A Crucial Week Ahead for Patrick Ewing and the Georgetown Hoyas

With a winless record in conference play and an eight-game losing streak, it's now or never for the Hoyas this week, with three home games ahead.

There comes a point in every team’s season when it’s put-up-or-shut-up time. This week is unequivocally that time for Georgetown, as Patrick Ewing and the Hoyas look to put a halt to a season that is beginning to spiral down the drain.

Georgetown is fully healthy (outside of season-ending shoulder surgery for Jordan Riley), they are more than three weeks removed from their COVID pause, and the youth on the team should be mostly acclimated to Big East play by now, at least those that are trusted to be in the rotation right now by Coach Ewing.

There are no more excuses for this team to lean on.

For some, last week may have been the breaking point, with a 23-point road loss at UConn, and a brutal 56-53 loss to Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse. But for those who are still clinging on to hope that this program can show some signs of life this season, this week is Georgetown’s last true opportunity to change the narrative of its season, with three straight home games in the span of six days against Seton Hall, St. John’s, and #15 Providence.

“It’s great that we’re going to be at home, especially at this tough time,” said Patrick Ewing during yesterday’s media availability. “I’m looking forward to it.”

Tonight, Georgetown has the opportunity to beat a Seton Hall team that is in a slump of its own, although one not nearly in the same class as what Georgetown is going through.

The Pirates (12-7, 3-6 Big East), who are on the bubble of the NCAA Tournament, may be without starting point guard Bryce Aiken in this one due to a concussion. The Hoyas may not have much left to play for this season, but they can still play the role of bubble burster this month. The Pirates are ripe to be picked off tonight.

“Seton Hall is a good team. They’re talented. They’re struggling a little bit right now. They’re missing a significant piece, their point guard, but they’re still a very good team,” said Ewing.

What better way to start than bursting Seton Hall’s bubble? It would go a long way in injecting some optimism into an increasingly grim season.

After the Pirates come to town, Georgetown has one day off before taking on a St. John’s team at home, in what should be a raucous, students-only crowd at McDonough Arena.

The Red Storm beat Georgetown at Madison Square Garden 16 days ago, 88-69, but the environment of McDonough, coupled with a fully healthy Georgetown team, should give the Hoyas a boost here. A win in front of the students at home would give this team a much-needed boost.

And then you get the best team in the Big East in your house on Sunday, in the Providence Friars (18-2, 8-1 Big East). The Friars can’t be taken lightly at this point in the season, but the analytics still show a team that isn’t as good as its stellar record says it is, and one that has gotten very lucky this season. The Hoyas only lost to them by 8 points, only 12 days ago, and will have another shot at an upset on Sunday.

Three home games this week. Three winnable games, even for a winless team like Georgetown.

“I think we’re very close [to winning],” said Ewing. “As a coach, you don’t say, ‘We did so many great things!’ What matters is that at the end of the night you see a W.”

“We are very close. Even in our last game, turnover there, turnover here, we turned it over 4 times down the stretch. If we were able to get good shots, even the shot Don missed at the end [against Butler], we didn’t execute the play right but he still got a good shot and it almost went in. I’m disappointed that we haven’t been able to get the win, but I think we are playing a lot better than we have, especially coming out of this COVID pause.”

Going 2-1 this week would help quiet the buzz that continues to grow about the job status of Patrick Ewing for next season. If things continue on the same downward trajectory, however, and the Hoyas continue their winless ways, it will be that much harder for even the staunchest defenders of this program and its head coach to look away and deny that it may be time for a new voice to lead this program next season.