Georgetown Hoyas vs Xavier Musketeers Notebook

In a game were Georgetown had control for mostly the whole game, Xavier really did not show any type of confidence when they were down by double-digits Georgetown did beat Xavier 74-52. Chris Mack, who is Xavier head coach, described his team as "overwhelmed" which they did. Mack also talked about what his team problem when he gave his opening statement to the media during postgame.

"We were overwhelmed from the beginning of the game to the end of the game. We give a lot of credit to Georgetown; a team that is able to come off a very quick turnaround and play an early Saturday morning game. They outplayed us. They out hustled us. They outcoached us. They were by far the superior team on the court today. It wasn't even close."

Xavier finished the game with 11 forced turnovers and two of those turnovers were 10 second violations. Georgetown was a running a press type defense and at times during the game it looked Xavier would never get the ball past half court. Georgetown defense was so good that he took Matt Stainbrook out of game. Stainbrook finished the game with 12 points, but the defense of Georgetown really was not letting him get the ball due to the fact that Xavier guards had problems bringing the ball up the court. Mack did explain why he took Stainbrook out of the game.

"We had a tough time bringing the ball into the halfcourt. Georgetown's contained press turned into a turnover-type press. It's a contained-press and our guards couldn't handle it well enough. Our positioning down the floor wasn't what it needed to be. Said Mack. The spacing was poor and because of that we were never able to get into a halfcourt offense where we should establish him in the low post. In the first game, they didn't pressure us as much and we had opportunities to get him the ball. Since we couldn't find our way into the halfcourt, we couldn't get him the ball.We had a tough time bringing the ball into the halfcourt. Georgetown's contained press turned into a turnover-type press. It's a contained-press and our guards couldn't handle it well enough. Our positioning down the floor wasn't what it needed to be. The spacing was poor and because of that we were never able to get into a halfcourt offense where we should establish him in the low post. In the first game, they didn't pressure us as much and we had opportunities to get him the ball. Since we couldn't find our way into the halfcourt, we couldn't get him the ball."

The offense of Xavier was so horrible and it looked like it was a pop warner basketball game that little kids play in. They only had 16 made field goals out of 38 attempts. They only made 10 in the first half and really looked liked a team that looked out of it.

Georgetown offense and defense looked really well. The good thing about the offense was that it was efficent and only had three turnovers out of the game. Hoyas head coach John Thompson III addressed the turnover differential at the end of the game.

"It's the same thing, which we didn't do last game. Last game we started off the game, the first two possessions were turnovers. We can't turn the ball over. We have to get a shot every time down the court. This group can't have wasted possessions. For the most part, this last stretch here, we have done okay with taking care of the ball. But to go through a game with three turnovers, I don't know that I've ever been a part of a team that did that."

Jabril Trawick did return to the starting and really led the Hoyas to a fast start. Hoyas head coach John Thompson basically was tired of slow starts to games and that's why he made the move.

"Quite honestly, it has a huge impact. Just when he is on the court, we are a better team. I liked bringing him off the bench because we were getting a fusion off the bench. But we were just getting too many slow starts. We risk not having as much coming off the bench, but it turned out okay today and we are probably going to stick with it."

Also Xavier head coach Chris Mack really said a lot of positives about Trawick and what he can do."He brings a lot of toughness to the game; you could see that on the film. I think he is their emotional leader. I know Markel [Starks] is a senior and obviously wants to go out the right way. Jabril shot the ball well today and played with a lot of confidence. We knew he was a really good player and an emotional leader. He did a good job today."

Xavier had a stretch of 11 minutes were they could not buy a bucket. They looked really poor and did not look hungry enough to score. Georgetown offense and defense was just clicking to a point were they looked unstoppable. Xavier was trying to mount a comeback, but understood how difficult it was. D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera and Markel Starks got a compliment because Mack said "  they've got two of the best guards in the conference."

Also Mack discussed trying to mount a comeback against a good Hoyas team. Georgetown had a huge lead throughout the gameIt's a combination of things that makes it very difficult. Number one is that their offense in general has great spacing. They have two of the best guards in the conference.

"It's a combination of things that makes it very difficult. Number one is that their offense in general has great spacing. They have two of the best guards in the conference. Said Mack.Markel, in my mind, is the fastest player in the conference. He is a jet. We struggled to contain his quickness, when you are talking seven, eight minutes left in the game and you want to get some turnovers, you can't catch him. D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera plays like an old man; he really knows how to use his body and has a great IQ for the game. He sees double -teams coming from a mile away and he always knows how to make the right play. They are a very difficult team to defend in a matter of trying to make them turn the ball over."

Georgetown next game is against Marquette as the Hoyas try to get it's first win in the Bradley center since 2008. The Hoyas will have to play the same way they played against Xavier. Hoyas have a tough stretch ahead. The next home game for them is March 4 against Creighton and Doug Mcdermont.