Games like Wednesday’s 70-75 loss to Kansas have to sting for a team like Georgetown. The Hoyas managed to come back from a 12-point deficit and take a late two-point lead against the Jayhawks, but failed to play enough mistake-free basketball down the stretch to seal the resume-enhancing win. But John Thompson III can take solace in some encouraging signs from his team’s performance, as it was apparent to anyone watching the game that the Hoyas played generally as well as Kansas, with the outcome of the game coming down to the discrepancy in three-pointers (Kansas: 10-of-17; Georgetown 5-of-16). One especially bright spot was the dominant performance from Hoyas’ center Joshua Smith. It must have been performances like this that Thompson had envisioned when he sought the Washington native and UCLA transfer almost two years ago. With Big East play on the horizon, Smith’s growing assertiveness still paints a bright picture for the season despite this week’s disappointing defeat.
The battle Smith faced inside against Jayhawks’ leading scorer Perry Ellis and super-recruit Cliff Alexander presented the biggest challenge to Smith so far this season (Wisconsin’s Frank Kaminsky challenged Smith by pulling him away from the basket). The Georgetown center finished with 20 points and five rebounds and dominated Alexander by going right at the rookie’s chest and establishing better position underneath the basket. The freshman Jayhawk couldn’t do much of anything to stop the 350-pound senior from getting wherever he wanted in the paint. Georgetown rightly exploited this mismatch as much as possible by running the offense through Smith – he was involved in a team-high 34 percent of its possessions – and keeping the senior big man on the court for 27 minutes, a season high. It was Smith’s play that, despite an off-shooting night by D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera (3-of-15) and a career shooting night for Kansas’ Brennan Greene’s (5-of-5 from the three-point line), kept the Hoyas in the game and gave them a chance to win.
Wednesday night provided the final opportunity for the Hoyas to secure a marquee win in their non-conference schedule. (That “top-notch win” against Florida has fallen by the wayside as the Gators have sunk to 4-4 and out of the Top 25). The only other notable non-conference opponent still on the Hoyas’ schedule is a Madison Square Garden match-up with Indiana – a win that won’t mean much to their RPI unless the Hoosiers surpass considerable expectations in conference play. That said, the Hoyas have impressed in their early season play and Smith’s ability to stay on the floor for longer stretches has been a big part of that. His presence inside cascades through the rest of the offense, opening up lanes and jumpers for Smith-Rivera and freshmen L.J. Peak (who scored 18 points on Wednesday) and Paul White. An aggressive Smith on the court for as many minutes as possible will be required if this team has any chance to knock Villanova off as the Big East favorite.