Casual Hoya

Self-inflicted: Cincinnati 68, Georgetown 64 | Over the Hilltop
The second especially irritating detail was that the program’s veterans were largely to blame for the late-game collapse. Seniors Clark and Henry Sims led the team in turnovers, committing nine between them, while Clark and, especially, Thompson simply disappeared with the game on the line. Also among those veterans facing criticism should be JTIII. The squad looked repeatedly out-of-sorts coming out of second-half timeouts, including one in the last minute with the game on the line. Ultimately, an 11-2 stretch "run" by the Bearcats over nearly six minutes spelled doom for the Hoyas.

Bearcats take advantage of turnovers - Georgetown Hoyas - CBSSports.com RapidReports
The Hoyas tied a season high with 17 turnovers, and Cincinnati was more than happy to capitalize, scoring 20 points off Georgetown miscues. Freshman F Otto Porter had a huge miscue in the final minute, stepping on the line as the Hoyas attempted to tie the score.

Clark: Don't let losing linger - Georgetown Hoyas - CBSSports.com RapidReports
Senior G Jason Clark said it was important for the team to not let the feeling of losing permeate the squad. "We can’t fall into the rhythm of losing," he said. "We can’t start pointing fingers. We know what makes us good, and we’ve got to get back to those things."

Miscues punt Hoyas into second straight loss
In the locker room Bearcats coach Mick Cronin emphatically reminded his team to deny the Hoyas all-time leading 3-point shooter any room. They responded with heavy denial defense and Thompson only fired off one shot in the second half. "It’s no rocket science move, the scouting report says you can’t let him shoot," Cronin said. "Needless to say, I was a little vocal at halftime about he doesn’t need to get any more attempts from the 3-point line."

Bearcats give Cronin his 100th win | Cincinnati.com | cincinnati.com
"They’re going to shoot a high percentage," Cronin said. " You’d better get some turnovers. This team runs its offense as good as any team that I’ve coached against. They run through all their stuff and all their options."

Ballin' is a Habit: Tuesday's Shootaround: UConn, Cincy get much needed wins
Want an example of how turnovers can kill a team? Georgetown shot 59.1% from the floor, but lost thanks to their 17 turnovers.

Georgetown basketball is edged by Cincinnati for second straight defeat - The Washington Post
"They switched defenses on us, so we just had to play at that point," Thompson said of the decisive play. "Otto had the ball right there and he just stepped out of bounds

Postgame Quotes - GUHoyas.com
Senior guard Jason Clark On possible common thread with unforced turnovers: "No. I don't think so. That's something we've got to work on. When we're good with the ball, we're a great team. But when stuff happens like tonight we don't look so good."

Vox Populi " Postgame Roundup: Hoyas 64, Bearcats 68
Thompson conceded that Lubick snapped a bad stretch with tonight’s game and was quite encouraged by the big man’s play. "It’s good to see," he said. "When you’ve had a bad stretch – and he has had a bad stretch – you start thinking, you start analyzing. I just think today he came out and played hard from the very beginning. He made a lot of hustle plays that turned into positives for us."

Georgetown can't overcome turnover-filled night in loss to Cincinnati - Washington Times
big man Henry Sims, in the midst of a resurgent senior season, gave the ball away five times in the face of steady defense from fellow big Yancy Gates. Cincinnati’s game plan included denying him the ball and pressuring him when he had it to disrupt Georgetown’s offense. Clark also delivered four more turnovers.

Hoya Prospectus: Recap: Cincinnati 68, Georgetown 64
But here's the funny thing - the offense really wasn't the problem tonight. Seriously. Cincinnati is actually a solid defensive team - they had allowed 0.91 pts / possession in their first three conference games, mostly by turning over their opponents. No, the real issue tonight was the Hoyas' defense. The Bearcats came into the game struggling to make shots in conference games - 40 2FG%, 42 eFG% coming in, which were second-worst and worst in the conference, respectively. Yet tonight, the Hoyas watched Dion Dixon and Sean Kilpatrick manage a combined 14/21 on 2FGs in the game, and the Bearcats as a whole shoot a cool 50% eFG for the game. Georgetown's early season success was predicated upon their stingy defense and just enough offense to put teams away. The Hoyas are now finding that they can't get the stops as easily as they once did, and will have to find a fix to stay with the top teams in the league.