#3 Georgetown- #14 Ohio 1st Rd.Discussion

[ColumbiaHeightsHoya]

Bassett was solid at Indiana prior to that implosion. I watched their final against Akron and the shaggy white kid can shoot from deep, Bassett has a nice overall game with good penetration, but I didn't see any bigs that left me thinking we shouldn't decimate their frontline.
I'ld put Clark or WRigth on Bassett and have Freeman lock up the shooter. They probably shouldn't have won the MAC and I think overall the MAC wasn't as strong as in past years. Hoyas by 20.

[CAHoya07]

One game at a time. Beat Ohio. As has been stated, maybe there should be a separate "Midwest Region" thread with breakdowns of who you see advancing and potential scenarios down the road.

Sure, the Bobcats were the #9 seed in the MAC Tournament and went 7-9 in the conference regular season. No matter. They won their conference tournament. They've won five in a row, 2 in OT. They have five players averaging double figures, including guard Armon Bassett, their leading scorer at 17 ppg who had two good years at Indiana before transferring. I would say they're undersized, but they have a 6-10 guy and two 6-8 guys, all of whom get decent minutes.

FWIW, Ohio's RPI is 98. Rutgers' is 159. I'm just sayin'.

I think we got a tough draw too, but that is outside our control. What we can control is beating Ohio on Thursday. The first step. Go Hoyas.

[pash]

Mar 15, 2010 12:53:13 GMT -5 chep3 said:

We probably should talk about Ohio, but who knows anything about them? I haven't seen them play, haven't seen Armon Basset take a shot in 2 years, etc. What am I supposed to say about how we match up with Ohio?

Saturday's MAC tourney championship between Ohio and Akron is available in the ESPN360 archive if you do want to see them play.

[lurkerhoya]

The thing I like most about Providence is that we won't get the Davidson effect of playing an inferior team in what basically amounts to a home game. Of all 3 teams, I'd expect Ohio to have the biggest chance at having some presence, but Tenn should be limited at best and SDSU non-existent. We, on the other hand, will get solid turnout I imagine.

[3556reservoir]

Mar 15, 2010 14:04:10 GMT -5 lurkerhoya said:

The thing I like most about Providence is that we won't get the Davidson effect of playing an inferior team in what basically amounts to a home game. Of all 3 teams, I'd expect Ohio to have the biggest chance at having some presence, but Tenn should be limited at best and SDSU non-existent. We, on the other hand, will get solid turnout I imagine.

Interesting points. I agree as to all but Tennessee, who I expect to have good turnout just on the sheer size of their alumni/fan base. I think the night game helps us with numbers, so Hoyas living in Boston can get there.

[Big Dog]

Pomeroy has the Hoyas at 88% to win Thursday.

[Boz]

Currently, 98.5% of fans at CBS Sportsline picking Georgetown on Thursday.


Never doubt the wisdom of the mob.

[lurkerhoya]

Tenn definitely has a solid base, but not necessarily as far north. Given the potential of playing closer to home in St. Louis the next weekend, I'd be inclined to think they'd rather wait to make that trip. I know that's what I'd be doing if I was a 6.

[professorhoya]

Mar 15, 2010 14:04:10 GMT -5 lurkerhoya said:

The thing I like most about Providence is that we won't get the Davidson effect of playing an inferior team in what basically amounts to a home game. Of all 3 teams, I'd expect Ohio to have the biggest chance at having some presence, but Tenn should be limited at best and SDSU non-existent. We, on the other hand, will get solid turnout I imagine.

Knoxville is right past the Virginia border near Tech. So that's only about 5 hours from D.C.

It's still far but Knoxville is on the eastern side of tenneesse. So they are looking at a 13 hour bus trip. Which is bad but doable.

[PDRHoya99]

Mar 15, 2010 14:16:00 GMT -5 Big Dog said:

Pomeroy has the Hoyas at 88% to win Thursday.

And Tennessee at only 52%!

[lurkerhoya]

Doable, yes. But that would require knowing how to read a map.

Opening salvo officially fired

[superan]

Mar 15, 2010 14:35:02 GMT -5 PDRHoya99 said:

Mar 15, 2010 14:16:00 GMT -5 Big Dog said:

Pomeroy has the Hoyas at 88% to win Thursday.

And Tennessee at only 52%!

Dont know why everyone is sleeping on San Diego State. They're a pretty good team.... very active in terms of driving to the hoop and aggressive on the boards. They're definitely a team that could give us fits.

[SFHoya99]

Yeah, SDSU has Leonard on the boards, who could really test us.

[lurkerhoya]

I'm actively ignoring the possibility of playing a team that can hit the offensive glass.

[Filo]

Mar 15, 2010 14:40:08 GMT -5 lurkerhoya said:

I'm actively ignoring the possibility of playing a team that can hit the offensive glass.

Willful, blissful ignorance, huh? Sounds good. Count me in.

[DudeSlade]

Andy Katz in his breakdown on ESPN.com was pretty wishy-washy on us and failed to take a stand either way, but did say that "Ohio has no chance of beating the Hoyas." Sounds good to me.

[tgo]

coverage map is up and it is what you would expect
28% get hoyas. northeast, pa & ohio could lose us in a blowout, only dc area with constant coverage,
www.hdsportsguide.com/news/2010/march-madness-map-thursday-18-window-3/

[3556reservoir]

Interesting, in depth analysis from a guy on the Ohio boards who is apparently a big fan of both clubs:

=======================

Slimmy da'Bobcat

RE: Georgetown it is
Posted: 3/15/2010 11:31:49 AM

[ HEAVY SIGH ] - talk about a match-up, I have wished would never happen, EVER... let alone in the NCAA tourney.

Speaking as a G'town lifer and also a diehard Bobcat fan, I honestly do not know how I am going to watch this game. I mean, I've never been in a situation like this in my sports viewing life. But with that said, here are my thoughts on the best way for OU to stay in this game.

- score in transition. Any realistic chance that the 'Cats get to run, RUN. Get as many easy baskets as possible. We play kind of a NCAA tournament style of game anyway, and will need to be on in order to compete. The Hoyas have a tendency to fall asleep at times when it comes to transition defense
- DO NOT, for any reason whatsoever, take quick forced shots. If they go down, cool. But taking quick, rushed shots against Georgetown, is basically handing over a handful of nails and a hammer. Ball movement is very key in the halfcourt. Especially if the Hoyas open in a man defense, you want to move the ball and hopefully catch Monroe in a mismatch where you can get him in foul trouble, trying to defend on a smaller player (which has happened a few times this season). He's a much bigger threat as a facilitator on offense than he is on defense. You want him out of the game for that reason.

=============

* Gross misnomer - Georgetown plays an extremely short bench. So "run, run, run." That "run, run, run" line was a message I saw from Caleb on twitter yesterday. Newsflash, the Hoyas have played an entire season with that short bench. Do you really think, no one has tried this gameplan. JTIII actually has started to open up his bench late in the season. And I actually expect to see more of Vee Sanford in this match-up. To supply a more balanced rotation in the backcourt, to keep those guys fresh. In a nutshell, "run, run, run" in an attempt to tire out the Hoyas, does not work. If you run, run with the mindset to score. Because...

* Gross misnomer 2.0 - Georgetown is a slow paced team, that runs a Princeton offense. Wrong again. Their base offensive set is a variation of the Princeton. But JTIII hates the term. It's a hybrid offense, that he still does not get the most out of yet, but that's another story. As another poster already mentioned, G'town can and will run. And they actually have no problems with running. Chris Wright actually is at his best in an up and down game.

=============

My personal thoughts on keys:

- JG will need to rotate: KVK, Washington, Baltic and Keely very well and very intelligently. Washington will be a huge asset if and when we can run. The Hoyas bigs can run but not like Devaughn. His getting into early foul trouble is not acceptable.
- JG has to keep a watchful eye on BASSETT: he can either keep us in the game against G'town or get us run out of the building. This is the biggest stage he's played on in a while. And Armon really does scare me at times. If he takes a couple quick jacks early and they don't fall, get him out of the game and push his reset button. The last thing we need is for him to try to be superman. Especially if we get down early. At the same time if he comes out on his game and his shot is falling... ride him. But again ball movement is a must.
- whomever Jason Clark is not defending, has to be aggressive. DJ nor Armon have seen a defender the likes of Jason. He's physically built (quickness and length) to be the ultimate on-ball defender, especially for smaller guards. Wright is a decent defender and very quick, but can be over-aggressive, which gets him into trouble (position and foul wise).
- Greg Monroe: for those who have never watched him play, you are in for a treat. Offensively he's just a joy to watch. He's a match-up nightmare, mainly because he's so unselfish and is a great passer for a big. The Hoya offense works best when he's in the game. Which is why we have to engage him defensively and get him OUT of the game. If he's being aggressive offensively, you want to contest him but don't try to stop him, as his length is just too much of a disadvantage. Far more quick than he is a power player. He does have an outside shot, but he rarely uses it. You're almost better off sagging off him away from the basket and forcing him to shoot the jumper. Again though, he can and has dominated games as solely a facilitator. Make him work on defense. Ball screen him to death.
- lastly, JG: He has to coach the game of his life. That goes with X's and O's as well as managing his players. Don't let the guys get too high or too low. Ohio has not played a "Georgetown" this season. Georgetown however has played an "Ohio" this season. Manage the guys and your gameplan, especially defensively (man-zone-some press action... don't just stick to one gameplan defensively). Please don't lose Tommy on the bench either. If his 3 is falling, it's a definite bonus, but his being in the right place at the right defensively, could definitely play a bigger role, especially when the Hoyas start running their cutters and backdoor plays.

=============

Can Ohio win this game? Hey, anything is possible in the NCAA tournament. Did the Bobcats get a terrible draw? For a first round game... without question. By far the worst 14 v. 3 match-up. For all of five minutes yesterday, I thought about not watching this game on Thursday (that thought died very quickly however, lol). I am NOT looking forward to this game at all. But hey... it is what it is I guess.
Last Edited: 3/15/2010 12:07:18 PM by Slimmy da'Bobcat

[jgalt]

Slimmy da'Bobcat is a smart guy. Sucks for his two teams to be playing each other in the first round.

[PDRHoya99]

Mar 15, 2010 16:55:12 GMT -5 jgalt said:

Slimmy da'Bobcat is a smart guy. Sucks for his two teams to be playing each other in the first round.

Sports Bigamy is wrong. He had to learn this sooner or later. Thou Shalt Not Have More than One Team per Sport really should have been a commandment.