Georgetown Vs. NC State: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly From The Hoyas' Third-Round Loss

After easily dispatching 14th-seeded Belmont in their first second-round game, the Georgetown Hoyas struggled mightily with 11th-seeded N.C. State on Sunday. After jumping out to an early lead, the Hoyas expanded their edge to as many as 10 points (25-15) with five minutes to go in the first half. However, a 15-2 run by N.C. State to end the half gave the Wolfpack a 30-27 lead at halftime. From there, it was a matter of playing catch-up for John Thompson III's men. Some late game luck gave Georgetown a chance to tie or win, but the Hoyas couldn't get the job done.

The Good:

• F Hollis Thompson, Georgetown: Thompson was the best Hoya on the court on Sunday, but even he couldn't carry the team to a win. He did score 14 of 20 points during a stretch to begin the second half for the Hoyas and did everything he could to keep Georgetown in the game. Thompson finished the game with 23 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.
• F Scott Wood, North Carolina State: Wood shot 4-of-6 from the floor, and all of his field goals came from behind the arc as he finished with 14 points. Wood was able to come off screens and knock down open shots. The Hoyas struggled to keep a man on Wood all day long, and he made them pay.
• Mark Gottfried, North Carolina State: Gottfried was able to turn his team around on the fly after falling behind by 10 points in the first half. Going up against a Georgetown team that was one of the best defensive teams in the Big East (and the country), Gottfried got his guys ready to play today and pulled off another upset. After Georgetown shut down Belmont's 3-point attack Friday, Gottfried was able to break down Georgetown's perimeter defense (with a large assist from Wood and some solid screen-setting) and the Wolfpack finished 7-for-15 from behind the arc.
  

The Bad:

• Georgetown's 3-Point Offense and Defense: Georgetown slowed down the nation's 4th-ranked scoring offense in Belmont on Friday, but struggled with North Carolina State's 52nd-ranked offense on Sunday; specifically, their 3-point shooting. Belmont shot 38% from behind the arc on the season, and as good as Scott Wood is for N.C. State, the rest of the team isn't nearly as imposing. Georgetown gave up seven 3's on the day, and while they did make eight from beyond the arc, they also attempted 25 treys to N.C. State's 15.
  
• Otto Porter's Missed Potential Game-Tying Shot Attempt: It was a tough shot to make, but I'm sure pretty much anything would have been better than Porter's awkward-looking, contested shot. The shot clock was still at 12 seconds (almost even with the game clock; plenty of time to get a better look), but it was forced up and missing it ended the Hoyas' chances.

The Ugly:

• Henry Sims: Sims got into foul trouble early, and only ended up playing 21 minutes. Sims' absence was particularly felt in the first half, after he picked up his second foul with 14:20 to go before the break. Without Sims' presence in the middle of the floor, the Wolfpack were able to clog the lane and force Georgetown to take long three-point jumpers. While N.C. State was ripping off its 15-2 run to take a halftime lead, the Hoyas was in the process of shooting more three-pointers (11) then two-pointers (9). Of those 11 three-point attempts, nine came after Sims had been subbed out. Not surprisingly, with Sims playing the majority of the second half, the Hoyas took almost twice as many two-point shots (17) as they had in the first.
• Jason Clark: Clark, for his part struggled from the, field finishing just 3-of-11 from the floor, and just 1-of-6 from behind the arc. Obviously both seniors would have like to have gone out on a winning note, but losing to a double-digit seed is not something new to them, unfortunately.