LINKS: Hoyas Visit Seton Hall to Tipoff Last 10 Games

Connectivity and consistency have to be the goals here on out.

Your Georgetown Hoyas (8-13, 1-9 BIG EAST) will visit the Seton Hall Pirates (14-8, 7-4 BIG EAST) on Wednesday, Feb. 7 at the Prudential Center (Newark, NJ) at 6:30 PM. The game will be televised on FS2 with John Fanta and Sarah Kustok. The game will be broadcasted locally on 106.7 The Fan and on the SiriusXM app with Rich Chvotkin on the call for his 50th season.

It appears that the Hoyas went up to Newark on the 6th after a recent forgettable home game against a top-10 Marquette featuring some GU play that really looked like a flu swept through the locker room.

Meanwhile, Seton Hall has been idle since their domination at DePaul (72-39) on Tuesday, January 30th. It sounds like SHU will be at full strength as leading scorer Kadary Richmond was back for that game. The week off could allow healing and refocus, but could trigger some early rust.

Ed Cooley’s squad fought Seton Hall hard at home a month ago, losing 74-70 with Jayden Epps pouring in 30 points on 9-of-18 shooting from the floor, including 5 three-pointers. The Hoyas had a 3-point lead with three minutes before coughing up three turnovers. Endgame execution aside, Cooley would likely like to see more connectivity on both ends of the floor for more than the 24 minutes fans saw when hosting the Pirates in January.

After a couple rough outings for Georgetown after their own week breaks, perhaps the Hoyas can catch the Pirates unprepared early and build confidence.

Tonight’s matchup marks the start of the last 10 games before the BIG EAST Tournament begins. The Hoyas are hunting their second win against Seton Hall (Away), UConn (Home), Creighton (Away), Villanova (Home), St. John’s (Home), DePaul (Away), Villanova (Away), Xavier (Home), Providence (Home), and St. John’s (Away).

Games against No. 1 UConn and No. 19 Creighton seem more like important learning experiences at this point but maybe they do more than challenge against Villanova, Xavier, Providence, and St. John’s. Showing some defensive consistency in Newark would be a good indication for the back half of the conference slate.

With a little luck in the health/injury department, this Georgetown team should look more like they previously did against Providence, Seton Hall, and Xavier than their play against Butler.

In the recent post-game press conference, Cooley said “Right now I have to challenge my team with — people have to understand like there’s got to be a fear and right now I don’t feel that from my group right hopefully that’s something that we could address.”

That fear could be many things, including a healthy fear of what hanging another “L” might mean for their team and individual pride.

But—not to add any more pressure—maybe it means a fear of having minutes (or a roster spot) reduced next year. It’s no secret that all this “building” is towards next year and the year after. Who wants to wear the jersey next year? Who has earned the privilege?

Fans will undoubtedly be looking at these last 10 games to see whether, in their estimation, each eligible player should be on next year’s squad. The Hoyas need “horses”—and consistency in a roster year to year—but it’s hard to advocate to bring back the bulk of a 2-18 roster, even if adding a spectacular freshman class.

LINKS:

Hoyas Face Seton Hall on Wednesday in BIG EAST Road Game | Georgetown University Athletics

Seton Hall enters Wednesday’s matchup at 14-8 on the season with a 7-4 mark in BIG EAST action after handily defeating DePaul 72-39 on Tuesday at Wintrust Arena. Dre Davis led the Pirates in scoring with a double-double (16P/12R), trailed by Isaiah Coleman (15P) and Jaden Bediako (12P). The Pirates had a historic defensive performance in the game limiting DePaul to just 39 points, the fewest in a BIG EAST game in program history. SHU allowed the Blue Demons just 22.0% shooting and 11 made field goals.

Kadary Richmond, who returned in the DePaul game after a two-game absence, leads the team in scoring and assists, averaging 15.9 ppg and 4.8 apg, with his helpers ranking sixth in the conference. The Pirates have two other players averaging double figures, with Al-Amir Dawes scoring 14.2 ppg and Davis adding 13.8 ppg.

Seton Hall Faces Georgetown On Newark Night | Seton Hall University Athletics

Following an idle week that was preceded by a 33-point road win at DePaul on Jan. 30, the Seton Hall men’s basketball team is back in action at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday when the Pirates host Georgetown at Prudential Center.

Picked to finish ninth out of 11 teams in the BIG EAST preseason poll, the Pirates are tied for third place in the BIG EAST standings at 7-4 and are one game in the loss column behind second-place Marquette.

Seton Hall is one of only 20 teams in Division I with at least four Quad 1 wins.

Seton Hall is one of 14 teams in the country with multiple wins over top 10 teams.

Of the Pirates’ seven wins in BIG EAST play, three have come against ranked opponents (No. 5 UConn, No. 23 Providence, No. 7 Marquette).

Rested Seton Hall looks to sweep slumping Georgetown | Field Level Media

Richmond, a Big East Player of the Year candidate, averages 15.9 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.2 steals per game. The guard came off the bench against DePaul and had six points and seven rebounds but committed six turnovers…

Al-Amir Dawes (14.2 points per game) and Dre Davis (13.8) also are key to Seton Hall’s offense. Dawes had 25 when Seton Hall beat Georgetown 74-70 on Jan. 9, while Davis has scored in double figures in 12 straight games.

The Hoyas (8-13, 1-9) have defended poorly since holding the Pirates to 74 points that night, which was the start of their six-game skid. They’ve allowed an average of 87.4 points in the five games since, most recently a 91-57 setback to Marquette on Saturday.

Jaden Bediako a transfer portal steal | Asbury Park Press

It was a lesson in consistency, and Bediako took note. So far this season he’s shooting 73 percent from the line. He’s also averaging career bests in scoring (9.1 points per game), rebounding (7.7), blocks (1.9) and field-goal percentage (.587). That kind of across-the-board spike is rare for an up-transfer.

“I’ve never been in the gym this much,” he said.

Bediako also does important things that don’t show up in the box score. He’s a master screener for Hall guards Kadary Richmond and Al-Amir Dawes. He’s good at hedging and recovering for a defender his size. He doesn’t hoist shots – his takes are high-percentage. He’s got Velcro hands. He knows his role and he’s unselfish.

Asked about the key to his board-mongering, Bediako replied with a chuckle, “You want me to give away all my secrets? It’s just will. You’ve got to want it. I want it because I know I’m really helping my team. When I get an offensive rebound, I look at it as scoring two points.”