During his team’s Big East opener on Wednesday, Georgetown’s Patrick Ewing lost an 18-point halftime lead and suffered a 91-89 double-overtime loss to Butler in the first conference game of his tenure.
The former Georgetown star and first-time head coach knows Butler’s come-from-behind victory was just another rugged Wednesday in the Big East, just the start of a rigorous slate in one of America’s best leagues.
Ewing’s Hoyas collapsed after leading by 20 points in the first half at home in Washington, two weeks after surrendering a comfortable lead and losing to Syracuse in overtime.
With the worst nonconference schedule in college basketball, per ESPN’s BPI, the Hoyas entered that Syracuse loss undefeated. Then, Ewing said he had a plan.
“Everyone is getting confidence,” Ewing told the Washington Post last month, prior to the Syracuse loss, about his team’s nonconference schedule, ranked No. 351 on ESPN’s BPI. “Everyone is working hard and getting better, getting ready for the Big East.”
In their two losses this season, however, the Hoyas seemed ill-prepared for the late bursts by their opponents.
And this is why nonconference schedules, a pivotal component of postseason résumés, matter.
Yes, the Hoyas have potential. Jessie Govan (19 points, 13 rebounds on Wednesday) continues to compete like an All-Big East performer. Marcus Derrickson has made 38 percent of his 3-pointers this season.
But the team amassed the bulk of its numbers on a 9-foot rim with a schedule that featured seven sub-300 squads on KenPom.com. For the confidence they gained, they lost competitive balance.
The nonconference schedule did not help Ewing, either. He’s a first-year head coach, and during two competitive matchups in a two-week span, he could not deliver the motivation and schematic guidance his program needed late.
Those opportunities only arise in fiery battles, skirmishes missing from Georgetown’s nonconference schedule. With a tougher slate, Ewing might have learned more about his squad in those get-off-your-back situations.
The Hoyas seemed perplexed when Syracuse’s comeback shifted the momentum two weeks ago and Butler’s late surge changed the vibe in Wednesday’s game, both foreign scenarios.
When Ewing’s Hoyas won the 1984 national championship, they faced DePaul, BYU, Marshall and UNLV -- a quartet of squads that reached that season’s NCAA tournament -- in nonconference action.
Yes, John Thompson Jr. had the best player in college basketball (Ewing) and a stacked roster. But the Hoyas had lost to Memphis in the second round of the 1983 tournament.
Their head coach did not, however, ease their nonconference slate to help them overcome the memory of the previous year’s premature postseason exit.
Last year’s Georgetown squad finished 14-18 under John Thompson III. The returning players on the current roster did not just need more wins. They needed more fights.
But Ewing plucked the program from the prestigious PK80 tournament in Portland, Oregon, over Thanksgiving weekend. DePaul replaced the Hoyas and faced Michigan State, Oregon and Portland in the event.
That’s a collection of games that would have molded Georgetown earlier this season.
LaVall Jordan, who accepted the Butler job after Chris Holtmann left for Ohio State in June, had his team play in that tournament.
His Bulldogs overcame a 15-point deficit with 3 minutes, 46 seconds to play in a game against Ohio State and recorded a 67-66 victory in overtime of their PK80 matchup.
And there they were again on Wednesday. Down big. Away from home. Struggling.
But not afraid.
Butler’s experience helped. That Ohio State game -- along with tough losses to Maryland, Texas and Purdue -- had strengthened Jordan’s program. The Bulldogs never panicked. They’d walked through those torrid moments together.
Everything that happened prior to Wednesday’s game prepared them for another come-from-behind win.
Now, Georgetown’s growth must come during conference play. That’s when the team will encounter more turbulence and obstacles.
That’s also when Ewing should develop as a head coach.
A more difficult nonconference slate would have accelerated that process.
Georgetown’s players needed that.
Ewing did, too.