WASHINGTON — Midway through the first quarter of Georgetown’s 68-56 dismantling of St. John’s on Saturday, it occurred to me I had seen this game before.
It was the hoops version of the BCS National Championship, when Alabama crushed Notre Dame, 42-14. It was clear early that the Irish were physically and emotionally overmatched.
It didn’t come as a surprise. I picked the Tide to win that game 37-13 because of one simple truth:
Alabama coach Nick Saban had six seasons to build the physical depth and instill the mental toughness needed to walk in the tall grass. Brian Kelly had three years at Notre Dame, and he accomplished a lot in a remarkably short period of time.
When asked after the game what his players and program had learned, Kelly was spot on.
“We’ve got to get physically stronger, continue to close the gap there, and just overall you need to see what it looks like,’’ he said. “So that’s what it looks like. Measure yourself against that.’’
John Thompson III is in his ninth season at Georgetown. Saturday evening, he recorded his 200th win at the school.
He has his program humming, and he has a balanced roster.
Hoyas Junior Nate Lubick isn’t a glue guy, he’s crazy glue, arguably the most fundamentally sound and smart player in the nation. Junior Markel Starks walks the line between confident and cocky like a gymnast on the balance beam. Junior John Caprio of North Caldwell, N.J., is good for one hustle play per game — minimum. Junior center Moses Ayegba, who had three fouls in two minutes, is an old-school enforcer.
Otto Porter Jr. is as good a sophomore as there is in the nation. And Thompson has the requisite sophomores and freshmen, talented and itching for their chance at Georgetown glory.
Steve Lavin is in this third year at St. John’s. He has a roster of mostly freshmen and sophomores who are talented and tempestuous.
They got outmuscled by Georgetown, as the Hoyas took the Johnnies inside and bludgeoned them 32-18 on points in the paint. Georgetown out-rebounded St. John’s 21-9 in the first half while building a 39-24 lead. The Hoyas pushed, and unlike the first game between the two, when St. John’s lost 71-56 and never challenged, this time the Johnnies pushed back.
They’re just not physically and emotionally as mature as Georgetown.
Former Tufts, Columbia, Fordham, Rhode Island, Texas and George Washington coach Tom Penders, who has forgotten more basketball than many of us know, texted me during the game with a simple analysis.
“SJU just doesn’t match up in the frontcourt with GTown. No muscle. GTown just as quick!’’
This is not a eulogy, mind you. The Johnnies (14-8, 6-4 conference) did win five straight Big East games. They match up much better with Wednesday night’s opponent, Connecticut, which they get in the Garden.
In fact, if you’re a St. John’s fan, the way the game ended should make you darn pleased with these Johnnies. Down 15, they closed to within 51-43 midway through the second half. And then we learned this team doesn’t take getting swept lightly.
On the postgame hand-to-hand combat line, Amir Garrett of St. John’s and Georgetown’s Jabril Trawick said they would not be sending each other Valentine’s Day cards this year.
This escalated into some outstanding trash talking. It almost got out of hand but Lubick saved his best performance for last, grabbing teammate Aaron Bowen like a bouncer at a Chelsea nightclub and preventing him from going all Lindsay Lohan.
We knew these St. John’s kids were talented. We knew they were a tight group, one that seems to genuinely like one another. But we didn’t know what would happen if the going got tough. Certainly we don’t think pushing and yapping equates to toughness, but the Johnnies weren’t about to go quietly into the Washington night.
“They’re definitely a tough group because they’ve shown the way they’ve come back to beat tough teams in tough environments,’’ Lavin said. “But I think experience and the physicality that comes with more games that you’ve played and more years of experience in college, more time in the weight room, you know putting on muscle and weight. That’s why I keep saying I don’t know if it will be this year or next year.’’
Somewhere, Brian Kelly was nodding.
The outlook for point guard Jamal Branch, who suffered a sprained left knee in Saturday’s loss at Georgetown, is good. Branch did not need to undergo any advanced testing, such as an MRI or X-ray, and continued to keep ice on the knee to reduce swelling. Although he was using crutches to keep weight off the joint and minimize pain, he is considered day-to–day.