Georgetown Basketball: 2018-19 keys to success for the Hoyas vs. Creighton

Georgetown Basketball has a crucial Big East game against Creighton. Here are the big keys for the Hoyas to get the victory.

Georgetown Basketball comes into their game with Creighton hoping to get back to .500 in the muddled Big East Conference. The Hoyas have lost three of their last four games. During that span, three of the four games have either gone into overtime (St. John’s and Providence) or came down to the final possession (Marquette).

The Hoyas have welcomed back freshman Mac McClung after missing a few games with an ankle injury. In his return, he has averaged 20 points a game.

Creighton is in last place in the Big Conference with a 1-4 record. They’ve lost the last four games by an average of 11 points and that includes a two-point loss to Marquette. Despite the current losing streak, the Bluejays still have some impressive stats on offense.

Per KenPom.com, they are in the top 10 in Adjusted Offensive Efficiency (8th), Effective FG % (1st) and 3P% (4th).

Keys for Georgetown

1. Play Smart

This one is for James Akinjo in particular. Twice in “end of the game” situations, he’s shunned what Coach Patrick Ewing called and took the ball himself. Twice he has failed.

Akinjo’s decision making is key to the Hoyas success. Ewing doesn’t have another lead guard who can be a threat in their natural sets. Akinjo’s dual-threat capability makes him tough for opposing point guards to handle. But his unwillingness to follow what Ewing is telling him to do is starting to impact the Hoyas in a negative way.

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This could be just a freshman finding his way but the point guard position is the most important in Ewing’s NBA-centric offense and bad decision-making doesn’t pair well with his 10-38 shooting in the last three games.

Mac McClung’s decision-making has improved since coming back from injury. Instead of making up his mind before catching the ball, he’s been making the decision once he’s caught the ball. He’s 14 for his last 24 from the field including 6-12 from the three-point line.

2. Perimeter Defense

A tough matchup for the Hoyas will be Creighton guard Ty-Shon Alexander. More than likely, Jamorko Pickett will get the first crack at Alexander. Pickett has been Georgetown’s best defensive player all season. Per Sports-Reference, Pickett is second on the team in Defensive Box Plus/Minus (DBPM). Taking on the opposing team’s best perimeter offensive player has made Pickett into one of the most important defensive players on the team.

When Pickett isn’t in, expect for Jagan Mosely to take on the task. Granted he isn’t as tall or as long but his on-ball defense will be critical when he’s on the floor.

3. Feed Govan

As good as the freshmen backcourt has been, Georgetown is better when things run through Jessie Govan. In the loss to Marquette, Govan only had eight shot attempts. Part of that was good defense but Georgetown made it easy by not being more committed to getting Govan the ball in his scoring zones. Govan’s ORtg has been over 100 in every Big East, seven straight if you go back to the non-conference schedule.

It’s part of the reason why it made no sense not to feed him against Marquette. Yes, McClung got hot but his shot selection might have been as good as it had all season so that’s not an excuse. Akinjo’s had a hard time against Marquette’s length but he wasn’t looking inside and moving the ball enough.

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Govan’s ability to stretch out to the three-point means double-digit shot attempts should be no problem against Creighton as long as the guards look to feed him.

Prediction: Georgetown 85 Creighton 80

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