivable). They barely eked out a win at home against Providence last night.
-Which is more than we can say for Georgetown. The Hoyas took a huge step backward after DePaul snapped a 39-game losing streak in conference play last night with a 73-68 win. AND on the road in Washington. This was also the first road win for the Blue Demons in two seasons.
.
SPOTLIGHT GAME:
-VMI AT THE CITADEL (SoCon). This is legit one of my favorite rivalries in all of college basketball!! Neither team is all that good, and when these two meet it is oftentimes for second-to-last place in the SoCon, but WOW do they get after it!! There is something special and somewhat romantic about a game that doesn’t mean hardly anything on paper between two teams that aren’t ever nationally significant, but that come out and go at it with such intensity the way these teams do. It’s worth watching!! It really is!! (Note from Stalica – out of respect for Griggs, this is now our UTR Game of the Day.)
.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-ALABAMA AT KENTUCKY (SEC). Both teams are ranked in the top ten and both are within reach of a #1 seed. Having said that, the SEC is so strong both are also at risk of not finishing in the top 4 and byeing into the SEC quarterfinals. Alabama has an unbelievable resume, but they are coming off a somewhat surprising home loss to Ole Miss (who is also very good) and this will not be an easy game for them to bounce back in.
-HOUSTON AT UCF (Big 12). Houston continues to string together wins as their schedule gets tougher and tougher. UCF is a team that is good enough to make the NCAA Tournament, and a win today would go a long way even though it’s a home game.
-CLEMSON AT PITTSBURGH (ACC). It feels like both of these teams will be able to make the Tournament, but both still have work to do and a win today would be big for whoever pulls it off. Clemson has won five out of six, including a road game in their last game, but none of the wins were super strong. Pitt is coming off a somewhat surprising loss to Florida State and will be looking to rebound.
-AUBURN AT GEORGIA (SEC). This will be another tough road test for an Auburn team that’s passed virtually all of their tough road tests. Georgia is having a good year, but this would be a huge win on their resume even though it’s a home game. They should be jacked way up for this one.
-ARIZONA AT TEXAS TECH (Big 12). Arizona has really started to play well and is definitely trending up. This is another tough, but winnable, road game against a Texas Tech team that’s looked good at times, but needs to look good a few more times in order to land inside the bubble.
-PURDUE AT OREGON (Big Ten). Both teams are ranked in the top 20 and both teams have some really good wins on their resume. Oregon got battles from Ohio State and Penn State on the road in their last two games, but managed to win both of them. As good as Purdue has been this year, this would probably be their best win of the season so far up to this point.
-WISCONSIN AT USC (Big Ten). Going all the way out to USC and winning on the road is not an easy task for Wisky, but it is one that they are certainly up for. They’ve now won six straight, but this would just be their second true road win of the season.
-TENNESSEE AT VANDERBILT (SEC). It’s a rivalry game, and Vandy is having a good year, but it still appears to be a bit of a mismatch as Tennessee is looking like they are among the few teams that are good enough to win it all. The Vols have also shown that they can play and win in tough road environments.
-IOWA STATE AT WEST VIRGINIA (Big 12). Iowa State is one of the two best teams in the country and is coming off a rather decisive win against Kansas. This will be a very tough road game, and it’s one that could give West Virginia’s profile a huge boost, but Iowa State is capable of winning tough games.
-OLE MISS AT MISSISSIPPI STATE (SEC). It’s a big rivalry game between two ranked teams. Ole Miss just picked up a massive on the road against Alabama, so as intense as this atmosphere will be for this one they’ve shown they can win on the road against really good teams. Mississippi State has lost two straight and will be looking to bounce back from a blowout loss at Auburn.
-ARKANSAS AT MISSOURI (SEC). Arkansas is in real trouble. They’re 0-4 in SEC play and haven’t looked all that good this season other than perhaps in their win against Michigan. Mizzou, on the other hand, is coming off an amazing road win at Florida and is suddenly looking like a top 25 team. They have a ton of momentum built up and their fans should be up for this one.
-LSU AT TEXAS A&M (SEC). Texas A&M has lost two straight, but those were against Alabama and Kentucky, which are clearly not easy games to win. But, they do need to bounce back and hold serve in the winnable games they do play because most SEC games are very hard to win. LSU is respectable, but TAMU should beat them at home.
-OREGON STATE AT SAN FRANCISCO (West Coast). After Oregon State’s big win against Gonzaga last night they are probably within reach of the bubble, and they certainly have the opportunities at the wins they need between now and the end to get inside of it. Tonight’s game is a big one. The Dons are not easy to beat on the road!
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-Creighton @ UConn (Big East)- UConn is looking like a protected seed and Creighton is trying to play their way into the field. A win today would really help the Bluejays
-Georgia Tech @ Florida State (ACC)- Florida State is coming off a nice win against Pitt, which was their 5th win in 7 games, and they have another winnable game today
–Virginia at Louisville (ACC) – Louisville is hot right now with seven straight wins and they should be able to extend that today
-George Washington @ George Mason (Atlantic 10) – the chances of either team landing inside the bubble are slim, but if one or both of them can tear through their schedule and run away from the rest of the conference they may have a chance
-Kansas State @ Kansas (Big 12) – The Jayhawks should bounce back from their big loss at Iowa State and roll at home in this one
-Xavier @ Marquette (Big East) – Xavier needs a win like this (and probably then some) to get themselves back inside the bubble. Marquette looks like a sure fire protected seed who may even flirt with the #1 line if they can keep blowing through the Big East
-Arizona State @ Cincinnati (Big 12) – Both teams have shown signs of strength, but both are really struggling now with just one conference win for each of them. They both really need a win today
-SMU @ Miami FL (ACC) – this should be a rather easy road win for SMU
-Wake Forest @ Virginia Tech (ACC) – Wake has really come to life lately and they can add another road win to their resume and improve to 6-1 in ACC play
–Saint Bonaventure @ Duquesne (Atlantic 10) – the Bonnies are not inside the bubble, but they can perhaps get there if they can blow through the rest of their schedule. Anything short of that and they’ll need the auto bid
-Stanford @ North Carolina (ACC) – UNC is another team that’s really come to life lately having won six out of their last seven and they should be able to hold serve today
-Texas @ Florida (SEC) – A win like this for Texas could completely turn their season around and boost their profile through the roof, but it’s easier said than done. Florida is one of the best teams in the country and won’t be easy to beat at home
-Bradley @ Murray State (Missouri Valley) – A win for Bradley gets them to 16-3 on the year and keeps the bubble within reach
-Colorado State @ Wyoming (Mountain West, Front Range) – WE AT HOOPS HD LOVE THE FRONT RANGE!!!!
-South Carolina @ Oklahoma (SEC) – neither team has an SEC win yet, and both need one today. Oklahoma was unbeaten out of conference and is winless in conference so far
-Drake @ Indiana State – Drake can get to a very impressive 16-2 on the year and pick up another road win, which should keep them within reach of the bubble
-Duke @ Boston College (ACC) – should be some low hanging road fruit for Duke
-UNLV @ San Diego State (Mountain West) – UNLV just knocked off a really good Utah State team, so San Diego State doesn’t want to overlook them, but they should be able to hold serve and get this one done at home
-Saint John’s @ Seton Hall (Big East) – the Johnnies are really on a roll and they should be able to pick up another conference road win tonight
-UC San Diego @ UC Riverside (Big West) – UCSD did lose to UC Irvine recently, but I still think they are good enough to get inside the bubble. Having said that, road games like this are not easy to win
-Santa Clara @ Gonzaga (West Coast) – Gonzaga is coming off an overtime loss to Oregon State and needs to bounce back. They can still get a protected seed, but their margin for error is razor thin
-BYU @ Utah (Big 12) – not all that important on paper, but it is a fierce rivalry and it’s good to have it back as a conference game again!
-Cal Poly @ UC Irvine (Big West) – UC Irvine is inside of our bubble and will remain there so long as they continue to hold serve
-Saint Mary’s @ Pepperdine (West Coast) – SMC should be a first ballot NCAA Tournament team and should be able to hold serve tonight
It is Chad’s turn again to post the HoopsHD Staff — the weekly bracket posted by a rotating member of the HoopsHD Staff in which we set forth where we field the NCAA Tournament should be if today was Selection Sunday. Below the Bracket are Chad’s comments followed by reactions from other members of our staff. Enjoy!!
CHAD’S COMMENTS:
Despite Tennessee’s loss having been by 30 points, they have moved up to #3 overall for me, passing Duke. Tennessee has four Tier 1A wins away from home and only one overall loss. Duke has two Tier 1A wins away from home and 2 overall losses.
Houston does not have the wins yet to really merit a 3 seed, but this is a damn good team that, by quirks of the order of their Big 12 conference games this season, just has not had a chance to prove themselves in league play yet. But this is a great team and I was tempted to seed them even higher.
Ole Miss also made my 3 line. What they did this week at Alabama speaks for itself. There is a real chance that Chris Beard’s team may prove to be the second best team in the SEC behind Auburn.
Another team that is rising fast is Missouri, The Tigers turned a profile with nothing but a home win over Kansas into something truly special this week by throwing in a road win at Florida — and remember, Tennessee lost by 30 at Florida! I may have Mizzou still under-seeded on my 6 line.
Gonzaga may have blown any real chance at a protected seed last night when they lost at Oregon State. No matter how good this team is on paper, they just will not have the chances for marquee wins the rest of the way to make any significant move towards the top 4 seed lines.
UC-Irvine is solidly in my field as a 9 seed, while conference-mate UC-San Diego was my very last team in. If both teams can continue to steamroll the rest of the Big West the way they did in last night’s wins, this will be a 2-bid conference.
My last four in, in order, were St John’s, Vanderbilt, Iowa and UCSD. My top four out, in order, were Wake Forest, Texas, BYU and Ohio State. Also considered were Arizona State, Indiana, Cincinnati, Nebraska, Penn State, Northwestern, LSU, USC, Oregon State, Boise State, Villanova, SMU, North Texas, Bradley, Florida State and Santa Clara.
Buckeye fans may not like my decision to leave Ohio State out. Their wins over Kentucky and Texas are both good wins. They do not have any bad losses. However, at the end of the day this team is 4-7 against the top three Tiers and 3-7 against the top two. That pretty much categorically leaves a team out.
STAFF COMMENTS:
From John Stalica:
– Memphis stepped on their first Lego with a loss at Temple last night. They might be able to absorb one more loss to remain in the Top 4 lines, but this better not be habit-forming. Lest they become the Dayton of the American and fall completely off the board.
– Illinois would probably be the beneficiary of a Memphis falling out of protected seed territory. Their win against Mizzou now looks better with the rise of the Tigers, and although they did get a pair of West Coast road wins against Oregon and Washington, the USC loss at home shows they’re capable of almost anything in conference play.
– St. John’s as a First Four team is a bit mistifying; they’re actually off to their best overall start since the 1998-99 season in which they would reach the Elite 8. Hopefully they don’t sleep through their alarms very often like they did against Georgetown earlier this week.
– UCLA is another team headed in the wrong direction after four straight losses (including against two teams not in Chad’s field). They finally get some much needed home cooking this week, but they too could find themselves out of the field soon if they don’t get out of their current slump.
– With Mother Miami as a 15 seed, is that a testament to how good the Redhawks have been or is that an indictment of the MAC in general this year? I thought they’d at least get a better matchup than Troy in the MAC/Sun Belt Challenge.
From David Griggs:
-Let me first say that THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE MY WEEK!!! Chad just came along and took it from me!! My bracket would have been MUCH better!!!!!
-Having said that, I find myself agreeing with much more than I disagree with. Gonzaga as a 7 seed may seem low to a lot of people, but their profile suggests that they belong in that 6-7 seed range, and quite frankly so does their play on the court. They have a few good wins, but they also have more missed opportunities. The Zags are good. They belong in the top half of the bracket. But, they don’t belong on the top 4 lines.
-UC Irvine on the 9 line is also properly placed. They do have a bad loss at Duquesne, but when you look at their overall resume and season this is a top 40 team.
-Utah State’s loss to UNLV really set them back, but I think it set them back from being on the fringe of a protected seed to the 6-7 seed range.
-I do like UConn and Michigan a little more than Chad does. Like I said, my bracket would have been better!
For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE
-We knew Gonzaga would be tested last night, but we also felt that if they really are a top 15 caliber team they should be able to beat Oregon State on the road. Instead they fell in overtime 97-89. Oregon State is a good team and is not easy to beat at home, but it’s still a setback for the Zags and an indication that they aren’t quite in the same class as Auburn, and Tennessee, and Iowa State, and the top half of the SEC, and those types of teams.
-Michigan, who had been red hot, also suffered an overtime loss as they fell to Minnesota 84-81, which ends a five game winning streak for them.
-Memphis, who we had been praising all year and felt was good enough to run the table in the American, lost at Temple last night 88-81. Because the rest of Memphis’s schedule is so weak they may be out of strikes in terms of getting a protected seed. They’re still very safely inside the bubble, but another loss could knock them out of the top four lines.
-Northwestern, who really needed something to go right for them, managed to beat a pretty solid Maryland team at home last night, and for once they won a game on a last second shot! The Wildcats got it done against the Terps 76-74.
-Nebraska dropped one at home to Rutgers 85-82 in a loss that wasn’t too terrible, but was the kind of game they needed to hold serve in if they wanted to show that they should be safely inside the bubble.
.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
PROVIDENCE AT VILLANOVA (Big East). Nova has lost their last two games and is once again on the outside with a ways to go to get back inside the bubble. They need to hold serve and win this one at home.
-INDIANA AT OHIO STATE (Big Ten). Indiana has been blown out in two consecutive games and has all the signs of heading in the wrong direction and missing the NCAA Tournament. Ohio State has lost three out of their last four, but all three were close games against tough opponents. This is a winnable game for the Buckeyes, and one they sort of need to win.
-IOWA AT UCLA (Big Ten). UCLA’s losing streak is now at four and this feels like a game they really need to win. Iowa has not won a true road game all season, so it’s a big game for them as well. Both teams have reasons for needing this one.
-BOISE STATE AT NEW MEXICO (Mountain West). New Mexico had been rolling, but then suffered a big setback with a loss to San Jose State that will leave a mark on their resume. They need to bounce back at home against Boise State tonight. This game has a really bubblicious feel to it.
Ohio (10-6, 4-0) at Akron (11-5, 4-0) – 6:00 PM ET (CBS Sports Network)
Tonigiht’s UTR Game of the Day matches up a pair of leaders in the MAC as OU travels north up Interstate 77 to take on the Akron Zips. The Bobcats blew out Northern Illinois and Ball State on their last homestand, but this will be the first of their games against the top half of the conference. AJ Clayton averages 16.8 points a game and 6.3 rebounds a game for Ohio.
Akron has beaten a pair of MAC foes from Ohio thus far – they opened up MAC play with a 3-point win at Bowling Green and defeated Toledo 85-78 in their last contest. Akron also learned today that they will play South Alabama in the upcoming MAC-Sun Belt Challenge (Ohio U will host Appalachian State in the same series). Tavari Johnson averages 11.8 points a game and 4.2 assists a game for the Zips.
Merrimack (8-8, 5-0) at Quinnipiac (9-8, 5-1) – 7:00 PM ET (ESPN+)
A pair of leaders in the Metro Atlantic square off tonight as the Merrimack Warriors travel south to visit the Quinnipiac Bobcats. Merrimack is tied with Marist for first place and is currently on a 3-game winning streak overall; their last game was a 69-62 win against Manhattan. Bryan Etumnu led Merrimack with 21 points in the win against the Jaspers.
Only a loss to Marist on the road is keeping Quinnipiac behind the co-leaders at the moment; the Bobcats have won their past two games since that contest. They defeated Siena 72-53 at home and then won a 63-62 thriller on the road at Iona. In that game, the Gaels nearly erased a 5-point deficit in the final minute but were unable to come up with the game winning shot as the clock expired.
