February 27, 2020 - Before last night’s Georgetown versus Marquette game in Milwaukee, the Hoyas Nation held hope of a key win – Net ranking quad I victories over the BIG EAST’s fifth-placed team are good for NCAA Tournament participation chances. Especially when many of those who prognosticate Big Dance inclusion determined G’Town was in the group of teams just on the outside.
The fact senior center Omer Yurtseven and sophomore guard Mac McClung would again be absent from head coach Pat Ewing’s lineup dimmed pregame Hoya hope. McClung had missed the better part of six games, Yurtseven three, a blow given the latter leads G’Town in scoring and rebounding, the former ranking second among point-getting.
Nevertheless the last time Georgetown won, a road tilt with Butler, both were absent with injury. The Hoyas needed them, falling 93-72 against Marquette in a fashion not becoming what has been a mantra of competitive play despite the odds. (For contest Ewing played three walk-ons a total of 20 minutes).
A very early sequence set the tone for this buzzer to buzzer MU win: After losing the tip-off, Georgetown caused a bad Marquette shot, advancing down the floor afterward. Junior forward Jamorko Pickett cut to the basket, only for his dunk attempt to be blocked out of bounds. The next play graduate guard Terrell Allen turned the ball over, leading to an easy layup by MU senior swingman Sacar Anim.
Next time down the court Pickett forced a paint shot. Marquette secured the rebound, with Anim ultimately being found side open on the right side for a fast break dunk. Ewing immediately called timeout with just over 18 minutes remaining in first half action.
Another Pickett turnover followed, answered by sophomore wing Brendan Bailey’s three ball for Marquette. Over the next approximately four and three-quarters minutes, the Golden Eagles raced to a 22-8 lead, eventually surging ahead by 20 points, the clock reading 3:39 before intermission.
Senior guard Markus Howard led all scorers with 30 points, graduate center Jayce Johnson was the contest’s top rebounder pulling down 11. Their team shot 56.7% from the field, 45.2% on three pointers.
Jagan Mosely, a GU senior guard/forward led his team via 19 points and six rebounds. Blair and Pickett accounted for 18 and 12 points, respectively.
The Hoyas, who shot 41.9% overall, 46.7 % on long balls made a late first stanza run, finishing the period with a 14-5 scoring advantage, trimming their deficit to 43-32.
Georgetown’s 5-0 run over close to five minutes in the second half placed them ten points down; it was as close as the Blue and Grey would get, with Marquette ballooning its lead to 91-63 at the period’s 2:14 mark.
Marquette, 18-9 overall, 8-7/5th in the BIG EAST, ended a three game losing streak last night and next faces Seton Hall in Milwaukee. It’s a 230p EST, Saturday, February 29th start.
Sunday, March 1st, Georgetown (15-13, 5-10/8th) hosts Xavier, 2p EST, a chance to not only end their triple game loss run, but earn a way into national postseason tournament competition.
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