Georgetown Basketball: 2019-20 season review of the Hoyas

Highs and Lows

The up-and-down nature of Georgetown’s season was reflected in the six-game win streak the Hoyas went on in December, and their seven-game losing streak to end the season.

Some highs and lows from a roller-coaster campaign include:

1. Beating Texas at Madison Square Garden

Patrick Ewing was back in the familiar position of soaking in cheers in the building where he constructed the bulk of his Hall of Fame playing career.

In the 2K Empire Classic in November, Georgetown upset No. 22 Texas, 82-66. On the same floor where he played 15 years for the New York Knicks, under the rafters where his No. 33 jersey hangs, chants for Ewing resonated at Madison Square Garden.

McClung led the Hoyas with 19 points and two steals, while junior guard Jamorko Pickett added 15 points and five rebounds.

The victory over Texas set Georgetown up for a game the next night against Duke, who was ranked No. 1 in the nation at the time.

2. Losing to Duke at Madison Square Garden

Although the Hoyas lost this game, it was one of the high points of their season.

For a program still working its way back to prominence, a prime-time national TV game against one of college basketball’s marquee brand names is always a good thing, win or lose. A Georgetown win would’ve been the best-case scenario, but the Hoyas made their mark in an eight-point loss.

Georgetown took a double-digit lead midway through the first half, signaling an upset alert. Duke fought back, and the game was tied at halftime.

When Duke took control in the second half, the Hoyas stayed within striking distance. They cut the Blue Devils’ lead to just four with 42 seconds left, but couldn’t get over the hump.

Ewing’s presence and a competitive game created a hot crowd and an electric atmosphere that felt like March Madness. It’s a feeling that Georgetown is trying to resurrect on a regular basis, and these kinds of games will help.

3. The mass exodus

When Georgetown announced on Dec. 2 that Akinjo and LeBlanc were off the team, it sounded like a devastating blow to a team that had been in Bracketology and Top 25 ranking conversations just a couple of weeks earlier.

Soon after that, Alexander and Gardner were off the team. When the Hoyas faced Syracuse on Dec. 14, Ewing was down to seven scholarship players on the roster.

Although the Hoyas won six in a row amid the chaos, they struggled at the start of Big East play and finished near the bottom of the conference standings.

Losing four players in short order was the defining moment of Georgetown’s season, and while it revealed some positives, it was overall a negative and a low point.

4. Beating Butler on the road

What turned out to be Georgetown’s final win of the season may have been its most impressive.

On Feb. 15, the Hoyas took their sub-.500 Big East record into notoriously tough Hinkle Fieldhouse and knocked off 19th-ranked Butler, 73-66.

Terrell Allen tied his career-high with 22 points, highlighted by two clutch shots late in the game. Allen’s pull-up jumper with 3:45 left gave Georgetown a three-point lead, and his 3-pointer with 1:30 left was essentially the dagger.

Junior guard Jahvon Blair added 16 points in the upset.

The Hoyas won without McClung and Yurtseven, who were both injured. Allen, Blair and senior guard Jagan Mosely each played the entire 40 minutes.

5. Ending the season on a skid

The win at Butler would’ve been a momentum-builder for a lot of teams. The Hoyas, however, were already stretched thin due to the transfers. The injuries to McClung and Yurtseven were apparently too much to overcome for any stretch of games. Georgetown never won again.

Georgetown lost six straight regular-season games, staggered into the Big East tournament, then lost its first-round game to St. John’s to end its season right before all of college basketball effectively shut down for good.

Two times, the losing streak continued in heart-breaking fashion.

Against Xavier, the score was tied before the Naji Marshall hit the game-winning 3-pointer with four seconds left for the Musketeers. Against Villanova, the Hoyas had a four-point lead with under a minute left. They lost the lead and lost the game on Jermaine Samuels’ three-point play with six seconds left.

In the Big East tournament, Georgetown took a 10-point lead on St. John’s with 6:30 left, then didn’t score again. The Red Storm went on a 23-0 run to end the game and the Hoyas’ season.