How we beat teams....

[blueandgray]

Back in the day, in the Big John era, when we beat teams....we beat them down. Games were often essentially over by halftime. Yesterday’s game was a game that over the last 5 or 6 years we would have won, but won ugly. We would have a couple of lapses....15 plus turnovers, and ultimately we would take our foot off the gas for long stretches. What I saw yesterday was different!

Coming off 3 emotionally charged games, this was the classic game where there would be a let down. Instead, we jump out to a 14-0 lead (not too dissimilar from what we did to SMU)....and took control of the game the rest of the way. In the last 160 minutes of basketball...I believe we’ve been up for 156 of those minutes. It’s a different philosophy and energy that we are bringing to the court than we have in a while and it’s showing in the results.

It will be interesting to see if this trend holds up over the next two games...but if there has truly been a seismic shift on how the Hoyas approach the game with that “step on your opponent’s neck” philosophy.....then we should beat down the next two opponents. We will see.

[swhoya]

I was thinking the same thing the other day. My time coincided with Esh, and for as long as I’ve been watching, it always seemed that we’d win our cupcake games, but it was never the best down that you’d expect. You’d look at the scores for any given day, and we would have beaten the mid major school by a few points, maybe 10, but on that same day Duke, Kansas, etc would have won by 30-40 over a similar team.

It made for some exciting basketball, I suppose, but otherwise added years to my age. I like this better.

[jwp91]

That just goes to show how long it has been since we delivered these beat downs......over 20 years.

[DFW HOYA]

Dec 18, 2019 13:30:23 GMT -5 jwp91 said:

That just goes to show how long it has been since we delivered these beat downs......over 20 years.

Georgetown beat Coppin State in November 2016 by a score of 96-44. Not a predictor of future returns that season.

[jwp91]

Dec 18, 2019 13:34:25 GMT -5 DFW HOYA said:

Dec 18, 2019 13:30:23 GMT -5 jwp91 said:

That just goes to show how long it has been since we delivered these beat downs......over 20 years.

Georgetown beat Coppin State in November 2016 by a score of 96-44. Not a predictor of future returns that season.

DFW...you should ignore that. It doesn’t fit the narrative. 😂

[hoyasaxa2003]

DFW beat me to it. In 2015, we beat Bryant by 30, Maryland Eastern Shore by 19 (in a pretty slow paced game), in 2016, we not only destroyed Coppin State by 52 as DFW noted but also USC Upstate by 45, in 2017 we beat Mount St. Mary's by 34, Maryland Eastern Shore by 26, and Alabama A&M (worst D-1 team that year), by 40.

In 2018, we really only had one huge win, beating Howard by 35. And now, of course, we have UMBC by 26.

[blueandgray]

To me its less about the final score and more about our consistency in taking teams out early. When was the last time we had multiple double digit wins again top 50 teams? When was the last time we dominated 4 straight games rarely ever giving up the lead? When was the last time we took out teams from the opening tip and lead the game end to end. While definitely not in indicator of future success....its nice to see it happening and it reminds me of the good old days when this was the rule and not the exception.

[bearsandbulls]

I like the seven and sometimes eight man rotations, and last night having the bench cleared. Since the loss of the four players, the drive and team play has been much better. Two things I worry about (one the announcers mentioned last night) is how we react if we have foul problems with key players and the second is will our 7/8 be durable enough to stand up with energy and without fatigue injury for the whole season.

Other than those worries, I am loving what I am seeing. A lot of players are surprising nicely, but the play of Moseley and Blair has been over the top good. I had relegated Blair to the bench, and far down at that, earlier in the year. He came in for short bursts and did nothing but screw up. Boy, what a difference it makes when he becomes a needed piece to the puzzle. Congrats to the whole team, and especially those two. I do not think you would have seen either playing such a big role before.

[bigskyhoya]

Blair has made some outstanding passes. He’s contributed beyond making threes.

[jwp91]

Dec 18, 2019 15:14:40 GMT -5 bigskyhoya said:

Blair has made some outstanding passes. He’s contributed beyond making threes.

I would not be shocked to see Blair starting next year.

[calhoya]

I still prefer the deeper bench. It's great that they are winning with a 7 man rotation, but we are one injury (think of Pickett being helped off the floor last night) from potential disaster. A team can only handle so much stress before it reaches a breaking point. It's great that the Hoyas are surviving and even thriving under this 7 man rotation, but clearly this season would be much easier if the last two transfers did not occur.

[ColumbiaHeightsHoya]

Dec 18, 2019 15:51:41 GMT -5 jwp91 said:

Dec 18, 2019 15:14:40 GMT -5 bigskyhoya said:

Blair has made some outstanding passes. He’s contributed beyond making threes.

I would not be shocked to see Blair starting next year.

At this point he would have to. We will only have three guards on the roster in him, Mac & Harris. I hope he starts but as our third guard in a three guard line-up. Our 1 hopefully isn't on the roster or signed as a recruit yet as I think we will need a grad transfer while any freshman acclimates. There was a reason with Akinjo at the 1 last year that we weren't great and I think it is hard for a freshman point to guide a winning team.

[bostonfan]

Dec 18, 2019 15:51:41 GMT -5 jwp91 said:

Dec 18, 2019 15:14:40 GMT -5 bigskyhoya said:

Blair has made some outstanding passes. He’s contributed beyond making threes.

I would not be shocked to see Blair starting next year.

Blair has played really well and made the most of his opportunities. I am not sure a backcourt of Mac and Blair would do great against pressure defense on the ball, but if you had another strong ball handler/distributor on the floor with them I could see Blair filling the role that Jagan is this season. He is not the defender that Jagan is, but he would bring more offense.

I am glad to see him playing well and contributing more than just as a shooter. I hope he continues to expand his game. He rebounds well for a player who I never felt was overly athletic.

[bostonfan]

Dec 18, 2019 16:25:57 GMT -5 calhoya said:

I still prefer the deeper bench. It's great that they are winning with a 7 man rotation, but we are one injury (think of Pickett being helped off the floor last night) from potential disaster. A team can only handle so much stress before it reaches a breaking point. It's great that the Hoyas are surviving and even thriving under this 7 man rotation, but clearly this season would be much easier if the last two transfers did not occur.

Injuries and/or foul trouble are going to be the biggest issues this team has the rest of the way. I think the 7 man rotation is working well and has worked well for a lot of teams in the past (some the better Syracuse, Nova and Duke teams only played 7 or 8 guys) but the issue with this group is the drop off between the 7th and 8th guys is pretty steep, if you end up having to go beyond 7 guys for some reason. I am glad to see George get a few minutes and it was nice to see Tim see the floor last night, but if you had to count on those guys for more than spot minutes, the team is going to have issues in the Big East.

I also think that Coach Ewing may have figured out that trying to play too many guys on a regular basis is really tough in college. I understand trying to keep all your recruits happy by getting them playing time, but unless you have kids with the right mindset, I think you just get everyone a little annoyed and the team struggles to find a rhythm.

[blueandgray]

Dec 18, 2019 15:14:40 GMT -5 bigskyhoya said:

Blair has made some outstanding passes. He’s contributed beyond making threes.

I was surprised to see Blair run the point and lead the break...and do so effectively. Didn’t know he had that it his tool bag. He’s so left dominant...it’s almost funny....but love this kid.

[blueandgray]

Dec 18, 2019 16:40:15 GMT -5 bostonfan said:

Dec 18, 2019 16:25:57 GMT -5 calhoya said:

I still prefer the deeper bench. It's great that they are winning with a 7 man rotation, but we are one injury (think of Pickett being helped off the floor last night) from potential disaster. A team can only handle so much stress before it reaches a breaking point. It's great that the Hoyas are surviving and even thriving under this 7 man rotation, but clearly this season would be much easier if the last two transfers did not occur.

Injuries and/or foul trouble are going to be the biggest issues this team has the rest of the way. I think the 7 man rotation is working well and has worked well for a lot of teams in the past (some the better Syracuse, Nova and Duke teams only played 7 or 8 guys) but the issue with this group is the drop off between the 7th and 8th guys is pretty steep, if you end up having to go beyond 7 guys for some reason. I am glad to see George get a few minutes and it was nice to see Tim see the floor last night, but if you had to count on those guys for more than spot minutes, the team is going to have issues in the Big East.

I also think that Coach Ewing may have figured out that trying to play too many guys on a regular basis is really tough in college. I understand trying to keep all your recruits happy by getting them playing time, but unless you have kids with the right mindset, I think you just get everyone a little annoyed and the team struggles to find a rhythm.

Did anyone else’s heart sink for a minute when Jamarko limped off the court? Need everyone healthy which is why I was happy to see Omer play only 20 minutes and Mac sit at the 8 minute mark.

[calhoya]

Dec 18, 2019 16:42:17 GMT -5 blueandgray said:

Dec 18, 2019 16:40:15 GMT -5 bostonfan said:

Injuries and/or foul trouble are going to be the biggest issues this team has the rest of the way. I think the 7 man rotation is working well and has worked well for a lot of teams in the past (some the better Syracuse, Nova and Duke teams only played 7 or 8 guys) but the issue with this group is the drop off between the 7th and 8th guys is pretty steep, if you end up having to go beyond 7 guys for some reason. I am glad to see George get a few minutes and it was nice to see Tim see the floor last night, but if you had to count on those guys for more than spot minutes, the team is going to have issues in the Big East.

I also think that Coach Ewing may have figured out that trying to play too many guys on a regular basis is really tough in college. I understand trying to keep all your recruits happy by getting them playing time, but unless you have kids with the right mindset, I think you just get everyone a little annoyed and the team struggles to find a rhythm.

Did anyone else’s heart sink for a minute when Jamarko limped off the court? Need everyone healthy which is why I was happy to see Omer play only 20 minutes and Mac sit at the 8 minute mark.

The biggest issue with the 7 man rotation is not the number but the lack of bigs. While Wahab is a nice surprise, his game is still far behind either Yurtseven or Pickett and neither Mosley nor Blair is really big enough to thrive in a 4 guard line-up.

[lichoya68]

OK WE WIN BY SCORING ONE MORE POINT THAN THE OTHER TEAM YUP THATS IT GO HOYAS WIN ONE BY ONE BY AT LEAST ONE AND HAVE SOME FUN GO HOYAS

[blueandgray]

Beating teams like we should. Another low turnover game to boot!