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With Xavier-Georgetown once again on the schedule, we caught back up with our friends (kind of) at Georgetown blog Casual Hoya to talk to them about the upcoming game, what's wrong with the Hoyas right now, and what they miss about the old Big East.
BOTP: That first game was, obviously, amazing from our point of view. What was your thought process as it developed and do you blame JTIII for not resting Starks and DSR more?
CH: My thought process as the 2nd half progressed and our lead dwindled was that I wasn't at all surprised. For some reason it just felt like Xavier was going to make a run at some point and that lead just never felt safe. It all sort of snowballed very quickly, I think it was like an 18 point swing in 5 minutes or something. I may still have PTSD from the game, so regarding the resting Starks or DSR question I'll just suggest that I'm glad JT3 was able to pocket some of those timeouts from that game and hopefully we get to use them against you on Saturday.
BOTP: This game is going to tip within 36 hours of the end of Georgetown's game at DePaul. Your thoughts on that?
CH: By DePaul you mean Seton Hall [ed. note: that was my question, and I fouled it up; my bad -Joel D], but frankly it doesn't matter. I don't think the Hoyas will be tired against X having played 36 hours before, though I can say without a doubt that the fanbase is growing tired watching the same thing happen over and over and over and over and over and over and over. And over.
BOTP: Georgetown has always had good bigs, what is going on right now?
CH: Good question and the answer lies in a mix of poor recruiting decisions, injuries and suspensions. On the recruiting side, I think JT3 expected more from Mikael Hopkins, but he is at least athletic and serviceable if not extremely frustrating at times. Moses Ayegba is big body and defensive presence but isn't giving you much else and he fouls too often to stay on the court. Tyler Adams, who chose Georgetown over Duke, suffered a heart issue that has rendered him unable to play the past two years. Bradley Hayes is a 7 footer who sits on the bench and hasn't showed much of anything in his limited minutes in garbage time. Despite that, everything was supposed to be OK this season when Josh Smith transferred from UCLA, but he was suspended earlier this season for academic reasons. The loss of Smith ultimately destroyed any chance this team had for success as JT3 has been forced to play Hopkins in the middle (he's more of a 4) and give Ayegba more minutes. The big man pciture isn't getting better next season, as right now the Hoyas impressive recruiting class does not include a center.
BOTP: Do your boys have it in them to cobble together a run that will get them into the tournament?
CH: I think that depends on what Tournament you are referring to, and I'm still not sure my answer would be in the affirmative.
BOTP: Say they don't, what are you looking forward to catching up with on Hulu?
CH: People have been talking a lot about True Detective so I think I'll give that a whirl, but I'll go on-demand since I'm not a Hulu-loving hipster. But really my plan for March is to spend as much time outside as possible rather than inside typing answers to questions from blogs.
BOTP: When Joel and I were extremely young we couldn't get Xavier games on tv, so we'd occasionally resort to being Mourning and Ewing when we played in our hallway. Georgetown is a college basketball staple, but when did you first become aware of X?
CH: My law school roommate went to Xavier but before that I always liked David West's game when he played there and that big X tattoo he has on his arm is a constant reminder of his alma mater. I will tell you that I was rooting like crazy for X to beat Ohio State in '07 if that makes you feel better about things.
BOTP: This season has been exciting for Xavier fans as we take a major step up in competition, but then we used to play in the A10. Do you like where the new Big East has gone or are there facets of the old that you are really missing?
CH: It's fine. I like that the Big East essentially has its own network now in Fox Sports 1 and I'm sure the kinks such as late starting times, back to backs (Saturday-Monday) games, terrible announcers and old football theme music will be worked out and will only get better. Competition has been good and I think it's good for the Conference that Creighton and you goobers will likely make the Dance. The one thing I miss most is Georgetown winning games and not losing twice to Seton f------ Hall.
That's pretty understandable, actually. Check back often, as we'll be inundating you with information in the run up to tomorrow morning's game. In the meantime, definitely read Brad's article on the packline defense found in the links below.
