As we end the year 2017, let’s take a look at what has gone down in the District of Columbia for the Georgetown Hoyas. In the calendar year 2017, the Hoyas have gone 16-14 between the back half of last season and the beginning of this one. The Thompson family reign in D.C. technically ended due to their abysmal finish of the 2016-17 season, but they brought in Georgetown and NBA legend Patrick Ewing, which technically counts as continuing the reign of Big John Thompson. This seems to be a trend in the Big East as members of the 1992 Dream Team are coming back to coach their alma maters. I mean it’s only Ewing and Chris Mullin (and I think it has to end there?) coming back, but hey, it’s pretty cool.
After the bad finish last year, Georgetown wanted to welcome Mr. Ewing with a couple wins. Well, a couple wins is what they got against teams all with an RPI higher than 100. The one team with an RPI better than 100 was Syracuse in which the Orange handed Ewing and Co. their first loss in hilarious fashion. Now with an absolute joke of a non-con schedule in the rear view, the Hoyas headed into the Big East at 9-2 and faced Butler at home. The Bulldogs took the Hoyas to double overtime after wiping away GU’s 20 point lead and sent them away with a loss in the league opener.
Now is Georgetown not that bad? Or are they as bad as we thought and they were just playing decent the entire time?
Current KenPom Rankings
Marquette: 51
Georgetown: 99
Marquette Stat Leaders
Points per Game: Andrew Rowsey, 21. 5
Assists per Game: Andrew Rowsey, 4.4
Rebounds per Game: Sam Hauser, 5.5; although Harry Froling is averaging 5.7 through his first three games of the season.
Steals per Game: Greg Elliott, 1.2
Georgetown Stat Leaders
Points per Game: Jessie Govan, 19.0
Assists per Game: Jonathan Mulmore, 4.6
Rebounds per Game: Jessie Govan, 12.2
Steals per Game: Jessie Govan, 1.6
Marquette Last 10 Games: 7-3, with the loss to Xavier snapping a four game winning streak.
Georgetown Last 10 Games: 8-2, with losses in two of their last four games.
All Time Series: Georgetown leads, 12-11
Current Streak: Georgetown has won four out of the last six games after snapping a two game Marquette winning streak in the last meeting.
So What Should We Know About This Georgetown Team?
This team is so weird. It has a pretty even mixture of newer and older players and they have a rookie coach who has been around the block once or twice. Jessie Govan, a Long Island native, is leading the team in pretty much everything except assists. Govan is a pretty good player and Marquette should most definitely keep an eye out for him. Govan had 19 in the double overtime loss to Butler while Marcus Derrickson had 23. While it was a home game for the Hoyas, they played a pretty decent Butler team very close. Jonathan Mulmore is a 6’4 point guard which could produce a bit of a bad matchup for the 5’11 Andrew Rowsey. Then again, Rowsey could be the normal antagonist that we know and love, and produce 10 steals. Who knows.
This is a game Marquette should win. They played extremely well against Xavier and are going to return hungry for their first Big East win. Georgetown has not played anyone on Marquette’s level and the Golden Eagles should take advantage of that. If Marquette’s Splash Triplets are feeling it from beyond the arc, goodnight Georgetown.
Follow Along On Twitter
@MarquetteMBB - Official Marquette account
@GeorgetownHoops - Official Georgetown account
@AnonymousEagle - Hey, that's us!
@CasualHoya - SB Nation's Georgetown site
@becb_sbn - SB Nation's Big East site
@BenSteeleMJS - The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel MU beat reporter