Even though the line has Marquette at -13.5, anyone who knows college basketball knows that conference play is the most competitive it gets before March Madness. The Golden Eagles have had the upper hand in past, winning 23 of the 37 matchups according to MU Athletics. As the seats fill up, anticipation builds as the attendance is that of a toss-up, especially considering how close the record of both teams is. Georgetown is currently sitting in 3rd in the Big East at 12-2, while the Golden Eagles lead the conference with just one more win (including a conference win) over the Hoyas. Equally hungry to win, this game will show the rest of the conference which of these teams needs to be looked out for.
Marquette started with a 4-point lead at the first break. Georgetown was leading the glass battle, but their shooting percentage wasn’t the greatest, resulting in an early deficit. Near the break, Tre Norman was called for a verbal technical, and this was just what Georgetown needed to gain momentum. Bad miscommunication led to a collision of two Marquette players, which Georgetown capitalized on and took the lead. Burks continued gaining momentum and extended the lead with an explosive dunk. Unfortunately for them, immediately after, he looked to the Marquette bench and drew a verbal technical of his own. This put Ross back on the line with a chance to get things going. Unfortunately for Marquette, the foul did not swing the momentum as much as they were hoping for, as the Hoyas went on a 24-3 run before Ross finally hit a 3 of his own to stop the bleeding. Georgetown’s zone defense was building up confusion for Marquette as they struggled to penetrate it. Both teams traded blows, and Joplin hit an and-1 three-pointer to cut the Georgetown lead to single digits. Georgetown started finding its range, increasing its field goal percentage to 55% at the end of the half, swapping with the Golden Eagles, who are at a dangerously low 23%. The rest of the analytics were very close on both sides, but Marquette proved to be the more excellent off-ball pest with five more steals than the Hoyas. They were, however, still lacking in the rebounds category. Georgetown somewhat dominated the first half, only struggling for a few minutes at the beginning and end. As time expired before the half, they were up 38-29.
Marquette started the second half with a 9-0 run, mainly led by Chase Ross and his agility. Georgetown was struggling to figure out Shaka Smart’s changes at half as the Golden Eagles immediately controlled the game’s pace. After a few minutes of impressive defense, the Golden Eagles got another and-1 to tie up the game. The Hoyas, however, did not lose an ounce of effort trading the next few baskets. Both teams were still playing extremely tough despite the team fouls for the two already at four a piece. Neither team showed any signs of defeat as they continued to battle the next several minutes, only to remain tied with 7 minutes to go in the game. A frustrating 2:30 mini-scoring drought occurred on the court before Robbie Gold got the go-ahead and one. He didn’t convert on the free throw, which would have come in handy as Georgetown took the lead by 1 with just over two minutes left in the game. The crowd erupted when Ross was called for a loose ball foul, which was corrected and sent him to the line to seal Hoya’s fate.
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The Golden Eagles took the victory in a nailbiter that came down to the wire. (74-66) Chase Ross scored a career-high 25 points with six steals and added much-needed energy when they were down. Marquette looks forward to keeping the conference streak hot and has its first away game of the new year against Depaul (0-4 in conference) next Tuesday. Georgetown gets to come home and rest briefly before taking on another formidable opponent in Uconn (also 4-0 in conference) this Saturday.
The Barn 