Georgetown defeats DePaul 68-63: Game Recap

Coming into this game, Georgetown was on a two game winning streak and battling for second place in the Big East, thanks to their stellar play they now are on a three game win streak and still battling for second place. The game started out with intensity from both teams. DePaul closed out the first half on a 8-2 run but before that, the Hoyas went on a 12-0 run and the Blue Demons defense started to clamp down on the guards.  DePaul made five three's in the first half, but after that, they could not find any type of consistency from the three. The second half was close, but DePaul did not do a good job at getting the ball in the paint, which really hurt them. Also shooting that many three's in one game (24), is not a good sign.

DePaul can keep up with teams when they go up-tempo

Even though DePaul lost,they did do a good job on getting out and running when they had a chance to and it really affected the Hoyas offense. It was really working for DePaul because every time they forced a turnover they'd get out and run the fast break. In the first half, it seemed like the Hoyas were holding the ball too long on a lot of the possessions and kept trying to wait till the shot clock got to about 10 seconds or less to make a play and that really changed in the second half. Every time they had a chance to attack, they did just that. With about 3:49 left in the second half, DePaul had scored 20 points off of Georgetown turnovers, but only had seven second chance points because they did miss a lot of three's. Also, at the point, they shot 9-for-23 from behind the arc and that really did not hurt them as much because they kept running.

Georgetown dominated inside the paint

Georgetown really just dominated the game in the paint.. It wasn't just Joshua Smith getting in and grabbing boards, it was a team effort and D'Vauntes Smith Rivera got in grabbed some boards also and he was doing it with some aggressiveness, which was important. Georgetown had a lot of back door cuts and lay-ups and did not shoot as many three's as DePaul did through out the game. It was a good effort for the Hoyas to dominate the paint because coming into this game, they ranked 113th in the nation in rebounding, but they got more than they average, which is 35 a game. The paint was just owned by the Hoyas.

The duo of Smith-Rivera and Smith played great

From the start of the game, it looked like D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera would have a great game and he did, he came out making three's and driving to the basket, DePaul had no answer for the junior point guard. Smith-Rivera is preparing for the Big East Tournament with the way that he is playing. Also, Joshua Smith played well also in this game. The point guard and center tandem will need to continue to the stellar play to finish the season and preparing for the long run.