Wrapping up GeorgetownWritten by: Todd RosiakIt was the white elephant in the room.
Although no one really wanted to get into it all that much, it's clear that MU's free-throw shooting was the costliest part of its 70-68 overtime loss to Georgetown on Saturday.
Facing a Hoyas team that came into the Bradley Center leading the nation in field-goal percentage defense, the Golden Eagles needed to take advantage of every opportunity they got to score easy points. Needless to say, they didn't.
And while the 61.1% they shot was tied for their second-worst performance from the charity stripe in Big East play this season, it was far from their worst outing of the season. In fact, MU hit less than 61.1% of its free throws on four other occasions, with its season worst a 12-for-23, 52.2% performance against IPFW on Dec. 17.
"We're a confident team. There's not a guy on this roster that doesn't feel he can't step up and make a game-winning free throw for us, and there's not a guy on this team that thinks that person can't do it," said Wesley Matthews. "It's never a mental thing, it's just stepping up and doing it. It's a free shot.
"We try not to put so much emphasis on it. I mean, we missed free throws but that's not what cost us this game."
Coach Tom Crean said neither he nor his staff spend much time discussing free throws with the players during the course of the game.
"We just encourage technique-wise," Crean said. "Remind them, 'Get your elbow in, follow through, reach up.' Things of that nature. They've got enough stress without us harping on them in that way. Sometimes it's contagious, it really is.
"But I'm not going to belabor the point. I'm not going to go back and ever second-guess how much we're working on free-throw shooting in practice, inside of scrimmages, inside of the work that we do. We shoot them very competitively most times in practice. We're not missing because we're trying to; we're just missing them."
-- Lazar Hayward went scoreless for just the second time ever at MU. His day got off to a bad start with a near-airball on a jumper on a fast break early on, and then he followed that up with a three-pointer he airmailed over the rim from the corner.
He finished 0 for 8 overall, but did manage to grab five rebounds and tie a personal high with four steals.
"I just brought him in," Crean said afterward. "His teammates are really going to be watching to see how he bounces back now, because it was a tough game. But he was on the court in winning time, and he's a big-time player for us. It certainly wasn't a game that he'll put in the scrapbook, but at the same time he's capable of a lot more, and I think he'll bounce back in a big way."
-- Matthews put it best when asked about the Hoyas' hulking center, Roy Hibbert, who was the difference offensively with 20 points on 7-for-11 shooting.
"He's 7-1," he said. "I don't know how much he weighs, but he's going to get position."
Despite Hibbert's productivity, MU still did an admirable job on him, especially considering Ousmane Barro again made himself a non-factor by getting into early foul trouble.
"I thought everybody that came in at the 5 position did an excellent job with (Hibbert)," Crean said. "I'd like to think that he earned what he got. The one thing that separates him from so many other big men is that he does not waste dribbles. When he puts the ball on the ground he's going to take a shot. And he's so big, obviously, and he's got such great vision passing the basketball."
Junior Dwight Burke turned in his best game since Wisconsin with solid defense to go along with five points and four rebounds in 14 minutes. He also had a highlight-reel-worthy putback dunk between Hibbert and 6-9 DaJuan Summers that gave MU a 61-59 lead with 31.9 seconds left.
"I'm happy for him. He's really worked," Crean said. "It's so easy to hang your head when you've started all those games, and Ousmane is playing so well and now Trevor's back. This past week I said to him, 'Don't get away from what you're going.' He's one of the hardest workers away from practice.
"That tip dunk was absolutely crucial. He did a nice job. We didn't lose the game because our 5-spot wasn't up to the task."
Freshman Trevor Mbakwe was also active, tying his high of seven rebounds in 14 minutes while also throwing his body around in the paint.
-- I mentioned to a colleague of mine toward the end of the first half that I thought the game was flowing nicely, and the referees weren't getting themselves too involved. Guess I spoke too soon.
The second half featured 34 fouls, none bigger than Dominic James' foul on Jonathan Wallace that led to the game-tying free throws with 2.8 seconds remaining.
And while I don't have the benefit of replay from my seat, other than the scoreboard, I submit that James never should have even put the official in a position to be able to call a foul in that situation. What were the chances Wallace was going to hit a fallaway three, fading away, from deep in the right corner?
I guess that
was the same basket that Jerry Smith threw his game-winning three into last season. Even still I'd have taken my chances with him knocking that down as opposed to him getting three free throws.
There also was some doubt as to whether Wallace was even attempting a shot at that point, since apparently the ball was down below his waist area when the foul was called.
-- Thought I'd also weigh in on MU not fouling Georgetown after Matthews' two free throws.
I don't have a problem with it considering Hibbert and DaJuan Summers -- who had 20 rebounds between the two of them -- were both in the game at the time and likely would have been front and center for any potential miss. Plus, with how tightly the game was being called at that point, what if one of the officials decides to call an intentional foul on a play he considers borderline? Then you've got a whole new ball game, so to speak.
All that aside, Crean has never favored that strategy in seasons past, so it's no surprise he didn't employ it today.
-- MU had 15 steals for the third consecutive game. It also forced 20-plus turnovers for the fourth consecutive game.
"For the most part, the game was at our pace," said Crean. "We didn't capitalize on enough opportunities. We didn't capitalize on the runs that we made."
-- Here's what Crean had to say about Wallace's banked three-pointer in overtime: "We don't have a defense for the end-of-the-shot-clock, backboard-from-25-feet (shot). Some of those things went their way."
-- It seemed as though there was a lid on the basket for Jerel McNeal, who finished 5 for 21 after seeing a number of shots roll in and around and out.
Nevertheless, he had another impressive stat line: 17 points and team highs of eight rebounds, six assists, six steals. That's getting it done.
-- Crean and Georgetown coach John Thompson III provided an interesting contrast in sideline styles.
Thompson was remarkably calm and collected throughout the game, choosing to spend much of his time crouched on one knee in the middle of the bench area. Normally vanilla and soft-spoken with the media, he nonetheless provided a money quote afterward when asked about his team's position heading into the final week of the Big East season.
"Seriously, this is a brutal league," he said. "I've said many times we're still sitting at the table. Kenny Rogers, 'The Gambler.' We'll count our money when it's done."
-- Crean was appreciative of the crowd of 19,085, and with good reason. That was as loud as I've heard the Bradley Center for a game, from start to finish, in the six years I've been on the beat.
There have been louder moments -- Steve Novak's game-winner against Notre Dame immediately comes to mind -- but the din from start to finish was impressive, especially down the stretch when the game was in doubt.
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