"A concerning 20-point win:" Georgetown blows out Mt. St. Mary's

Georgetown had its first cover of the season Wednesday night at Capital One Arena, with both the cover and the result really never in doubt. But it also wasn't entirely pretty and the boys saw some warning signs throughout that triggered the headline quote from Uncle Dad.

It was raining in DC and it was a late Wednesday evening start against a low-major team that isn't very good, but the arena was DEAD and EMPTY. There were no more than 40 students at the game and not many other people showed up either. This isn't a criticism of the fans. Those of us who have continued to show up to games like this over the past several years aren't righteous, we're sick. But somehow even given some of the games and attendance of the past several years, this still felt notably bad from an atmosphere perspective. The beers were cold per usual so we at Section 104 remain largely content. We do however really need to see some winning seasons from the Blue and Gray.

The Hoyas jumped out to a quick double digit lead (25-9) and through the first 5-10 minutes of the game played their best basketball of the season. Micah Peavy in particular looked great, flashing the offensive game we saw in the first half of the Lehigh game. He hit an early three, got to the line, and had a nifty assist to Julius Halaifonua all in the span of the first 6 possessions of the game and added a dunk a minute later. The offense was sharp, the defense forced tough shots, and the Hoyas looked primed to overwhelm the Mount.

The next 6 minutes saw the Hoyas play some of their worst basketball of the season. Mt. St. Mary's started playing a full court press and high pressure half court defense and the Hoyas offense bogged down, going scoreless for nearly 7 minutes while Mt. St. Mary's went on one of the slowest 8-0 runs you'll ever see. There were turnovers, bad late shot clock shots, and too much standing around on offense. The Mountaineers were able to generate some points in transition and the Hoyas defense wasn't entirely bad during the stretch, but it was an alarming stretch given both how the game started and our collective scar tissue from the past several years.

Hainesy, Uncle Dad, Miller Lite Mike, and Dustin remarked at some point during this stretch at how incredible it was that, even after multiple coaching changes and almost yearly complete roster turnovers, we were still watching the same fucking basketball game we've been watching for like 8 years. The real trigger for this sentiment was the realization that the Hoyas had assists on only about half their baskets, which is a really stupid trend that has carried over for almost a decade now.

The game leveled out from there, with the Hoyas never quite reaching the level of the opening minutes, but pushing the lead to 13 by half and mostly cruising in the second. Mt. St. Mary's came into the game with a KenPom ranking of 253 (dropped to 278 after the loss), which was better than Fairfield or Lehigh at the time of those games (and still is), but the Mountaineers are not a good team and the Hoyas benefitted from some truly bad Mountaineer shooting. The Mount didn't shoot as poorly as the Hoyas did against Notre Dame, but they weren't far off either. The Hoyas certainly played better than in that game against the Irish, including some much better defense and much more well-rounded offensive effort. That said, they weren't exactly great and they were playing a bad team that played an even worse game.

Some additional notes:

• Jayden Epps continues to be a confusing player. He's really talented and led the team in scoring, but the offense often stalls when the ball gets in his hands at the top of the key especially. When he plays with purpose, both attacking the hoop and moving off ball to find open three point shots, he is a major offensive weapon, but too often he falls in love with pounding the rock.
• Micah Peavy had something of a get-right game, especially early when he looked like clearly the best player on the floor. He still disappeared for long stretches of the game and the Hoyas won't survive much of the Big East schedule if that trend continues.
• Malik Mack had his toughest game of the season, missing some shots early and generally looking out of sync offensively, but closed the game nicely (albeit in garbage time) to finish with 10 points. Uncle Dad has some concerns about his defense in conference play so we'll need to keep an eye on how he grows on that end and especially how he fairs on that end against West Virginia and Syracuse.
• Drew Fielder had something of a bounce back game, clearly his best effort of the season. He was engaged and bouncy and played solid defense. His offensive game was largely quiet, but finished with 9 points, all in the second half, after also closing the game well.
• Thomas Sorber had a "quiet" 14 point, 12 rebound game. He wasn't as dominant or present as in the games against Lehigh and Fairfield, but he's obviously a game changer. Julius Halaifonua struggled for the second straight game and Sorber really settles the game down when he's in. He was very efficient from the field going 7-10 and had an ORtg of 143, easily the KenPom game MVP.
• Rebounding was a concern last night as the Hoyas won the rebounding battle overall and had better rebounding rates than the Mount, but this should have been an area where the Hoyas could dominate and they didn't quite do that. This is an area to watch as the competition stiffens (not next game).
• Only 4 Hoyas played off the bench: Halaifonua, Kayvaun Mulready, Caleb Williams, and Jordan Burks. Halaifonua had 6 points, but struggled on defense and only had a single rebound. Mulready played well, especially on defense, and despite a couple of pretty rough shots, provided a spark in his minutes. Williams had his best game of the young season. He played smart, rebounded well, and played good defense. Burks didn't steal the show, but had a really nice driving layup off a dime from Thomas Sorber and closed the first half with a buzzer beating dunk after Mulready stole the ball. Overall, it was a solid, if unspectacular game from the bench.
• The surprise here is that neither Curtis Williams, Jr. nor Drew McKenna played against The Mount, even in garbage time. Williams appeared to be in a bit of hot water with coach during the Notre Dame game, but had been a staple of the rotation in the early going. McKenna was a bright spot against the Irish and the boys of Section 104 continue to believe he just looks different (good, different) than most of the guys. He should play more. He's a big wing who can shoot. Play him.

It still feels like this team needs to find an identity and they definitely need to find more consistency from some of their key players. The offense needs to play with more purpose and the defense needs to find a way to maintain their higher level of play more consistently. But, this team is also more talented than previous iterations and I suppose it's mostly a good thing that they can play (to our eyes) an uneven and not great game and win by almost 30.