New York City- The opener of the 2K Classic provided a contrast. Texas of the Big12 and Georgetown from the Big East. Beyond affiliations you could take a look at the respective coaches. Shaka Smart of Texas, considered to have the seat rising in temperature last season, wound up winning the NIT. Administration in Austin was undoubtedly pleased with a championship but would prefer to play for titles on a Monday not Thursday night. Texas is off to a 4-0 start with a nice road win at Purdue to their credit. Getting out of New York with at least a split can only help Smart’s situation.
Patrick Ewing in his third season on the Hilltop, with no pressure regarding job status, is in the process of rebuilding Georgetown into a regular player in March Madness as back in the day. The Hoyas entered Ewing’s old collegiate and professional haunt, MSG, at 3-1.
First half: Texas turned the ball over four of their first five possessions. Hoya pressure, Garden jitters? No. Just careless ball handling. Kenpom.com tells us one third of Texas’ offense comes from beyond the arc. No surprise to see the Longhorns settle down and heat up from the perimeter. Early on, Texas is actively looked for the perimeter shot. Georgetown is in more of an attack the basket mode.
From an X and O perspective- Texas is ran a lot of sets with four on the perimeter with center Jericho Sims setting high post screens. Georgetown utilized inside/out with Jamorno Pickett taking a pass inside from Mac McClung. Hoyas also looked to run on Longhorn misses or turnovers. Five minutes remaining in this very competitive first twenty minutes- Texas with a 31-27 lead. At this point Longhorns shot 54% from three and 55% from the charity stripe. Go figure.
‘No cheering in the press box’ is the slogan. Sorry yours truly is standing and cheering for military veterans introduced during the time outs. Proud to say, I am not alone.
Half: Texas 42 Georgetown 37
Possessions: 34
Offensive efficiency: Texas 124, Georgetown 107
Second half: Omer Yurtseven asserted himself scoring eight points in the first five minutes. The Hoya big man, showing a soft touch and effective post moves, sparked the Hoyas to a 11-4 run and 48-46 lead.
The Garden is echoing ‘lets go Hoyas’ chants. Ewing’s group is energized with a bounce in their step, especially on defense. Twelve minute media time out sees Georgetown ahead by four- but a lot more in the momentum column.
In inside move by Georgetown’s Josh LeBlanc increases the Hoya lead to ten with just under ten to play. Perimeter oriented Texas is finding the percentages, and good Hoya defense, catching up with them. Down ten seven and a half to play, Longhorns show some full court pressure. The defensive change does not alter the situation. Georgetown is in command.
Just under four to play Georgetown is ahead by thirteen. Texas, evidenced by their body language, is playing out the string. Hoyas are punching their ticket to the 2K final. Thankfully, Texas does not get in a foul mode the final few minutes.
Final: Georgetown 82 Texas 66
Possessions: 68
Offensive efficiency: Georgetown 121, Texas 97
Leading scorers: Texas- Matt Coleman III 22, Gerald Liddell 7
Georgetown- Mac McClung 19, Jamorko Pickett 15
Records: Texas 4-1, Georgetown 4-1
A significant difference touched on by respective coaches Ewing and Smart. Texas shot 44% (8 of 18) from three the first half. Longhorns went 3 of 11 (27%) after intermission. Again, credit Georgetown's defense those final twenty minutes.
Also impressed with Georgetown’s Yurtseven was limited to twelve minutes to foul trouble. The seven foot senior eventually fouled out scoring ten points while adding four rebounds. Down the road Ewing is banking on the native of Turkey to become a consistent contributor.