No matter where the program is, a win against Syracuse feels damn good

There were parts of Saturday's game against Syracuse that were frustrating and, if we're being fully honest, there were parts that were kind of sad as two once-proud programs lightly slapped each other with pillows for long stretches of the game. None of that mattered for Georgetown fans when the clock hit zeroes and the Hoyas walked out of the Carrier Dome (FOH with whatever it's called now) with a 75-71 win, their first win in Syracuse since 2016 and their first major conference win of the season.

On the WhatsApp thread prior to the game the gang mostly focused on Dav's drink selections in Italy (Vin Brule´ and then Spritzes) and reliving past Syracuse glories (okay, just one from 2021, the most recent Georgetown victory in the series and a post-Covid return to glory for Section 104), but it was noted that the line shifted late from Hoyas +1.5 to Hoyas -1.5 and that once again the Hoyas would probably need to make some threes to win the game. Syracuse has moved away from the zone defense that made them famous in the Nose-Picker era, but it's still in their bag and given Georgetown's lack of outside shooting early in the season and their reliance on Thomas Sorber offensively it seemed an obvious move for Syracuse to lean on the zone more heavily. On the other side of the ball, it seemed unlikely that Syracuse would really be able to separate from the Hoyas. The Hoyas have been much-improved defensively this season and Syracuse has shot it even worse than Georgetown to this point.

As the game got underway, two things became clear: 1) Syracuse was not going to go all-zone all-the-time and 2) Georgetown was still going to shoot it from deep and was still not going to make many. Drew Fielder, who ended up playing largely well, had a tough start. Fielder shot 40% from three last season as a freshman, but has struggled thus far in his sophomore campaign and launched three early threes that all missed badly. This spurred Patrick to posit that Fielder should not be allowed to shoot threes the rest of the season which received some fairly strong pushback from Niv and Hainesy, given both Fielder's past success shooting the ball and the need for someone to take on a stretch 4 role to open up the paint for Sorber and the guards. The Hoyas mixed in missed threes from Sorber and Micah Peavy for an 0-5 start from three. Syracuse jumped out to a quick lead, but the Hoyas got early buckets from Peavy and Jayden Epps and then exploded out of the under 16 timeout with a Sorber dunk off an slick Epps feed and an Epps fast break off a steal and assist from a newly-inserted Jordan Burks to take the lead and establish control of the game a bit.

The first half was back and forth from there. Sorber and Syracuse big man Eddie Lampkin, Jr. had a good early battle, with Lampkin drawing two early fouls on Sorber and doing some damage inside on the Hoyas's young big man. Sorber finished the first half with ten points of his own despite only grabbing one rebound and having to sit for a good stretch with the two fouls. Overall, the Hoyas were pretty well balanced in the first half, with Epps largely leading the way, but getting good scoring contributions from Sorber, Peavy (despite not having his outside shot), and Drew Fielder. They passed well, assisting on 9 of 16 made field goals in the first half (20 of 31 for the game), and outside of Lampkin really kept the Syracuse attack in check. The game was tied at half largely because of a significant free throw advantage for Syracuse. As pointed out on the WhatsApp thread, any evening out of the whistle and a handful of makes from deep for the Hoyas and Georgetown could take control in the second half. Or as Niv put it, "37 points with how we shot from 3 (2-15!) in the first half? Well, good luck Syracuse."

Other halftime observations included:

• The Hoyas shot it 14-19 from two with most of their looks coming close to the rim and many of those close looks coming off assists from the Hoyas. Syracuse's defense is just not very good, very easy to get to the rim. Which is the opposite of how it used to go against Syracuse. It was subsequently surprising not to see them try out the zone defense against a Hoya attack that so clearly was struggling to shoot it.
• The Dome seems pretty depressing. I know Syracuse likes to boast about how many people they can get into the Dome and how opposing teams often don't shoot it well there, but especially when the crowds are lighter, it seems cavernous and quiet.
• The "early in the shot clock" three pointers were lamented, despite many being open looks. The gang (and Matty in particular) would like to see some more offensive actions and attempts to move the ball inside before shooting from deep, especially as the team is struggling to hit open threes early in the season.

Georgetown started the second half off really well. The Hoyas assisted on 6 of their first 7 second half field goals and despite Eddie Lampkin really establishing himself on the other end for Syracuse, jumped out to a 54-46 lead 6 minutes into the half. The Hoyas put pressure on the Orange with some makes from three courtesy of Jayden Epps and one from Malik Mack and some opportunistic looks inside off of good passes and Syracuse's offense simply couldn't match that level of consistency on the other end, even with Lampkin proving difficult to handle for Drew Fielder. Jayden Epps in particular really started to put his stamp on this game at this point. He made two threes and had some great cuts to the hoop for easy buckets as well. He would prove huge in this game and this is where he really started to make things happen, even after a good first half. More on him later.

Quick side note here: Ed Cooley started the half with Drew Fielder guarding Lampkin 1:1 presumably to preserve Sorber's fouls. It seemed as though Ed was counting on a) Lampkin getting tired and only being able to play 12 or so minutes in the second half and b) Syracuse not being able to really score outside of him. These are reasonable bets on the face of things, but it was good to see Ed eventually adjust out of this in a big way.

From here, however, the Hoyas offense faltered for a good 6 minutes as Syracuse went on an 18-4 run to flip the game from 54-46 Hoyas to 64-58 Syracuse. Syracuse didn't exactly blitz the Hoyas in this stretch, but they capitalized on the Hoyas' sputtering offense. During this 6 minute stretch the Hoyas managed only two made layups (one each from Epps and Peavy) mixed in with 7 missed shots and 4 turnovers. Meanwhile, they sent Syracuse to the line 4 times during this stretch to aid in Syracuse taking control of the game. It was a brutal stretch of basketball for the Hoyas, who once again looked rushed, disconnected, young, and tired against a major conference opponent in the second half.

It should be noted at this point that Syracuse held a 27-4 free throw advantage which is outrageous. Home-cooking aside, the game simply was never that one-sidedly physical and there were some truly baffling non-calls on Syracuse, particularly on one Jayden Epps drive. The Hoyas also continued to shoot unfathomably bad from three point range, shooting 5-22 up to this point (they would finish 6-25). The halftime prognostication that if the whistle evened up and the Hoyas made some threes was not looking good here.

It was at this point that the tide started to turn. The Hoyas switched to a zone defense, presumably in an effort to slow Eddie Lampkin and disrupt Syracuse from getting into the teeth of the defense and dishing for open threes. They also had three straight offensive possessions that ended on assisted layups or dunks (two for Sorber and one for Fielder; two assists for Peavy and one for Mack). This put the Hoyas right back in the game. Jayden Epps hit his 4th three of the game to give the Hoyas a lead, but Syracuse answered right back with a three of their own to go into the under 4 with a 2 point 69-67 lead.

From here, the Hoyas outscored Syracuse 8-2 to take control of the game and close out a solid win. Malik Mack hit a free throw but missed the second and the Hoyas were able to secure two straight offensive rebounds culiminating in Jayden Epps giving the Hoyas a one point lead on a driving layup. The teams traded a couple of empty possessions with the Hoyas' zone continuing to make life difficult for Syracuse and Thomas Sorber missing the front end of a one and one. Sorber did mix in an outstanding block in this sequence that led to two Micah Peavy free throws to stretch the Hoya lead to 3. Jayden Epps really closed the book on the game with a late driving layup to push the lead to 5 with 21 seconds left. A sloppy 21 seconds followed (a silly foul by Peavy, some bad inbounding to bad spots and near turnovers, and a missed free throw to boot), but Syracuse was never really able to threaten once Epps hit that layup.

The last 6 minutes of this game were some of the best basketball the Hoyas have played in a while. The adjustment to zone from the coaching staff completely changed what Syracuse was able to do offensively and flipped the rhythm of the game. The offensive sets were sharper and led to good looks that the Hoyas executed. There were two sets in particular (both leading to assisted layups/dunks) that Matty noted were the type of sets Cooley used to run at Providence that we hadn't seen from the Hoyas yet. And, when the Hoyas needed a bucket, Jayden Epps was decisive in getting it without letting the ball stick in his hands.

Overall, there are still a lot of things to clean up for the Hoyas but any win against Syracuse is a good one and, given the last few years on the Hilltop, any road win against a major conference opponent is also a good one.

Some game and player notes:

• As mentioned, Jayden Epps was outstanding. He was 11-15 from the field, including 4-6 from deep and, importantly, the ball didn't stick in his hands too much and bog down the offense. He was fluid without the ball and decisive with it. It was a critical performance and exactly what the Hoyas need from their star guard.
• Micah Peavy struggled from deep and went quiet for stretches of the game offensively, but he had 9 rebounds to go with his 12 points and came up big in big moments. The Hoyas will need him to put his mark on games this season, but it is really great that they have a senior leader who impacts the game all over the court when his offense isn't clicking.
• Malik Mack had a relatively quiet shooting/scoring game (3-8 from the field for 9 points), but he had 8 assists, 3 steals, no turnovers, and didn't at all look overwhelmed defensively. Syracuse does not have all-conference guards, but one of the gang's big concerns early in the season is how Mack would hold up defensively in conference play. Saturday was an excellent indicator for his ability to stick defensively at the Big East level.
• The Hoyas really need to find a way to avoid these big second half swoons. This is where Peavy, Epps, and even Sorber (despite being a freshman) need to find ways to influence the game offensively. So far this season, especially when compared to past seasons, these stretches are driven by the offense going cold and/or ineffective. It leads to easier points for the opposition and letting them get set defensively which only compounds the issues for the Hoyas. Figuring this out is going to be important as conference play kicks off.
• They're also going to have to find a way to shoot better from the outside moving forward. Especially with Creighton coming to town this week, shooting 6-25 from deep just isn't sustainable if they want to win in conference.
• The play out of timeouts mixed with the in-game adjustment of going zone and the new offensive wrinkles we saw in the second half were truly a breath of fresh air from the coaching staff. Just the kind of stuff we haven't seen from a Georgetown staff in a long, long time.
• Jordan Burks continues to be a favorite for the gang. High energy, great defense, immaculate vibes. A truly wonderful portal addition.

Creighton comes to town as Big East play kicks off and now we see how good this team is and how good it can be.