Georgetown’s defense was on display against South Florida as the 14th-ranked Hoyas (18-4, 8-3) held the Bulls (13-10, 6-4) without a point for nearly 11 minutes in the first half on their way to a 75-45 blowout win.
After Georgetown’s loss against Pittsburgh on Jan. 28, Georgetown head coach John Thompson III labeled his team’s defense “awful.” However, in the two games since, neither opponent has scored more than 45 points as Georgetown got back to where it has to be to succeed this season.
Against the Bulls specifically, the Hoyas forced 17 turnovers, held them to just 31.4 percent shooting, and only allowed 15 first-half points.
“We just got real frustrated offensively,” South Florida head coach Stan Heath said.
“The more we couldn’t score the more we got frustrated and then all of sudden the avalanche just opened up.”
Despite that defense, Georgetown was only up eight points at halftime as it wasn’t exactly lighting up the scoreboard, either. Thompson said he wasn’t worried and with good reason. The Hoyas outscored the Bulls 52-30 in the second half.
“I thought we were getting open shots. The ball just didn’t go in,” Thompson said of his team’s offensive struggles in the first half. “There were no major changes that we made at halftime. Just keep doing what you’re doing and the ball is going to go in.”
The ball did go in for the Hoyas as they shot 65.2 percent in the second half with 12 assists and only four turnovers.
“This is a group that shares the ball. This is a group that doesn’t care who scores the points,” Thompson said.
“We had five guys in double-figures today and that just shows how unselfish and as well as how together this group is,” he continued.
Key Players: Out of the five Hoyas in double figures, senior center Henry Sims led the way with 13 points, nine rebounds, and five assists. For the Bulls, senior forward and Clinton, Md. native Augustus Gilchrist finished with 15 points.
Key Stretch: Georgetown outscored South Florida 16-4 in the first 8:27 of the second half to take control of the game for good.
Next Up: Georgetown will travel to upstate New York to play archrival Syracuse on Feb. 8 while South Florida will host Pittsburgh the same evening.
