"HOLY SHIT:" Hoyas steal one at Villanova

The Georgetown Hoyas won a game on Monday night that they had no business winning for most of the contest, beating the Villanova Wildcats 64-63 at Finneran Pavilion in Villanova. Villanova looked like the better team basically all night, but the Hoyas held them scoreless over the last 5 minutes of the game and did just enough offensively to walk away with a thrilling Quad 1 road victory.

After both players missed the DePaul game, Thomas Sorber and Jayden Epps were both back for the Hoyas, with Epps coming off the bench to start and Caleb Williams continuing to start in his absence. Early on, the teams largely traded buckets and no one truly established control. Eric Dixon was locked in from the start, powering the Villanova offense all game, but kickstarting it at the outset especially. The Hoyas got just about all of their first half offense from a combination of Micah Peavy, Sorber, and Epps but they were woefully inefficient, shooting only 32% in the first half. The Hoyas took a one point lead with just under 5 minutes to play in the half, prompting Hainesy to say:

It seems like neither of these teams is all that good nor playing all that well and both are on the verge of giving a 7-0 run at any point.

At this point Georgetown gave up an 8-0 run that ultimately turned into an 11-2 end to the half allowing Villanova to take control of the game going into the second half.

The second half showcased long stretches of play that felt similar to that closing stretch of the first half. Villanova's lead hovered between 9 and 12 for most of the first ten minutes. The Hoyas never really appeared threatening during this stretch of the game as they didn't have consistent answers for Eric Dixon and Jordan Longino defensively, they were getting absolutely worked on the glass, and they could find no consistent or efficient answers on the offensive end. In short, the Hoyas looked as overmatched as they have against just about anyone this season during this stretch of play. The game was never as out of hand as it was against Notre Dame or UConn and, almost by definition since they won, the Hoyas were never actually out of the game. But they never really felt capable of making a push. The offense looked bad and even when the defense created transition opportunities the Hoyas could not convert (due at least in part to Villanova playing extremely sound transition defense).

It should be noted that during this pretty painful stretch of play, Thomas Sorber had an outstanding assist to Caleb Williams. Sorber was battling for position but started to fall as an entry pass headed to him. As he was falling backwards, he spotted an open Williams in the lane and tipped the ball to him for an easy jumper. It was just a momentary momentum shift, but a really awesome play.

And then, just as the thread (okay mostly Hainsey) was lamenting how poor the team looked and how much they needed a break, the Hoyas started to make shots and create a new level of pressure on Villanova. Jayden Epps made two threes, followed by Peavy making two of his own. The Hoyas had a handful of successful full court press defensive possessions in this stretch as well to trim the lead, but Nova seemed primed to hold serve. The lead was still 6 after Peavy's second three, which came with 6:12 remaining in the game, and Nova pushed it back to 8 with just 4:52 left in the game.

Villanova did not score the rest of the game. The Hoyas went 2+ minutes without scoring as well but with 2:30 left Thomas Sorber hit two free throws cut the lead back to 6. Just over a (fairly painful) minute later Malik Mack caught a pass around the three point land and quickly attacked the rim, making the layup (his first made FG of the game) and drawing the foul. He converted the free throw to cut the lead to 3. Micah Peavy created a steal on the next possession and converted a layup in transition off a dime from Mack to cut the lead to one. Eric Dixon missed a shot on the ensuing Nova possession and Georgetown took possession with the shot clock turned off, down by 1.

Villanova quickly used all three of the fouls they had to give to disrupt the Hoyas attack and then Peavy tried to dish and drive for an open look, but the ball was knocked out by Villanova with 5 seconds to play. On the ensuing inbounds play, Peavy caught the ball went right to the rim hitting a floater over a couple of outstretched Villanova arms to give the Hoyas their first second half lead with just under 2 seconds to play. Villanova actually got a good look from Eric Dixon as the clock expired but it bounced off the rim and the Hoyas absolutely escaped the Pavilion with an unexpected win.

Saying that the Hoyas stole that win or that they didn't really have any business winning it shouldn't take away from how they got it done though. They absolutely clamped down on Villanova in the game's final 5 minutes and found enough offense late (ahem, especially attacking the rim) to get over the hump. They struggled to make shots most of the game, shooting only 36% for the game (though they did shoot a respectable 38% from three) but continued to search for answers and battle for buckets. They will have to find a more consistent approach on the offensive end, but it says something about this team that they were able to overcome such a poor shooting night to escape a tough environment with a win.

A few additional game notes:

• Micah Peavy had probably his best game as a Hoya. He had 24 points in a couple of other games early this season and he was outstanding against Creighton, but he was on a different level in this one, especially because of his efficiency from deep, going an honestly-kind-of-crazy 6-9 from three. The threat of his outside shot created good looks going to the basket late (for himself and others) and the shot to give the Hoyas the lead and the win was obviously the ultimate difference. He had his normal, strong defensive outing on top of the stellar offensive game, including a key stop on Eric Dixon late. Definitely the game's MVP. Vinci pointed out afterwards that if only we'd gotten half of this performance against DePaul we'd have won that game which is a true and fair take and also very mean to the rest of us to remind us of that dreadful loss.
• Thomas Sorber was a welcome addition back to the squad and ultimately finished with a very important 15 points (including 9-10 from the free throw line) and 11 rebounds (5 offensive) but he really struggled to finish around the rim. His elbow was almost certainly playing a role in his struggles, but he missed way too many really easy shots. He shot 3-14 from the field overall (0-1 from deep) and he's at just over 45% on two-point shots in conference. Sorber is an absolutely critical piece of everything the Hoyas do and he impacts the game in a bunch of ways, but he simply must convert more shots in the lane if the Hoyas have any chance of finding a consistent offensive attack.
• Jayden Epps was a true difference-maker for the Hoyas. He didn't lead the team in scoring and he wasn't uniquely efficient, but he hit a couple of big shots in the second half to keep the Hoyas within shouting distance and the threat of his three-level scoring opened up the floor for the Hoyas late. He was the outlet the Hoyas were missing in some of the stretches of the games against Marquette, UConn, and St. John's. Great to have him back.
• Malik Mack struggled in this one. He was 0-8 right up until the final minute, including 0-4 from three-point range. He only added two assists and Villanova absolutely targeted him on the defensive end, mostly successfully. He's gotta be a tough player to coach for Cooley. You don't want to stifle his energy but you really have to help him find a way to channel it more productively. Frankly, he looked out of control for much of this contest. BUT THEN, he hit a truly huge bucket late on a really crafty and explosive drive to the rim and drew the foul. The Hoyas will need more out of him throughout games, but this play was absolutely huge in the flow of the game.
• Drew Fielder was largely bad in this one as well. He missed his only field goal attempt, added a single rebound, and was a victim of Eric Dixon more than a few times on defense. He also got picked off way too easily on the game's final play to give the inbounder a clear lane to throw a dime to Dixon and give the Cats a chance at the buzzer. Guys have bad games and, to his credit, Fielder was excellent against DePaul and has been a really nice role player throughout the season. But he looked badly overmatched in this one.
• Jordan Burks played outstanding defense on Eric Dixon late. The switch from Fielder to Burks probably happened a little later than the gang would've liked given that Dixon was most of 'Nova's offense, but it was huge when it happened and definitely helped save the game for the Hoyas. Let's hope that whatever offensive inconsistency/brain farts/coaching decisions keep Burks off the floor for long stretches of these games get cleaned up because the dude is an absolute difference maker when he's in the game.
• Eric Dixon is good. It's kind of annoying because he's a fifth year player and he's big, making his all around offensive excellence even harder to match. But he's a really well-rounded player who plays hard on both ends and rebounds well and his offensive game is very good.
• The Hoyas got absolutely bodied on the boards by Villanova. 'Nova had a 42% rebound rate on the offensive glass (D1 average is 30%) and a 71% rate on the defensive glass (just above average), leading to a +11 on the glass for the Wildcats. Just not good enough for the Hoyas.

This one was undoubtedly an escape and a game the Hoyas stole late after not really measuring up most of the game, but it was still a great close from the Hoyas and an outstanding win, the first Quad 1 win of the Ed Cooley era. In the immortal words of Dominic Toretto (and recalled by a wild BWang in the post-game thread):

Doesn't matter if you win by an inch or a mile.

Providence is next. Let's make it two.