Georgetown Basketball: Takeaways from 32-point blowout win over UAlbany

Georgetown Basketball improved to 6-1 on the season with a dominant 100-68 win over UAlbany at Capital One Arena on Saturday. Six Hoyas finished with 10 or more points as the team shot 63.1% from the field and 40.9% from three. Defensively, Ed Cooley's squad limited UAlbany to 35.7% from the field and 31.8% from three.

100 points is the most Georgetown has scored in a single game since 2021. In many ways, it was Georgetown's best team win of the season. Here are three takeaways from the game.

1. Micah Peavy far and away Georgetown's most important player

Peavy turned in yet another stellar performance, registering game highs with both 24 points and eight assists while adding four rebounds and seven stocks. Through the early stretch of the season, he has cemented himself as Georgetown's most important player by a wide margin. While freshman dynamo Thomas Sorber merits mention in this conversation given his on/off splits, Peavy's sheer production on both ends of the floor is simply too much not to give him the nod.

Through seven games, Peavy leads the Hoyas in points, assists, and steals per game while being second in blocks per game. He is also shooting a team-best 45.2% from three. Per EvanMiya, the TCU transfer leads the team in BPR with the 11th best mark in the Big East, and he is a close second to Sorber in plus-minus. Given what Micah Peavy has provided Georgetown thus far in terms of scoring, two-way playmaking, and floor spacing, he is on pace for heavy All-Big East consideration by season's end.

2. Hoyas' response to faster pace

UAlbany entered this game with a top-40 Tempo per EvanMiya. Despite being down two starters, the idea was still there in part for the Great Danes as they looked to get out in transition and attack downhill. Georgetown responded extremely well to the faster pace, blowing UAlbany out of the water with 37 fast break points to the Great Danes' nine. UAlbany's uptempo style offers solid preparation for Georgetown's next game versus UMBC, as the Retrievers also like to get out and run. Postgame, I asked Ed Cooley if he is considering any adjustments for the UMBC game after seeing how his team played against UAlbany. His answer:

"We want to run. If that's the pace we have to play at, again, sometimes you have to adjust, right? We tell our guys we have to camouflage, we have to be chameleons. We want to play in transition as much as we can. It's very hard to score against set defenses, really really hard to score against set defenses. If that's the way we have to play to have success, then that'll be really good. I'll play in transition as much as we can with the athletes that we have."

Georgetown is currently outside the top third in the nation when it comes to KenPom's Adjusted Tempo. Could Ed Cooley look to get his athletes running more after what he saw against UAlbany?

3. Jayden Epps' limited usage

Jayden Epps is Georgetown's third-leading scorer this season with 13.6 points per game, but finished sixth on the team with just eight points against UAlbany. These last two contests versus UAlbany and Wagner have been Epps' two lowest in terms of field goal attempts with seven and five, respectively. Could this be seen as a good thing for Georgetown?

At his best, Jayden Epps is a dynamic scoring guard who can be extremely difficult on opposing defenses when he gets hot. At his worst, he is a ball-stopper who hampers the flow of Georgetown's offense. It may not be a coincidence that Georgetown's best team win of the season featured Epps taking a less prominent role - taking more of what he was given rather than what he wanted. He won't be completely phased out because of the potential he offers with the ball in his hands, but limiting his touches in some cases could prove beneficial for the Hoyas' offensive efficacy.

Considering the emergence of Peavy and Sorber, as well as Malik Mack's role in the offense, Epps' usage may be something to monitor moving forward.