It’s amazing how a few days can drastically change a season for a college basketball team. The Friars entered Wednesday with a chance to win out and get a 5-seed and a first round bye in the Big East. Instead they got blown out at the hands of Marquette and then it gets reported that head coach Kim English will be fired at season’s end.
Now the Friars will finish a trying regular season against a Georgetown squad that has also had their share of failures. The Hoyas have lost KJ Lewis to injury, dropped seven straight games, and can do no better than 10th in the final league standings. If the reports are true that Kim English is fired, we can look back at the first meeting with the Hoyas earlier this year as the straw that broke the camel’s back. The Friars blew a 21-point lead and saw Ed Cooley get his first win at the AMP as an opposing coach. From there, it seemed the Kim English departure was a matter of when, not if.
For the Friar fanbase, this is an interesting watch. There isn’t anything to play for besides seeding, but Friar fans will inevitably tune in to see how English coaches this team with his fate already sealed. Will the team sleepwalk through this one like they did Marquette or will the firing galvanize the Friars to rally around their coach? That’s what we’re most looking forward to seeing.
We preview the game in more detail below.
Friars’ BET Seeding Implications
With the loss against Marquette on Wednesday, the Friars officially have no chance of securing a bye in the Big East tournament. It’s pretty simple for the Friars: a win gets them either the 6th or 7th seed and a loss could have them finish as low as 10th. I think most Friar fans would like to be on St Johns’ side of the bracket. With the Johnnies winning Friday night they clinched the 1-seed in next week’s tournament. So basically the only way the Friars get on their side of the bracket is if they lose.
BOC: After the Marquette debacle, I have no delusions about these Friars making a run in the BET. If you are hunting for match-ups, I’m personally rooting for a draw that has the following: GTown Wednesday, Nova Thursday (Hodge injury has shifted my stance on matching up against them). From there, anything can happen, but aligning with Marquette round 1 almost assuredly leads to a first round exit. Of the Wednesday teams, Marquette is by far the worst match-up for PC.
How Do Friars Respond?
This is clearly the biggest question of the game. PC was absolutely atrocious against Marquette and given the circumstances surrounding the program it explains a lot. Yet these guys have pride and even though there is a cloud over the program, you can expect them to at the very least play better than they did against Marquette. At the same time though, there is not a ton riding on this game for the Friars, and the Hoyas likely don’t want to enter the Big East Tournament riding a 8-game losing streak. PC’s response to their last performance will determine the outcome.
Friars Dictating the Game
One of the big issues with Georgetown this year is that they seem to have no identity and let the opponent dictate the game they are going to play. They play a up and down game against Butler and Xavier and lose. They play a rock fight against Seton Hall and they lose.
In their first meeting, the Hoyas played the Friars game and were getting blown out. PC’s offense started to stagnate and Georgetown got back into it and stole the game. If the Friars try to play a shootout again, it probably gives them their best chance to win. Without KJ Lewis the Hoyas don’t have the offensive firepower to win a high scoring game. For PC it’s all about playing their game and not getting stagnant on offense.
BOC: Don’t fall into the trap against Marquette. Run a minimal three offense like you did the three prior games. Unfortunately, this staff and players seem to ignore the analytics that actually reveal how you go about winning a game.
Jaylin Sellers Closing Season on Top
There is not much to play for in this one, so I’m selfishly rooting for Sellers to go out on top offensively. He is tied with Tre Carroll for points leader in the Big East at 18.0 points/game. I’d like to see him secure the scoring crown.
It’s been an abysmal season, but Sellers has done everything of recent to try and turn this thing around. Even see the Marquette game where he was demonstrably imploring his team to fight back. I wish the rest of this team had the same fire as Sellers (and Daniels).
Root for a big Jaylin night and let’s hope Edwards and Vaaks recognize this is his game and his team. I don’t need to see another 3-23 and 0-14 from three effort from those two. I personally hope they play minimal minutes, as they are hurting this team more than helping.