Georgetown is one of the most storied and proud programs in Big East history. It’s no secret, though, that the Hoyas have fallen on hard times in recent years. Now, however, second-year coach Ed Cooley appears to have the program on the ascent. That’s a long way from saying Georgetown is back to being a dominant force, but given where this program has been, just being competitive again feels like a big win.
The Hoyas (8-2) are entering Wednesday’s Big East opener at home against Creighton having just defeated former conference rival Syracuse on the road, 75-71, last Saturday. It was the 100th matchup between the programs and the game was typical of a 1980’s Big East clash, with 11 ties, 16 lead changes, and some chippy second-half play.
“Big, big-time game,” Cooley told Hoops HQ in a phone interview on Monday. “If it’s a rivalry, there should be a lot of (trash) talking, chirpiness, as long as it’s all within the context of the game. That’s what you want out of a rivalry. It’s entertainment, it’s legacy, it’s tradition, it’s history.”
Cooley said the Hoyas enjoyed the return trip to Washington, D.C., but he added that there wouldn’t be much carryover when the Bluejays come to town on Wednesday. “You know what, it’s in the rear-view mirror right now,” he said. “We appreciated it when it happened. That flight ride home was a good ride. But win or lose, you have to have amnesia. You have to move on to the next game. Big East play is totally different.”
To be sure, Georgetown’s non-conference schedule hasn’t been nearly as challenging as those of the rest of the conference teams. That’s understandable as Cooley tries to build confidence within and around the program after the Hoyas have gone 4-55 (.068 winning percentage) in the league in the last three seasons. “I talk about daily improvement, game improvement, each game improvement, a team that looks connected, a team that has energy, a team that has effort and enthusiasm,” he said. “I do feel we are better than we were a year ago. We were competitive in a lot of games last year. But there were some games where we walked into where we weren’t.”
The Hoyas have been helped by three newcomers. Freshman Thomas Sorber, a 6-foot-10 255-pound freshman forward, had 20 points and 13 rebounds in his first-ever college game on November 6 against Lehigh. The Trenton, New Jersey, native and product of Archbishop Ryan from Philadelphia’s tough Catholic League has added two more double-doubles along the way and is averaging 15.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game.
“I’m not surprised,” Cooley said. “He’s exceeded a couple of expectations that we have as far as his everyday ‘it.’ Very rarely as a freshman do you get an everyday personality like that who can produce that you actually play through. Thomas actually has a unique skill set. He’s one of the better passing big men that I’ve ever coached. He’s super unselfish. He’s very tough. But his feel, he has an ‘it’ factor that you can’t coach, that can’t be taught.”
Additionally, a pair of transfers, Malik Mack from Harvard and Micah Peavy from TCU, have played well. Mack, a 6-foot-2 guard, entered Wednesday averaging 12.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.3 assists while the 6-foot-8 Peavy was at 13.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 3.9 assists.
“I appreciate their buy-in, their love of their teammates, their love of our style of play, the relationship with the coaching staff and their other teammates,” Cooley said. “They have brought a lot to Georgetown, a lot to our culture, and a lot to the organization.”
While a climb up the Big East standings would be most welcome, Cooley knows the Hoyas have plenty of work to do in order to get there. They enter Big East play having shot a woeful 28.7 percent from three-point range, but that is just one of several areas in which the coach knows Georgetown needs to get better. “We’ve got to do a better job finishing in transition,” he said. “We definitely have to improve our physicality, defensive rebounding. We have to limit teams to one shot. Then the last thing is our inability to make open shots. We’ve missed a lot of threes, open threes. If we can improve on some of those, we’ll find ourselves in the win column a little bit more than we did last year.”
DePaul’s Playing the Long Game
In contrast to what we’ve seen at Georgetown, DePaul’s resurgence under first-year coach Chris Holtmann can be partly attributed to the Blue Demons’ success from three-point range. The Blue Demons (8-2) set a program record for a regulation game by making 17 three-pointers in last Saturday’s 91-72 non-conference win over Wichita State. Through Sunday’s games, the Blue Demons led the Big East and ranked second in the country with 12.8 three-pointers per game. Their 40.4 percent make rate from long range is 13th in the country, just a tick behind Villanova’s conference-leading 40.5 percent mark.
Three Blue Demons are shooting greater than 46 percent from behind the arc, led by Davidson transfer David Skogman (48.5 percent) and followed by Coastal Carolina transfer Jacob Meyer (46.7) and UIC transfer Isaiah Rivera (46.6).
Around The Rim
- Providence standout Bryce Hopkins has averaged 17.0 points and 7.7 rebounds in three games since returning on December 3 from a knee injury suffered on January 3, 2024, which ended his season. Hopkins is shooting 40 percent from the field (16 of 40) and three-point range (4 of 10). However, he did not play in Saturday’s loss to St. Bonaventure. Friars coach Kim English said Hopkins was experiencing some discomfort in the knee and sat out for precautionary reasons. English does not expect Hopkins to be out of action for long.
- Xavier suffered a huge setback over the weekend when it announced senior forward Zach Freemantle would be sidelined indefinitely with a knee injury. Freemantle had just scored 18 points, seven rebounds, and four assists in Saturday’s 68-65 loss to crosstown rival Cincinnati. The defeat snapped a five-game Musketeers winning streak in the series, but losing their leading scorer and rebounder hurt a lot more.
- Butler has been off the mark during a three-game losing streak that included a 71-68 home defeat to North Dakota State on December 10. The Bulldogs’ skid began at then-No. 17 Houston, 79-51, on December 7 and continued with last Saturday’s loss at then-No. 20 Wisconsin. Butler shot 36.5 percent from the field, including 27.8 percent from three-point range, in the three games. Adding injury to insult, 6-foot-8 sophomore forward Augusto Cassiá suffered a right knee ligament injury against North Dakota State. The Salvador, Brazil native is out indefinitely, though the injury isn’t expected to be season ending. In 10 games, Cassiá averaged 5.1 points and 3.1 rebounds.
- Seton Hall coach Shaheen Holloway bemoaned the disparity in free-throw attempts in last Saturday’s 66-63 loss at in-state rival Rutgers, telling reporters afterward, “I have never been a part of a game where one team shoots 13 free throws and another one shoots 28.” Both teams shot less than 50 percent on their attempts from the charity stripe, with the Pirates going 6 of 13 and Rutgers making 13 of 28. Rutgers prevailed on Dylan Harper’s three-pointer at the buzzer.
- Creighton split a pair of games since the bad news that Pop Isaacs would miss the rest of the season with a hip injury. That announcement came just days after he scored 27 points in the Bluejays’ 76-63 home win over then-No. 1 Kansas on December 4. A transfer from Texas Tech, the 6-foot-2 junior guard averaged 16.3 points in eight games. Without Isaacs, Creighton defeated UNLV 83-65 on December 7 before losing 83-75 at then-No. 7 Alabama last Saturday. In the loss to the Crimson Tide, Ryan Kalkbrenner had 18 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks, stretching his streak of 24 consecutive games with at least one blocked shot.
Upcoming Games to Watch
Wednesday, December 18: Creighton at Georgetown, 6:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network
The Hoyas were picked ninth of 11 teams in the Big East and haven’t had a winning record in the conference since 2015. A win over Creighton, which defeated then-No. 1 Kansas on December 4, but is now playing without top scorer Pop Isaacs, will go a long way toward a successful conference season for Georgetown.
Wednesday, December 18: Xavier at UConn, 7 p.m., FS1
The two-time defending national champion Huskies have improved tremendously after losing all three games during their November trip to the Maui Invitational. UConn’s latest win was last Saturday’s impressive 77-71 triumph over then-No. 8 Gonzaga. Xavier, picked third in the preseason poll behind the top choice Huskies, should be an early test for Dan Hurley’s squad. The Musketeers likely won’t be in the best mood after last Saturday’s loss to crosstown rival Cincinnati, although without Freemantle their task will be considerably more difficult.
Saturday, December 21: Marquette at Xavier, Noon, FOX
The Golden Eagles looked like the best team in the Big East — and still might be — prior to last Saturday’s loss at Dayton. Marquette will head back to Ohio for another Saturday tilt, looking to fare better against Xavier from the outside than against the Flyers when they missed 20 of 29 attempts from long range.
Saturday, December 21: Villanova at Creighton, 4 p.m., FS1
Villanova hasn’t made the NCAA tournament since Jay Wright’s surprise retirement following the Wildcats’ run to the Final Four in 2022. But Villanova enters Big East competition playing well, and Kyle Neptune’s bunch has the talent to contend in the league in spite of being picked seventh of 11 teams in the preseason.
Aaron Bracy has covered sports in Philadelphia for the Associated Press and several other outlets for nearly three decades. His website, Big5Hoops.com, is a leading voice for coverage of the Philadelphia Big 5. His first book, A Soaring Season: The Incredible, Inspiring Story of the 2003–04 Saint Joseph’s Hawks (Brookline), will be available wherever books are sold on March 1, 2025. It can be preordered by clicking here. Follow Bracy on social media by clicking here. Contact him by email: aaron@big5hoops.com.
