Georgetown - Providence 2/10/14 Game Discussion

[HoyaSinceBirth]

Keys:

1) Box out! They are a very good offensive rebounding team. We actually did a good job last game against them. Only 8 offensive boards 25% Offensive reboundign rate compared to their normal 37%

2) Don't turn it over. We gave up 20 points off of 15 turnovers. We keep up our current TO rate of only 7 turnovers each in the last 2 games we win.

3) Attack the rim. Providence has a short bench. If we can get anyone into foul trouble it's huge. We've done a lot better job of getting to the line lately. Have to keep it up.

[GUJook97]

Feb 9, 2014 22:52:18 GMT -5 hoyas1995 said:

Feb 9, 2014 22:26:15 GMT -5 DoctorHoya said:

Providence is a tourney team. We need this win to have a shot

I disagree. Providence is sinking. They only have 1 "good" win (vs Creighton). Granted they dont have any "bad" losses (except maybe for Seton Hall) but I can see them on the bubble soon, and possibly ending up in the NIT

Regardless we need this game, and 5 more.

Im not sure why people are so convinced the Providence sink is shipping. I guess they have a short bench, but meh. This would be our best BE win of the season, so i dont think we get to talk about how others teams are fading away.

All that said, I agree that this is a huge game. Providence is right next to us in the RPI and the BE standings. Losing twice to them could hurt a lot.

[williambraskyiii]

Feb 10, 2014 9:30:44 GMT -5 GUJook97 said:

Feb 9, 2014 22:52:18 GMT -5 hoyas1995 said:

I disagree. Providence is sinking. They only have 1 "good" win (vs Creighton). Granted they dont have any "bad" losses (except maybe for Seton Hall) but I can see them on the bubble soon, and possibly ending up in the NIT

Regardless we need this game, and 5 more.

Im not sure why people are so convinced the Providence sink is shipping. I guess they have a short bench, but meh. This would be our best BE win of the season, so i dont think we get to talk about how others teams are fading away.

All that said, I agree that this is a huge game. Providence is right next to us in the RPI and the BE standings. Losing twice to them could hurt a lot.

Also, not sure we are the team to be throwing around "short bench" criticisms...we have 2 guards and Markel and DSR play 38+ mpg on a regular basis. We wonder why DSR has been off on 3, he might just be gassed. Kid has done a lot to improve his conditioning over the past year but he still may be grappling with playing full games and also serving as our primary 3pt threat. I know, I know, he is 20 years old...yada, yada.

[SFHoya99]

Feb 10, 2014 10:13:53 GMT -5 williambraskyiii said:

Feb 10, 2014 9:30:44 GMT -5 GUJook97 said:

Im not sure why people are so convinced the Providence sink is shipping. I guess they have a short bench, but meh. This would be our best BE win of the season, so i dont think we get to talk about how others teams are fading away.

All that said, I agree that this is a huge game. Providence is right next to us in the RPI and the BE standings. Losing twice to them could hurt a lot.

Also, not sure we are the team to be throwing around "short bench" criticisms...we have 2 guards and Markel and DSR play 38+ mpg on a regular basis. We wonder why DSR has been off on 3, he might just be gassed. Kid has done a lot to improve his conditioning over the past year but he still may be grappling with playing full games and also serving as our primary 3pt threat. I know, I know, he is 20 years old...yada, yada.

I'd buy this argument a lot more if he was hitting shots early in the first half, then tailing off. But is the extra eight minutes a week of play really affecting him five days after his last game.

If it's fatigue, it seems much more likely to be practice-related than game-related.

And the ribs seem like a more likely explanation to me.

[biggmanu]

Will be interested to see what JT3 throws out there on defense tonight. Do you double Cotton and dare other guys to beat you? I personally think we need to focus as much on Fenton and Batts as we do Cotton. I'm guessing we only 3/4 trap with Jabril/Bowen to save DSR/Markel's legs. Gtown has got to win this game on defense as our shooters are still not out of their slumps. Need yet another huge effort out of Nate getting on the boards and helping on the perimeter (like picking up Cotton after he blows by our first line of defense). Worried that if it turns to be another shooting slump grinder of a game we will lose because we're just not as good on the boards. Also can't let Cotton blow through the lane for uncontested layups. Need to switch defenses a lot and players got to execute and just want it more.

[royski]

Lunardi currently projects us as the last team out, while Providence is one of the last four in. Needless to say, this is a HUGE game for us. Let's go Hoyas!

[Deleted]

OT but @richarddeitsch, GTown’s victory over MSU (2/1) avg'd 539k viewers- most-watched college basketball game to date on FOX Sports 1.

[HoyaFanNY]

have to keep the turnovers to a minimum. last 2 games both under 10 turnovers. limit turnovers and rebound. ugly up the game and win another grinder. these next 2 games are going to tell the story of the rest of the season.

[hoyaboya]

Feb 10, 2014 12:18:03 GMT -5 @yaboynyp said:

OT but @richarddeitsch, GTown’s victory over MSU (2/1) avg'd 539k viewers- most-watched college basketball game to date on FOX Sports 1.

Not terribly surprising. As a state school with a traditional powerhouse basketball program, a lot more eyeballs to watch the game than just the alumni bases of the Big East private schools.

[hoyaboya]

Providence isn't good (bubble team without any particularly impressive wins, especially given what St. John's did to Creighton last night). However, this is a game the Hoyas need to win if the team wants to have more than a prayer (i.e., need to beat both Villanova and Creighton) of making the tournament. I really hope the coaching staff uses a different strategy this game vs. the one at PC. Cotton made Markel look silly, we need to look for double team opportunities/help often if Markel is matched up against him. Markel just doesn't have the quickness to stay with Cotton. Ideally we'd get some home-friendly calls tonight, any sort of foul issues and PC is in deep, deep trouble. Need to play aggressive and would love to see the Hoyas use multiple defenses to mix things up, not allow the Friars a chance to develop offensive rhythm. An early evening home game 2 days after Providence played a late afternoon road game, the Hoyas can't ask for anything more from the schedule makers. If the squad continues to play smart and the coaching staff uses timeouts wisely as it has in the most recent 3 games, I see this as a Georgetown win, 70-63.

[kghoya]

Feb 10, 2014 12:18:03 GMT -5 @yaboynyp said:

OT but @richarddeitsch, GTown’s victory over MSU (2/1) avg'd 539k viewers- most-watched college basketball game to date on FOX Sports 1.

just imagine if georgetown had come into the game with any sort of ranking/buzz

[hoyas1995]

Feb 10, 2014 13:57:01 GMT -5 hoyaboya said:

Providence isn't good (bubble team without any particularly impressive wins, especially given what St. John's did to Creighton last night). However, this is a game the Hoyas need to win if the team wants to have more than a prayer (i.e., need to beat both Villanova and Creighton) of making the tournament. I really hope the coaching staff uses a different strategy this game vs. the one at PC. Cotton made Markel look silly, we need to look for double team opportunities/help often if Markel is matched up against him. Markel just doesn't have the quickness to stay with Cotton. Ideally we'd get some home-friendly calls tonight, any sort of foul issues and PC is in deep, deep trouble. Need to play aggressive and would love to see the Hoyas use multiple defenses to mix things up, not allow the Friars a chance to develop offensive rhythm. An early evening home game 2 days after Providence played a late afternoon road game, the Hoyas can't ask for anything more from the schedule makers. If the squad continues to play smart and the coaching staff uses timeouts wisely as it has in the most recent 3 games, I see this as a Georgetown win, 70-63.

I dont think we need to beat BOTH Villanova and Creighton unless we slip up somehow along the way

[hoyaboya]

Feb 10, 2014 14:28:33 GMT -5 hoyas1995 said:

Feb 10, 2014 13:57:01 GMT -5 hoyaboya said:

Providence isn't good (bubble team without any particularly impressive wins, especially given what St. John's did to Creighton last night). However, this is a game the Hoyas need to win if the team wants to have more than a prayer (i.e., need to beat both Villanova and Creighton) of making the tournament. I really hope the coaching staff uses a different strategy this game vs. the one at PC. Cotton made Markel look silly, we need to look for double team opportunities/help often if Markel is matched up against him. Markel just doesn't have the quickness to stay with Cotton. Ideally we'd get some home-friendly calls tonight, any sort of foul issues and PC is in deep, deep trouble. Need to play aggressive and would love to see the Hoyas use multiple defenses to mix things up, not allow the Friars a chance to develop offensive rhythm. An early evening home game 2 days after Providence played a late afternoon road game, the Hoyas can't ask for anything more from the schedule makers. If the squad continues to play smart and the coaching staff uses timeouts wisely as it has in the most recent 3 games, I see this as a Georgetown win, 70-63.

I dont think we need to beat BOTH Villanova and Creighton unless we slip up somehow along the way

What I'm saying is I think if we lose tonight, we would have to beat both Nova AND Creighton to get in. Providence is our closest comparison in terms of Big East bubble teams that we are competing against (although, looking at the updated RPI, St. John's is now going to be an interesting bubble matchup as well). If we lose 2 to Providence, in addition to 2 to Nova and Creighton, I simply don't see enough "good win" opportunities for us to impress the committee, given our bad losses (home to Seton Hall and the devastating Northeastern loss). The only good win opportunity left is Xavier at home, and Xavier may not even end up as a top 50 RPI team.

[TBird41]

Feb 10, 2014 14:43:54 GMT -5 hoyaboya said:

Feb 10, 2014 14:28:33 GMT -5 hoyas1995 said:

I dont think we need to beat BOTH Villanova and Creighton unless we slip up somehow along the way

What I'm saying is I think if we lose tonight, we would have to beat both Nova AND Creighton to get in. Providence is our closest comparison in terms of Big East bubble teams that we are competing against (although, looking at the updated RPI, St. John's is now going to be an interesting bubble matchup as well). If we lose 2 to Providence, in addition to 2 to Nova and Creighton, I simply don't see enough "good win" opportunities for us to impress the committee, given our bad losses (home to Seton Hall and the devastating Northeastern loss). The only good win opportunity left is Xavier at home, and Xavier may not even end up as a top 50 RPI team.

Thankfully, we already beat Michigan St., VCU and K-State, all on neutral courts.

Also, a win over Xavier is better than a win over Providence. It's more likely Providence ends up outside the top 50 than Xavier does, since Providence is currently 49 and Xavier is 37 in the RPI.

[vanman]

Love how hard the team has been playing. It will take that effort tonight. Their inside strength will be a problem as Batts is a manchild. Their guards can stop and pop as well as drive and dish. If we run our top of the key offensive sets it'll be tough to get them in foul trouble. Attack, attack, attack! Go Hoyas.

[hoyaboya]

Feb 10, 2014 14:49:30 GMT -5 TBird41 said:

Feb 10, 2014 14:43:54 GMT -5 hoyaboya said:

What I'm saying is I think if we lose tonight, we would have to beat both Nova AND Creighton to get in. Providence is our closest comparison in terms of Big East bubble teams that we are competing against (although, looking at the updated RPI, St. John's is now going to be an interesting bubble matchup as well). If we lose 2 to Providence, in addition to 2 to Nova and Creighton, I simply don't see enough "good win" opportunities for us to impress the committee, given our bad losses (home to Seton Hall and the devastating Northeastern loss). The only good win opportunity left is Xavier at home, and Xavier may not even end up as a top 50 RPI team.

Also, a win over Xavier is better than a win over Providence. It's more likely Providence ends up outside the top 50 than Xavier does, since Providence is currently 49 and Xavier is 37 in the RPI.

Not sure I agree with this. Xavier is likely in the field unless they collapse. A home win over Xavier, while nice, is not definitely better than losing twice, including at home, to a team that we're fighting against for a bubble spot. If I were a committee member, I'd look at Georgetown and say "you had two chances to beat that other bubble team, and you couldn't do it."

I agree that the MSU win is HUGE and if anything gets us in, that will be it (to counterbalance the terrible Northeastern loss). The Hoyas will likely have more good wins and bad losses than most bubble teams, so will be interesting to see if the good wins outweigh the bad losses, and how much head-to-head comes into play (vs. other bubble teams like Providence and potentially St. John's).

All of this discussion is many more wins away, however, so it's obviously way premature...just saying that tonight's game is a very big one, IMO.

[tashoya]

Feb 10, 2014 14:43:54 GMT -5 hoyaboya said:

Feb 10, 2014 14:28:33 GMT -5 hoyas1995 said:

I dont think we need to beat BOTH Villanova and Creighton unless we slip up somehow along the way

What I'm saying is I think if we lose tonight, we would have to beat both Nova AND Creighton to get in. Providence is our closest comparison in terms of Big East bubble teams that we are competing against (although, looking at the updated RPI, St. John's is now going to be an interesting bubble matchup as well). If we lose 2 to Providence, in addition to 2 to Nova and Creighton, I simply don't see enough "good win" opportunities for us to impress the committee, given our bad losses (home to Seton Hall and the devastating Northeastern loss). The only good win opportunity left is Xavier at home, and Xavier may not even end up as a top 50 RPI team.

IMO, you're looking way too far ahead. The Hoyas need this game, no doubt. But that is not the only big game this week. The Johnnies are not the same team we played earlier in the season. Sampson and Obekpa are much improved and even Harrison has cut down drastically on making it the D'Angelo show. Add to that that they're really stepped up their defense and have realized that they need to run as much as possible and that game. That's going to be a really tough game even without considering the bad blood from last meeting. Provvy first. Go get em Hoyas.

[dreamhoya]

One of the things that sort of did in GU the last time is the fact that they tried to go schoolyard with Providence. Wrong move. Providence has more athletes than GU; however, they are not a better team - close, may be equal, but not better. In this game, just play a bit more smart. GU is playing a ton less Princeton principles and more pick and rolls and posting up of their guards; Markel is turning more into a point and this should help the Hoyas in this game. BTW - St. John's is coming on strong. Right now, I think the Hoyas are the 2nd or 3rd best team in Conference, whether they will play that out, we'll see.

[hoyaboya]

Feb 10, 2014 15:31:13 GMT -5 dreamhoya said:

One of the things that sort of did in GU the last time is the fact that they tried to go schoolyard with Providence. Wrong move. Providence has more athletes than GU; however, they are not a better team - close, may be equal, but not better. In this game, just play a bit more smart. GU is playing a ton less Princeton principles and more pick and rolls and posting up of their guards; Markel is turning more into a point and this should help the Hoyas in this game. BTW - St. John's is coming on strong. Right now, I think the Hoyas are the 2nd or 3rd best team in Conference, whether they will play that out, we'll see.

Agree with not going schoolyard tonight. Don't agree with Hoyas being 2nd or 3rd best team in the conference. Better than Creighton? No way. Better than Xavier? Would have been more convincing of an argument if we hadn't choked that 17-point second half lead we had against them.

[centercourt400s]

Providence is the #1 free throw shooting team in the country according to NCAA statistics. Defense without unnecessary fouling will be key tonight.

stats.ncaa.org/rankings?academic_year=2014.0&division=1.0&ranking_period=18&sport_code=MBB&stat_seq=150.0