NEW YORK – Let the questions continue about Georgetown without Chris Wright. That’s sure to be what happens for a few days now that the Hoyas were quickly bounced from the Big East Tournament on Wednesday with a 79-62 loss to Connecticut.
There’s no shame in losing to the Huskies, to be sure. It’s not as if Georgetown lost to a team they finished well ahead of in the standings. Plus, with their big non-conference wins, the Huskies are in better shape regarding the NCAA Tournament than Georgetown is. But some of what led to the loss isn’t a good sign.
Georgetown is 0-3 since Wright went down with a broken left wrist against Cincinnati on February 23. The Hoyas managed 51 and 47 points in their final two regular season games, before scoring 62 on Wednesday. That’s better, as it trends upward and came against a good defensive team, but the Hoyas also didn’t look like a complete offensive team. That’s potentially a cautionary tale for their postseason hopes since it’s hard to imagine him coming back before the NCAA Tournament begins.
“It is what it is, but we miss Chris, absolutely,” said head coach John Thompson III. “100 percent both ends of the court and in every way. That being said the group that’s playing right now that played today has to be better, has to be better. Better than we’ve been showing.”
With Wright out, the Hoyas at times went more one-on-one at the offensive end, which is counter to their system. They are a team that needs to move the ball inside and out to try to score. Against Connecticut, they were pretty much a two-man shot with Jason Clark (23 points) and Austin Freeman (20) scoring most of their points but not shooting well. Freeman had 14 points in the first half to keep them within striking distance as the Huskies broke the game open.
Since Wright went down, Julian Vaughn has scored three points in three games, going scoreless in the last two. Vaughn benefited last year from having Greg Monroe get him shots with the way Monroe drew defensive attention and could pass. Now, he’s benefited from Wright up until the injury, and hasn’t been the same since then.
As important as Wright is to this team, the Hoyas didn’t lose on Wednesday just because he was on the bench in a suit for the game. In the first half, they allowed Connecticut to grab nine offensive rebounds, six by guards. Their own frontcourt players had just six defensive rebounds in the opening frame.
“That’s something that’s on everyone, not just our post guys or our guards,” said Nate Lubick.
Thompson said he limited the minutes of Vaughn and Henry Sims because they were ineffective. That left Lubick and Hollis Thompson to man the post, though Thompson plays facing the basket a lot. John Thompson reached deeper into the bench to go with Jerrelle Benimon (13 minutes) and little-used Moses Ayegba (three late minutes) up front as well. Lubick and Hollis Thompson each had a team-high five rebounds. The Hoyas closed the rebounding gap in the second half and allowed just one offensive board, but the damage was done by then.
The Hoyas say they are a confident team as they await their NCAA Tournament fate. They should be comfortably in the tournament, but their seed is an open question given their struggles without Wright and no sense of if or when he may return.
“We’re used to playing with him for most of the game,” said Lubick. “Guys need to step up, and make like he’s out there even when he’s not.”
Whether they have Wright or not, the NCAA Tournament is a new season. It doesn’t happen in a vacuum, but once there it’s all about what they do then as opposed to now or beforehand. While that presents an opportunity, it’s one that won’t easily have a good ending if Wright isn’t able to come back or if they can’t fully adjust to life without their floor leader.
