Georgetown Falls Short Against Nebraska in College Basketball Crown Tournament

Despite a standout 25-point performance from sophomore Malik Mack, the Georgetown University men’s basketball team suffered a 81-69 defeat against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at MGM Grand Garden Arena on Wednesday night. With the loss, Georgetown concludes their season at 18-16, while the Huskers advance to the College Basketball Crown semifinals to face Boise State.

Head Coach Ed Cooley acknowledged the unusual nature of the tournament experience, stating:

“First, I want to thank the College Basketball Crown for inviting us and FOX and all the sponsors that made this happen. I’m pretty sure we’ll be able to tweak it a little bit, but it’s my goal to never be in this tournament again. I think the accommodations are great, it’s nice to see all the bright lights, but this is not what we’re trying to build our program to be. This has been one of the most different, one of the most frustrating yet rewarding at the same time, type of the year. Going all the way back in November, with all the injuries we’ve had – we’ve had a lot of games now that our starters missed and we persevered.”

Hoyas Highlights:

• Mack led a pair of Hoyas in double figures with 25 points on 7-for-16 shooting and 50.0% (4-8) from beyond the arc. The sophomore chipped in another seven points from the charity stripe while dishing out a squad-best three assists to pace the offense.
• Jordan Burks tallied 11 points on the night on 4-for-12 shooting and 37.5% (3-8) from downtown.
• Burks and Drew McKenna were GU’s leaders on the glass, grabbing six and five rebounds, respectively.
• Burks and Austin Montgomery each recorded one block each.
• Georgetown shot 39.0% (23-59) from the floor and 40.0% (12-30) from deep.
• GU forced 10 turnovers, scoring seven points off of six steals, but committed 11 of their own.
• The Hoyas were outrebounded 40-31 on the glass.

Nebraska Highlights:

• Brice Williams led all scorers and a trio of Cornhuskers in double figures with 28 points on 8-for-14 shooting from the floor. Juwan Gary (17) and Andrew Morgan (12) rounded out the Cornhuskers in double figures.
• Gary led the squad on the glass with 10 rebounds followed by Morgan with nine.
• Cale Jacobsen paced the offense with four assists followed by Sam Hoiberg (3) and Williams (3).
• Nebraska shot 47.5% (28-59) from the floor while shooting 33.3% (9-27) from beyond the arc.

How It Happened:

• Nebraska got on the board first but Burks had an answer on the other end as he drained a 3-pointer to even the score at 3-3. Trailing 12-5, Georgetown strung together five unanswered with a Curtis Williams Jr. free throw sandwiched between buckets from Burks and Mack, to make it a one-possession game (12-10).
• A Husker layup gave Nebraska some breathing room but a Burks trey made it a one-point game before the two squads started trading buckets and the Blue & Gray trailed 16-15.
• A 7-0 spurt for the Cornhuskers over 1:35 forced a GU timeout. Out of the huddle, the Hoyas knocked down back-to-back buckets to make it a two-possession game (23-18) but Nebraska stepped on the gas and took its largest lead of the frame, 32-18. Kayvaun Mulready got into the scoring column, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers to close the frame as GU went into the locker room trailing 34-24.
• The second half saw Nebraska extend the lead behind the hot hand of Brice Williams, leading by as many as 19 (45-26) but a 3-pointer from Michael Van Raaphorst, his first collegiate points, gave the Hoyas a bit of life. A quick six points behind a traditional three-point play from Curtis Williams Jr. followed by a Mack fastbreak triple cut the deficit to 12 (47-35).
• Another six unanswered pulled the Hoyas within single digits (53-44) as Mulready drained another triple following a trio of Mack free throws. The Hoyas would inch closer behind McKenna’s three-point play to trail 58-50.
• Georgetown would not go away, looking to the likes of Mack, Burks and Curtis Williams Jr., for an offensive spark. An Montgomery dunk late pulled the Hoyas back within eight (77-69), but that’s as close as GU would get as the Huskers took the 81-69 victory.

Of Note:

• With 23 points in the second half, Mack eclipses the best second-half outing of the season for the Hoyas, his own 20-point performance in a 69-63 win against Xavier on January 3.
• Over two games, Mack scored 62 points and averaged 31.0 ppg at the College Basketball Crown. He was 12-for-20 (60.0%) from deep over that span.

Did you know? Malik Mack’s 25 points in the second half were the most by a Georgetown player this season.

Pro Tip: A balanced scoring attack is key to success in close games. Georgetown struggled to find other consistent contributors beyond Mack.

Reader Question: How can Georgetown build on this performance and improve their consistency moving forward?

Call to Action: Share your thoughts on Georgetown’s performance in the comments below!