Below are observations from Georgetown's disappointing 75-63, Gavitt Games home loss to Northwestern.
Postgame pressers are here.
Access this link for G'Town's official game report.
Slipped Away
Up a pair of points at intermission, things looked good for Georgetown. Or at least the Hoyas were in contention for victory.
Though down two by the second half's first TV timeout, a collapse didn't seem imminent. The Hoyas were in relatively good steed, considering they see-sawed with Northwestern during the first twenty minutes, even leading by five at one juncture.
Then things changed - NU promptly went on a 10-2 run over better than four minutes, forcing the Hoyas to call timeout. The damage was done, as Georgetown never trailed by less than five the rest of the way.
"Well I thought our guards got some layups. Which was big" opined NU head guy Chris Collins, when asked to detail the spurt's mechanics. According to the coach, doing so "really unlocked Audige", referencing Chase Audige, who led NU with 17 points. Only four were notched in the first stanza.
During the aforementioned period, Audige, a senior guard, accounted for eight points, two three balls and a fast break layup. Collins added "I thought we settled in, slowed down a little bit, got some good shots and were able to get some distance there during that run".
Glass Not Cleaned
Collins admitted of his team "Being aggressive and tough has been two things we've talked about since the beginning of practice. And those two things have not always been talked about with us - it's been they're skilled and soft, they don't do the dirty work necessary to win games".
"We've rallied about being a tough minded, gritty, defense oriented, rebounding, physical in our own way" squad, shared Collins, who added "To see us outrebound them by 17...you never would have guessed that". The coach followed with "it wasn't just one guy, it was a lot of guys getting in there and rebounding the ball".
"I think the fact we weren't able to rebound well enough, that hurt us", shared Hoya HC, Pat Ewing, with not being "able to get out on the break" a product of these rebounding woes'
Let's look at the numbers: NU pulled down 48, G'Town 31. The Wildcats really stretched out on offensive rebounds, earning a 20-2 advantage. To Collins' point, five players logged at least a quintet of boards, with center Matthew Nicholson snagging nine, all in the first half.
G'Town had just two players over the four rebound mark - center Qudus Wahab and forward Akok Akok - who accounted for seven apiece.
Ewing also lamented "the fact they got 20 offensive rebounds", which he believes is a product of insufficient effort.
Distance Was Open
NU finished three point shooting at 42.4%, a number advanced by their 53.3%, second half mark. In comparison, the Hoyas could only muster 31.8% and 30%, respectively.
Collins joked "The whole thing was don't you dare try and score on Akok at the basket", when asked why his guys were so open beyond the arch, particularly in the corners. "If you drive in there, and he's there, you better pass that thing out. They didn't listen to me a couple of times, and you saw what happened".
He continued, sharing "Our whole thing was to collapse them. We knew Akok and Wahab were going to want to be shot blockers...we wanted to instead of throwing up a real low percentage shot over those guys, we wanted to kick the ball and be ready to shoot".
Collins identified his team's 14 long balls as crucial to victory.
Ewing's criticism expanded upon that theme.
"We have to do a better job of defending. It wasn't just the the fact they hit 14 threes, it's all about effort. I don't think we gave enough effort tonight to come away with the win.
