The Long Night is Over: Georgetown is Back

Some have forgotten, and this program appears ready to finally remind them.

The urge to write this article first came after Georgetown’s 74-71 win on the road against Syracuse.

That win felt different.

Over the last 5+ years, Georgetown hasn’t come out on the right side of close games late, especially on the road. In past years, trailing by six points or more late in the second half would be a death sentence for this program. But not for this team.

Sure, it wasn’t a good Syracuse team that Georgetown beat, but a win over your rival still matters more.

But I held off on writing until after this game.

Why?

Because it’s starting to feel like Georgetown is turning a corner under Ed Cooley. And it felt like there was more to come.

And whereas a game against a good 7-4 Creighton team to open Big East play almost assuredly would have been a loss in the last few seasons, it felt like the Hoyas had more than a fighter’s chance in this one, at home, to keep the good times rolling.

Well. Georgetown didn’t just beat Creighton on Wednesday night.

They smoked them.

By 24 points.

Seriously, when was the last time you saw this Georgetown program play and not only beat a superior team, but beat them start-to-finish in convincing fashion?

That was a different kind of win that Hoya fans haven’t seen in a long, long time.

And it’s why it’s time to finally acknowledge that not only is this year’s team different, but this program looks to be different too. That corner sure is being turned.

Georgetown is back.

I’m not saying Georgetown is going to win the Big East this season. I’m not saying they’re going to even make the tournament this year. But Hoya fans finally have a team that plays hard, executes well, and for the love of God, PLAYS GOOD DEFENSE. Over the course of time, those trendlines can take you far, and by every measure, Georgetown’s arrow is pointing way up right now.

Of course, you can’t talk defense for Georgetown without mentioning Micah Peavy, who has had a sensational start to his Georgetown career through 11 games.

Against Creighton, Peavy was a menace in the backcourt, notching seven - yes, seven - steals. He finished with a statline of 20 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, and 7 steals. He’s established himself as not only the top defender in the Big East, but one of the best defenders in all of college basketball.

For such a young Georgetown team, Peavy has been the perfect addition of veteran poise to add into the mix. Peavy isn’t alone in his defensive prowess on Georgetown, but he does form the defensive backbone of this team. He has been an essential piece to this team.

In addition to Peavy, the other vet of this young Hoyas bunch, Jayden Epps, is quietly putting together a very strong junior campaign.

Epps is tied for the team lead in scoring with freshman center Thomas Sorber at 15.5 points per game. His improvements from last season to this season are marked.

While his scoring average is slightly down, he is shooting 45.5% from the field (compared to 39.2% last season) and 36.4% from three (30.5% last season).

His offensive rating has skyrocketed from 103.0 last season to 114.3 this season. Defensively, Epps may have made the biggest leap out of anyone on this team from last year. His defensive rating has improved from 118.1 last season to 97.7 this year.

It’s starting to get to the point with this Georgetown team that you could highlight almost any of Georgetown’s rotation players for the promising statistics they are putting up.

Thomas Sorber leads the team in EvanMiya’s BPR rating at 5.52.

Caleb Williams is third on the team in Player Efficiency Rating.

Malik Mack leads the team in Offensive BPR at 2.64 and leads the team in assist rate at 21.9%

Drew Fielder is averaging more points, rebounds, and assists per game than last year.

Georgetown has pieces now. And the culture that Ed Cooley started establishing last season is starting to show real signs of beginning to blossom.

Georgetown just beat a Creighton team that beat top-ranked Kansas just two weeks ago, and lost to #7 Alabama just a few days ago by only eight points. They are weaker without Pop Isaacs, but this is still a good Bluejays team that Georgetown just beat. It goes to show that Georgetown’s ceiling this season may be higher than expected if they can beat a team like Creighton in blowout fashion.

This past week has been the biggest week for Georgetown men’s basketball since the week it won the Big East Tournament under Patrick Ewing back in 2021. Before that, you’d probably have to go back to the JT3 Era. That’s how long it has been.

Some have forgotten, and now the Georgetown Hoyas look ready to finally start reminding them.

Hoya Saxa.