LINKS: Hoyas Stumble Against Butler in Home Defeat, 93-89

If a tree gives up 93 points in a forest and no one is there to hear it, does it still knock down the KenPom ratings?

Your Georgetown Hoyas (13-13, 5-10) have encountered a familiar hurdle following a 93-89 defeat against the Butler Bulldogs on Wednesday evening at Capital One Arena. Ed Cooley might be establishing a new culture in his third year, but it often feels like four steps forward, three (or more) steps back. Georgetown gave up 54 points in the first half, with Butler shooting 21-30 (4-6 3PT). Waiting until the end of the game to try to make a run just isn’t cutting it. While this squad’s defense has shown some sparkles, this season feels all too familiar.

Ed Cooley expressed frustration during his postgame press conference. The team currently holds a 13-13 overall record and stands at 5-10 in the BIG EAST conference. Butler entered the contest on a six-game skid but improved to 14-13 overall.

Cooley relayed that the coaching staff expected a competitive matchup against a hungry Butler squad. Down 7-10 points for most of the second half, it was clear that the Hoyas did not match that urgency for the full 40 minutes.

“I thought my team today, I thought we played Hoya basketball for 4 minutes and 10 seconds today. For 36 minutes, it was a very lazy group, not connected defensively.”

The lack of defensive intensity proved costly. The Bulldogs managed to score 93 points, and Cooley placed the responsibility squarely on the team’s mindset.

“The game’s 40 minutes long. We gave up 90 some points in our own building against a team that’s lost six in a row. Shame on us, man. We didn’t deserve to win today.”

Cooley pointed to the defense.

We scored 89 points at home and lost. I don’t think they did anything different. Honestly, that was the blind playing a blind defensive game, right? Again, we were just probably more blind.

They ended up winning. Seriously, that wasn’t that wasn’t a defensive, you know, specialty game at all. Big coach right now is rolling in his grave looking at that defensive effort from both teams.

As the season progresses for your Georgetown Hoyas, the coaching staff is apparently searching for ways to close out tight matchups in the last handful of games.

Cooley noted that his previous teams were known for executing down the stretch, but this current roster is still learning how to finish. Evidently, this has resulted in several close defeats in the final minutes of BIG EAST play. Many of the Georgetown faithful have heard that learning to win is the hardest part of a rebuild, and the staff is trying to bridge that gap.

“When you look at our body of work over the 26 games, I mean, we’re finding ways to lose, which in the past has been our staff strength of finding ways to win close games. And for whatever reason, we’re not connected with this group late in the game… All of a sudden you lose by one, two, three, four points. So we can beat anybody with the right attitude and right approach.”

The Georgetown faithful have seen and heard this before. So close. Need to finish. Got to learn how to win.

Who is pretending this is an anomaly? Why is Big John rolling in his grave for this particular effort and not the other 12 losses this season?

Why does the defense disappear like a congressman after election day?

Being able to beat anybody on any given night is a great locker room speech, but most teams with a decent coach aren’t going to fold like Providence. If fans are supposed to take this “learning how to win” mantra seriously, then perhaps they should be rewarded by having a lead for more than a few minutes.

Of course, it’s not insignificant that the Hoyas are able to stay within striking distance to the likes of UConn or Villanova and make a scary run at the end of the game, but that’s not to say they’re in the same weight class right now.

If you play like shit for 36 minutes, you deserve to lose the game. If you give up 80+ points (let alone 93!), you deserve to lose the game.

Georgetown was supposed to be striving for fifth place and the bye, but that opportunity looks to have slipped by.

Fans and students want to see the program return to its former glory, but the door to apathy keeps getting violently kicked down.

The attendance at Capital One Arena reflects the recent decade of struggles.

Cooley understands that bringing fans back requires earning their support through consistent, winning basketball.

“We have to provide a product on the floor that people be excited to come and watch. So, hopefully over time that changes, right?

And again, we’re we’re in a landscape right now in a professional sports team where we at Georgetown haven’t had the success that we’ve wanted for about a decade. So, in order to change that, you’ve lost two or three recruited classes, meaning the students on campus. So, there hasn’t been a ton of carryover of victories, of celebration, of tournament appearances. I’m mindful of that.

Would I like to see the place crowded all the time? Absolutely, 100%.

I love our students, but I also am very mindful and aware of, you know, what they’re thinking as well, especially when you’ve seen us lose a couple of really, really close games in this building or in someone else’s building.

This blog post was not meant to be a referendum or even all that critical, but this stuff sounds like “Year 1” talk.

Dropping home games to shitty conference foes with shitty records is the Georgetown norm right now.

It really does not matter how many close losses or how close the final score is. They’re not just a couple of possessions away from turning this around. This is another season where fans will have to keep waiting.

Here are the links:

Hoya Comeback Falls Short Against Butler – Georgetown University Athletics | GUHOYAS

Trailing by as many as 15, Georgetown University men’s basketball’s comeback bid fell short as the Hoyas fell 93-89 to the Butler University Bulldogs on Wednesday night at Capital One Arena. With the loss in the District, the Hoyas sit at an even 13-13 on the season with a 5-10 record in BIG EAST play while the Bulldogs improve to 14-13 with a 5-11 record in league action.

ON THE RECORD “I told our group, you know, they had lost six in a row and that we were going to be playing a desperate, hungry team. I thought my team played Hoya basketball for four minutes and 10 seconds today. It was a very lazy group, not connected defensively. Very, very disappointed in our defensive effort, energy, attention to detail and preparation. You know, we have got a quick turnaround and have a really hard game on Saturday.” – Head Coach Ed Cooley

Butler’s Thad Matta wins 500th game on seventh try; 93-89 over Georgetown | INDYSTAR

The win showcases Butler’s offensive firepower. Against a Georgetown team that struggles to defend, even a shorthanded Bulldog squad can score enough to exploit their mismatches. Wednesday’s game against a team that is poor on both ends of the floor was the ideal matchup for Butler.

The Dawgs must show they can score against quality defenses and defend against quality offenses if they want to ascend from the Big East basement.

Butler tops Georgetown to give Thad Matta 500th career win | FIELDLEVELMEDIA

Caleb Williams led Georgetown with 16 points while KJ Lewis had 15 and Julius Halaifonua and Vince Iwuchukwu added 12 as the Hoyas have now dropped three straight after a four-game winning streak. Bizjack — the Big East’s second leading scorer at 17.4 ppg — missed Butler’s 63-56 loss to Seton Hall on Sunday with a left wrist injury, and also had six assists.

After trailing by as many as 15 in the second half, Georgetown made its final six field goals, including three 3-pointers from Williams, closing the gap to 91-89 with 5 seconds left before two Yame Butler free throws.

The Hoyas made their final four 3-pointers after starting 2 of 18. Georgetown finished 34 of 60 (56.7%) from the field while Butler shot 33 of 59 (55.9%).

Beyond the box score: Dawgs down Georgetown, Thad Matta picks up 500th win | THEBUTLERCOLLEGIAN

Graduate forward Michael Ajayi led the way, scoring 14 of his 16 points in the opening frame. Redshirt sophomore forward Jamie Kaiser Jr and first-year forward Jackson Keith added two three- pointers apiece as well, sending Butler into the break with a nine-point lead.

The Bulldogs’ second half was far less efficient, but they got the job done nonetheless. Junior guard Finley Bizjack mustered up 19 points and six assists, keeping the offense rolling on a day when sophomore guard Evan Haywood joined the laundry list of Butler players out with injuries.

Bizjack’s 19 help Butler knock off Georgetown 93-89, snap 6-game skid | FOXSPORTS

Caleb Williams led the Hoyas (13-13, 5-10) with 16 points. KJ Lewis added 15 points for Georgetown. Julius Halaifonua also had 12 points.

Butler went into halftime ahead of Georgetown 54-45.Ajayi put up 14 points in the half. Butler was outscored by five points in the second half but hung on for the victory. Bizjack led the way with 11 second-half points.

Butler must play desperate basketball to overcome flaws and save season | INDYSTAR

The matchup against Georgetown represented a best-case scenario for the Bulldogs. Georgetown struggles defensively and does not have scorers capable of consistently shooting from 3. Georgetown shot just 6 for 22 (27.3%) from deep, making it difficult for the Hoyas to overcome a 15-point second-half deficit. Despite Georgetown’s shooting struggles, its late-game charge highlighted an issue that has plagued Butler all season, an inability to close out games.

Butler missed its last four field goal attempts, going the final 3 minutes, 47 seconds without a basket. Unlike Butler’s overtime loss to Providence where Bizjack’s two missed free throws sent the game to an extra period, Butler’s made free throws with the game on the line.

Georgetown coach Ed Cooley said legendary former Georgetown coach John Thompson would be “rolling in his grave” after watching the poor defensive efforts from both teams. Cooley added that despite Butler’s poor defense, the team’s desire to win proved to be the difference.

“That was the blind playing the blind defensively, we were just probably more blind,” Cooley said. “That wasn’t a defensive specialty game. … I don’t think they did anything different from Game 1. They were just more hungry, they played more passionately, they were more connected and they were just more desirable to win.”

“We were playing a desperate team. … Very disappointed in our defensive effort. … For whatever reason we left our defensive focus, our defensive toughness, our defensive teamwork we left it at the Hilltop today.”

Bulldogs Give Matta Win No. 500 with 93-89 Victory at Georgetown – Butler University Athletics | BUTLERSPORTS

Butler made 11 of its first 13 attempts from the field in taking a 24-13 lead less than eight minutes into the game. The Bulldogs shot 70 percent (21-for-30) over the first 20 minutes, their most efficient half of the season. Butler led 54-45 at the half with the largest lead of the opening half being 12 points.

Yohan Traore hit a three-pointer to give Butler its largest lead of the game at 70-55 with 14:02 remaining in the contest. Georgetown would not go away, hitting their final six attempts from the field to push Butler to the limit.

After holding a 10-point lead with 3:47 to play, Butler hit all eight of their free throw attempts in the closing stretch to hold off Georgetown. TIP-INS: Butler shot 56 percent for the game, including 21-for-30 in the first half.

The 70-percent accuracy in the opening half was Butler’s most efficient half of the season.

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