(4) Villanova Wildcats Vs Georgetown Hoyas: Game Recap

In the first half, it was a tale of two cities. Georgetown came out of the gate on fire and everything was going well for them on both offense and defense. Georgetown, in the first half, limited Villanova to just 20 points, while scoring 42. The Hoyas got a balanced production from everyone that played quality minutes in this game. Georgetown had one it's best halves of basketball in conference play, which is really good because it came against a ranked team. It was not just the young guys that played well, but it was also the older guys. Georgetown shot 15-20 in the first half from the field, and was 5-for-7 from behind the arc. Villanova was just 6-for-22 from the field and 2-for-10 from the perimeter.

In the second half, Georgetown played with the same intensity, but Villanova started to get some energy because the amount of times they went to the free throw line. Georgetown did a lot of good things in both halves to win the game. Villanova made small runs throughout the second half, but that did not help because Georgetown answered in some type of way and the defensive intensity kept getting better. Also, Villanova got it to 12 points in the second half, but did not do enough to sustain a long run to cut it to single digits. After Georgetown went up 22-11, the game never became a single digit game.

Georgetown's balanced scoring

Georgetown is a really balanced team and they do not have that one player that will always erupt for 20 points. Georgetown got production out of everyone in some type of way. Looking at the box score, the team really shared the ball well. The offense was really good because they did not just get one touch and shoot, they made a couple of passes on a lot of the plays before someone took a shot. Georgetown got a lot out of Isaac Copeland, who has been coming on, as of late, in terms of scoring the ball. He has played a huge role in the past two conference games on the offensive side of the ball, but his defense has been there all season. When a team shoots 60 percent in the first half, as Georgetown did, they're doing a lot of things right.

Georgetown's defensive intensity

Georgetown's aggressiveness on the defensive side of the ball was really important for them to secure the win against No.4 Villanova, who did not really start to get going offense until the lead was cut to 12 with about 8:40 left, then it stayed around that range for a while. Villanova kept trying to go inside the paint, but Georgetown was always there to protect the rim. Villanova did not spread out the defense of Georgetown because they went a lot of zone and man. Georgetown, on the other hand, protected the rim and the perimeter. Villanova was in the game towards the end because they were getting to the lane multiple times.

Villanova did not make many hustle plays

Watching the game, Villanova did not make as many hustle plays as Georgetown did throughout the game. Georgetown was diving on the floor and giving it all they had against the Wildcats, who were projected to win this game. Villanova was not doing a lot of dirty work. This game could have been closer if Villanova dove on the floor. That is not something Wildcats head coach Jay Wright expected. Georgetown had 10 steals in this game. The hustle play statistic does not show up on the stat sheet, but it will show up when both teams watch film.