Game Links:
Tortilla Tossin’ Player of the Game: Jaylon Tyson, come on down. This really came down to Tyson or Batch, but I think I’ve already given this to Batcho once and Harmon was terrific as he scored 18 on just 10 shots, making 4 of 5 from deep, 9 boards, 2 assists, 3 steals, and 3 turnovers.
The Motion:
- That was fun, but it wasn’t. Can that be true? That’s a decent final score, but the final score never should have been in jeopardy. I wish I had the lineup of who was in the game in the second half when Georgetown made their furious run to close the 23-point gap. If I were to look at the box score, I think the culprit would be the second unit where the starters were all in the positive for +/-, while Lamar Washington, D’Marion Williams, Elijah Fisher, and Kerwin Walton were all in the negative. Maybe not that group as a unit, but generally speaking, that’s what happened. The second unit couldn’t hold onto that lead and made things way too close.
- Eventually, the starters got back in the game and things all worked out the way that it should have, but what we’re seeing is that the second unit has to do a better job of running the offense and maybe the biggest part is that the defense has to be on-point. I have access to this special box score with some advanced stats and there’s something called “DRtg” which is defensive rating and it’s points allowed by a player per 100 possessions, and Allen, Fisher, Walton and Washington all had ratings over 132, so it wasn’t just the offense that was the issue, but it was the fact that the defense wasn’t up to par and allowing some big plays.
- Some numbers. Texas Tech dominated the boards, 41-23, which is odd considering Georgetown’s size. Even the offensive boards were in favor of Texas Tech, 13 to 8 for Texas Tech. But where Texas Tech sort of lost the plot was 19 turnovers (luckily the defense forced 18) and Georgetown had 29 bench points to just 7 for Texas Tech. Georgetown shot decently well, 45% for the game and 35% from the 3-point line and beyond.
- Where Texas Tech did well, was 2nd chance points, 18 to 6. Point in the paint was 38 to 16 for Texas Tech. Steals were 13 to 6.
- Batcho’s mere presence is so impressive, but his biggest fault was late where he was sort of getting caught up catching the ball in spots that weren’t conducive to him having an impact, having to pass the ball out or dribbling the ball in traffic that resulted in 5 turnovers on the evening, a team high. Just trying to do too much. But when Batch does do things that he is comfortable doing, he’s awesome. 15 points on 7 of 9 from the floor, 13 rebounds, 2 assists, a block, a steal, and the aforementioned 5 turnovers.
- The pick-and-roll for Pop Isaacs was what stemmed the tide for Georgetown and it is interesting in that he’s probably one of two players that can really do that pick-and-roll option, which is a big deal in modern offenses. Hell, it seems like 90% of NBA offense is the pick-and-roll and college teams sometimes have a difficult time guarding that play. Isaacs is acutely able to do this because of his ability to just pull up and shoot and do it well and I wouldn’t be surprised to see more of this going forward.
- De’Vion Harmon sometimes takes some wild shots (that air ball that Batcho recovered for a dunk) and I think if he can work on shot-selection, he’ll be a highly efficient player that will be dangerous at all 3 levels. Harmon’s 4 steals are one of his strengths, reading offenses and he’s also good at drawing fouls.
- The next game isn’t for another week, December 7th against Nicholls, tip-off is at 7:00 p.m.
Highlights