2K Sports Classic Georgetown vs. Wisconsin recap: Hoyas pick up first win of the season, defeat Badgers at MSG

1) Reggie Cameron carried the Hoyas in the first half, Isaac Copeland led them in the second

Both teams struggled shooting ball in first half, especially early on in the game. However, Georgetown got a great shooting first half from junior Reggie Cameron who had 14 points and made four threes in the first half.

"Reggie made shots in the first half and he was very good on defense," Coach John Thompson III said, "Reggie’s defensive effort was just as important as making shots today."

The Hoyas shot 50 percent from deep in the first half and led by five at the break.

"You have to get [Cameron] out of his comfort zone," Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said, "I think we did a better job in the second half."

In the second half, Cameron was not as much of a factor, but sophomore Isaac Copeland picked up the slack. Copeland was scoreless in the first half, but had 15 points in the second to help the Hoyas close out the victory.

Freshman Jessie Govan helped the cause as well with 13 points and five rebounds. The trio was able to carry the offense despite struggles from D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera who shot just 2-9 from the field and was in foul trouble in the second half.

2) Hoya defense was key

Georgetown’s defense made it tough on the Badgers all night and forced them to take tough shots. Nigel Hayes was the only player that had a solid night shooting for Wisconsin as he finished with 22 points on 7-16 shooting. The rest of the Badgers shot 13-44 from the field and shot 31 percent from three point range as a team. Wisconsin only had 12 turnovers, but could not find any comfort in shooting the basketball throughout the night.

"We had energy today, they sustained 40 minutes of attention to detail," Thompson said about his defense, "Our guys on the defensive end we did a great job of helping each other."

The Hoyas, especially in the first half, kept the Badgers out of the paint and forced them to take tough shots. Wisconsin’s offense is slow moving and they do not get as many possessions per game as other teams. They need to capitalize on their possessions and Georgetown was a big reason why they did not in this game. The Hoyas have had a tough schedule so far and it does not get easier for them on Sunday.

"With our schedule this year, the last 10 days have been hell," Thompson said, "We have a group that can handle it. It does not get any easier and I think they will embrace it."

3) Wisconsin’s defense and Bronson Koenig were poor

The Badgers struggled defending the three point shot as Georgetown made 9-16 from deep and 43.8 percent overall from the field. Another big key in the game was the bench scoring from Georgetown. The Hoyas bench outscored Wisconsin’s reserves 31-2 and poor defense led to the Badgers having a long night.

Zak Showalter and Vitto Brown both had trouble keeping up with the Hoyas. They both fouled out in the second half and were not big factors in the game at all. Wisconsin really could of used Bronson Koenig as well who could not get into a groove shooting the ball in this game.

"We didn’t shoot it real well and that is a tough hill to overcome," Ryan said, "To be in sync takes time and also trying to see who is going to be the starting five, the reserves and who gets time."

The junior went 2-12 from the field, 1-6 from downtown and finished with just nine points after having a solid start to the season in the previous three games.

The Hoyas finally get their first win of the year and will have a chance to win the 2K Sports Classic title on Sunday as they will face either Duke or VCU at The Garden.