It was an excellent start of conference play for your Georgetown Hoyas this week as the program secured a gritty 78-69 road victory over Marquette to open the BIG EAST portion of the season at 1-0. The win at Fiserv Forum moved the squad to 8-3 overall and provided a glimpse of the development Ed […]
It was an excellent start of conference play for your Georgetown Hoyas this week as the program secured a gritty 78-69 road victory over Marquette to open the BIG EAST portion of the season at 1-0. The win at Fiserv Forum moved the squad to 8-3 overall and provided a glimpse of the development Ed Cooley has been talking about. Georgetown hosts the Xavier Musketeers on Saturday night (8:30 PM, FS1), a team and fanbase reeling after a 40+ point clobbering from Creighton.
Many of the Georgetown faithful have said that the team’s discipline and composure stood out most during the performance in Milwaukee. Facing a nine-point deficit in the first half, the Hoyas responded with a 10-0 run and entered the locker room with a four-point lead. The stability of the backcourt was a major factor, as Jeremiah Williams and Malik Mack combined for 10 assists while the team consistently took care of the ball. Coach Cooley credited the win to a disciplined execution of the game plan and the group’s collective energy on the road.
The most significant story of the night was the emergence of Julius Halaifonua. With Vince Iwuchukwu sidelined, the 7-foot-0 center stepped up to deliver a game-high 21 points on 7-for-10 shooting.
Halaifonua leveraged his size advantage effectively, scoring from the interior while also finding teammates when Marquette attempted to trap the post. His growth over the last month has been a primary source of optimism for a frontcourt that needed a presence to fill the void left by injury.
Hoya fans have heard about the importance of rebounding and free-throw shooting, and Georgetown delivered in both categories on Wednesday. The Hoyas controlled the boards with a 41-30 advantage and converted 87% of their attempts from the charity stripe. This efficiency allowed them to weather a late Marquette surge that brought the Golden Eagles within three points before Georgetown closed the game on a 17-5 run.
Attention now shifts to Saturday night as the Musketeers of Xavier visit Capital One Arena. Xavier enters the matchup at 8-4 following a difficult 98-57 loss to Creighton in their conference opener. Under first-year coach Richard Pitino, the Musketeers have prioritized ball movement and currently lead the BIG EAST in assists per game.
Despite their recent loss, Xavier remains a dangerous perimeter team. They rank third in the league in three-point field goals made per game, with Jovan Milićević and All Wright both posing significant threats from deep. The Musketeers have struggled with interior scoring and defensive consistency, which could provide another opportunity for Halaifonua and Jayden Fort to impact the game inside.
Georgetown holds a 7-22 record in the all-time series against Xavier, but the Hoyas enter this contest with a perfect 6-0 record on their home court this season.
Maintaining that home-court advantage will require a high level of perimeter defense to disrupt Xavier’s assist-heavy offense. Additionally, the Hoyas will look to exploit a Xavier defense that allowed Creighton to shoot over 60% from the field earlier this week.
Tipoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET Saturday, and the game will be broadcast on FS1. While the road win in Milwaukee was a significant step, the focus remains on sustaining that momentum against a hungry Xavier squad looking to bounce back.
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The Georgetown University men’s basketball team is set to host the Xavier University Musketeers on Saturday, December 20 at Capital One Arena. Tipoff in the District is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET at the Blue & Gray’s downtown home. FOLLOW THE HOYAS Saturday’s game can be seen live on FS1 with Noah Reed calling the play-by-play and Phil Martelli providing analysis. The game can be heard locally on 99.1 FM and on the SiriusXM app with Rich Chvotkin on the call in his 52nd season.
Hoyas Take Down Marquette on the Road in BIG EAST Opener – Georgetown University Athletics | GUHOYAS
“But the one thing I can say is Julius [Halaifonua], in the last month has really grown, has really developed. You know when Vincent (Iwuchukwu) went down, obviously a major concern of ours. But to just see how this young man has worked, changing his body, and trusting in what we’re doing with him, I couldn’t be more proud of his growth and development.” – Head Coach Ed Cooley on Julius Halaifonua’s performance
“Going into the game, obviously, I knew that I had a size advantage, but also I knew that they could possibly trap or collapse whenever I caught the ball. So it was just kind of keeping my eyes open for cutters or open guys.” – Julius Halaifonua on advantages inside
“I think we do a great job in practice taking care of the ball. I think we give all credit to the guards and the bigs … We all help each other so I think we just have a tight-knit group and that helps us take care of the ball.” – Jeremiah Williams on Georgetown’s lack of turnovers this season
Xavier, 8-4 overall and 0-1 in the BIG EAST Conference, had its five-game winning streak snapped by Creighton on Wednesday at Cintas Center. • Xavier plays its first BIG EAST road game at Georgetown, which is 6-0 at home. After the GU game the Musketeers are off until hosting UConn on New Year’s Eve. • Xavier senior Filip Borovićanin had 13 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high eight assists on Dec. 12 and was named on the BIG EAST Honor Roll for the second time this season. • Xavier graduate student Tre Carroll, who leads XU in scoring at 16.1 ppg. (seventh in the BIG EAST), had his 11-game double-figure scoring streak snapped vs. Creighton on Dec. 17. He scored a collegiate career-high 30 in the win over Cincinnati on Dec. 5. • Xavier leads the BIG EAST and is third in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.02 and is fifth in the nation in turnover percentage at 13.0 percent. XU leads the BIG EAST in assists and is 26th in the nation at 18.7 apg. XU’s assist percentage (.698) is fourth in the nation.
Musketeers Drop BIG EAST Opener vs Creighton – Xavier University Athletics | GOXAVIER
The Bluejays outscored Xavier, 40-12, on 15-for-24 shooting to close the first half and take a double-figure lead they would never relinquish. Malik Messina-Moore paced three Musketeers in double figures with 14 points. He went 5-for-12 from the floor with two, 3-pointers. The guard pulled down a team-high five rebounds and dished out three assists. Roddie Anderson III added 12 points on 6-for-12 shooting. He added two steals, two rebounds and two assists. Pape N’Diaye scored a season-high 10 points on 4-for-5 shooting in 18 minutes of action off the bench. The forward added two blocks, two assists and two rebounds. Tre Carroll added seven points and two rebounds. Filip Borovićanin finished with five points, a game-high six assists and two steals. Xavier finished with a.364 field-goal percentage (24-for-66) and went 6-for-24 from behind the arc. The Musketeers were also 3-for-6 from the foul line.
Xavier v. Creighton: Preview, matchups, keys to the game | BANNERSONTHEPARKWAY
Who controls the pace? Xavier plays offense very quickly. Creighton does everything slowly. On defense the way Xavier plays and the way Creighton plays will actually mesh reasonably well, Xavier doesn’t speed teams up on defense. It’s when Xavier has the ball that gears will grind. They want to go fast and shoot threes quickly, which brings us to… \- Who controls the arc? Xavier isn’t just heaving, but they aren’t bashful from behind the arc. If they get a good look, it’s going up. Creighton is better than almost everyone at preventing three point shots. Xavier is elite in ball movement, Creighton is 34th in the nation in shutting it down. Almost everything these teams do on that end of the floor will be in direct conflict with the other team’s style.
Xavier 57-98 Creighton: A scathing reality check | BANNERSONTHEPARKWAY
Xavier was the favorite in this game way back when. We wrote in our preview that Creighton would shoot a lot of threes. They put up 33, a lot of them wide open as Xavier over-pursued runner after runner, leaving backside shooters wide open. Not since Lee Harvey Oswald have so many mediocre shooters had so much time. Austin Swartz shot 7-13 in this game and is still only shooting 36% this season. But sometimes you run into a team on a heater. That’s true. It’s also true that sometimes you play the team into that heater. Xavier’s defense was absolutely appalling in this game. The Bluejays shot 58% in the first half. That’s torch hot. That was also their bad half. In the second half they shot 62.5%.
Where do we go from here? | BANNERSONTHEPARKWAY
As Joel astutely pointed out, Xavier tends to falter offensively when they play a good offense. Working harder on defense leaves less energy for offense. Last night, the Musketeers shot their usual hilarious 42.9% inside the arc and 25% from deep. Obviously, that has to improve. In their last four games X has shot 31.2%, 21.4%, 40%, and 25% from behind the arc. 40% against Missouri St is good, though it papers over an awful first half, the other numbers are dreadful. Those aren’t even against particularly good offenses that would sap Xavier’s legs. Part of the issue could be depth. Xavier is six guys deep right now.
Their opponent in the league opener is Xavier, a team still finding its footing under new coach Richard Pitino. Picked eighth in the preseason Big East poll, they got off to a 2-2 start that included concerningly close wins over bad teams (66-62 over Marist and 74-69 over Le Moyne) and 19-point losses to Santa Clara and Iowa. They’ve won six of seven, with the lone loss a one-point defeat to KenPom #23 Georgia. And a 79-74 win over Cincinnati in the Crosstown Shootout has Musketeer fans cautiously optimistic. Through 11 games of the Pitino Era, there’s been a couple of certainties on offense: ball security and unselfishness. They’ve turned it over on just 12.0% of their possessions, the top mark in the country. Their assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.14 is also the top mark in the country. And they’ve had an assist on 70% of their made baskets, third-best in the country. Those qualities have masked what is otherwise a pedestrian shooting team, at least inside the arc; the Musketeers have shot 37.1% from three (60th) but just 47.0% from two (298th). They’ve also made just 67.6% from the free throw line. While their efficiency from three is pretty good, their quantity of made threes has been really good — they rank second in the Big East and 36th in the country with 10.5 made threes per game, and have made 10 or more in six of their last seven games. They’ve made 16 twice this year already, against West Virginia and Old Dominion. The assist rate, while outstanding, also masks another part of their offense. Without an assist from a teammate, Xavier often struggles to create scoring opportunities because of a lack of guys that can create their own shot.
CU shot 58.1% in the first half (18-of-31), making 8-of-15 from three-point range, and had 15 assists against just one turnover on those 18 baskets. Creighton also had a 10-0 advantage in fast break points and 12-3 in points off turnovers, and their bench outscored Xavier’s 17-4. Then the Jays scored 11 of the first 12 points in the second half, with two more three-pointers from Swartz, a three from Traudt, and a fastbreak layup from Swartz all in the first two minutes. That’s a 36-5 run spanning both halves and taking up 9:55 of game time — and a mind-boggling 18 minutes of basketball where they outscored Xavier 54-13. Just two minutes into the second half, the lead was 37.
Xavier visits Halaifonua and Georgetown | APNEWS
Georgetown takes on Xavier after Julius Halaifonua scored 21 points in Georgetown’s 78-69 victory over the Marquette Golden Eagles. The Hoyas are 6-0 on their home court. Georgetown ranks seventh in the Big East at limiting opponent scoring, allowing 73.6 points while holding opponents to 42.3% shooting. The Musketeers have gone 0-1 against Big East opponents. Xavier scores 76.6 points while outscoring opponents by 2.9 points per game. Georgetown averages 78.2 points per game, 4.5 more points than the 73.7 Xavier gives up. Xavier has shot at a 42.0% clip from the field this season, 0.3 percentage points below the 42.3% shooting opponents of Georgetown have averaged.
Scouting report, keys to victory for Xavier vs. Georgetown on the road | CINCINNATI
Georgetown turned heads in the preseason after a 14-point exhibition road win over Kentucky at Rupp Arena before a 5-0 start that included wins over Maryland and Clemson. Georgetown big man Vince Iwuchukwu needed an undisclosed medical procedure in mid- November after averaging 11.8 points over the first five games. Since he went down, Georgetown is 3-3 but opened Big East play with a 78-69 road win over Marquette at Fiserv Forum Dec. 17. Georgetown still has guard Malik Mack running the show. The former Ivy League Rookie of the Year at Harvard averaged 12.9 points for the Hoyas last season that included a 26-point outing against Xavier in D.C.
Road Teams Victorious in BIG EAST Play; Creighton, Georgetown win on Wednesday Night | BIGEAST
Creighton 98, Xavier 57 – Box Score Austin Swartz poured in a career-high 27 points as Creighton scored a season-high 98 points in a win at Xavier. Creighton used a 16-2 first half run to pull away for good in its first true road win of the season. The 41-point margin of victory tied for the second-most in a conference game for Creighton. Three others – Nik Graves (12), Jasen Green (11) and Blake Harper (11) tallied double- digits in the scoring column. The Bluejays connected on 60.3% (38-63) from the floor and made a season-high 16 3-pointers in the win. For Xavier, Malik Messina-Moore led the way with 14 points, while Roddie Anderson III added 12 and Pape N’diaye 10. Georgetown 78, Marquette 69 – Box Score The first half saw seven lead changes as the Golden Eagles led by as many as nine (29-20). Georgetown responded with 10 unanswered, closing the half on a 17-4 push to lead 37-33 at the break. The Hoyas opened the second half with an 8-3 push. Marquette got as close as three (58-55) with less than nine minutes to play but got no closer. Julius Halaifonua led four Hoyas in double figures with 21 points. Jeremiah Williams had 15 points and Malik Mack 13 while dishing out five assists apiece. Marquette’s Damarius Owens scored a team-high 15 points, while Nigel James Jr. (13), Royce Parham (12), and Sean Jones (10) all reached double-digits.
On the defensive end, the Musketeers have forced 13.1 turnovers every game and they draw 17.4 fouls. They rank 328th in college hoops in giving up assists to their opponents with 184 surrendered this year. The Musketeers are giving up a field goal percentage of 45.3% (292 of 644) and they surrender 37.7 boards per game as a squad. They are relinquishing 30.4% from 3-point land and they rank 143rd in D-1 in PPG allowed (71.5). When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Georgetown Hoyas walked away with a victory by a final of 78-69 against Marquette. When talking about how they rebounded, Georgetown allowed Marquette to snag 29 in all (11 on the offensive side). They went 26.9% from three-point range by going 7 of 26 and finished the game at 8 of 12 from the charity stripe (66.7%). The Hoyas permitted Marquette to convert 27 of 64 tries from the field which gave them a percentage of 42.2% for this contest. Overall, the Hoyas went 27 out of 58 from the field which had them shooting 46.6%. When discussing 3-point shots, Georgetown knocked down 4 of their 16 tries (25.0%).
Category: General Sports
