For the first time in a long time, last year\u2019s Hoyas gave fans a glimmer of hope.<\/p>\n
Jumping up to seventh in the BIG EAST conference, the team held a conference record of 8-12 and an overall record of 18-16, marking the first time since 2019 that the Hoyas managed more wins than losses.<\/p>\n
Post-season, the Hoyas continued their grind in two exhibition tournaments. In late March, FOX\u2019s inaugural College Basketball Crown<\/a> tournament featured a victory over Washington State University and a decisive loss against tournament winner University of Nebraska. Rocking the 2025-26 roster, the Hoyas then secured a second-place tournament finish in Canada\u2019s GLOBL JAM<\/a>, losing to a Japanese national team.<\/p>\n It\u2019s no secret that the losses of star-studded recent recruits like Thomas Sorber and Micah Peavy to the NBA and standout Jayden Epps to Mississippi State University are a dynamic setback. However, if GLOBL JAM showed the Hilltop anything, it\u2019s that the Hoyas shouldn\u2019t be counted out.<\/p>\n The August tournament cemented junior guard Malik Mack\u2019s status as a strong offensive asset, which is expected to continue into the regular season. Mack has proven that he can adapt to the team\u2019s needs, stepping into different roles whenever required.<\/p>\n At the College Basketball Crown tournament, Georgetown secured a victory over Washington State despite missing several key players, including Epps. Mack was instrumental in this win, taking on a primary scoring role, something he rarely did with Epps on the floor, and finishing with 37 points, his highest-scoring<\/a> game as a Hoya.<\/p>\n Beyond scoring, Mack excels at facilitating the game, connecting teammates, and creating opportunities for others.\u00a0<\/p>\n Accompanying Mack is 7-foot-1 senior center Vince Iwuchukwu, a St. John\u2019s University transfer, fit to take on Sorber\u2019s role as the Hoyas\u2019 paint presence. Sophomore forward Caleb Williams, who showed a new skill of aggressively grabbing rebounds in the tournament, joins the pair to fill Peavy\u2019s defensive guarding position.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sophomore forward Jayden Fort, who redshirted last year, and incoming junior transfer guards KJ Lewis and DeShawn Harris-Smith are also anticipated to be strong contributors, as Coach Ed Cooley aims to compete in the BIG EAST championship and NCAA tournament this season.<\/p>\n In an October interview with the Voice, Cooley said that this season he aims to have \u201cthe most hard-playing and connected team in America.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The 2025-26 season also marks another significant change for the roster: the team won\u2019t include any undergraduate freshmen. Cooley decided to fill all open spots with players from the transfer portal.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Hoyas were one of the youngest high major basketball teams in the nation last year, with six freshman recruits. As multiple of these freshman athletes in the 2024-25 season were redshirted\u2014kept out of play for a year to extend their eligibility\u2014Cooley said he hopes to utilize academically sophomore members who are still \u201cathletically freshman.\u201d With a higher age comes a more experienced and developed team that will hit the court this year, according to Cooley.\u00a0<\/p>\n With the new season starting on Nov. 3, the men\u2019s basketball team can\u2019t afford to focus on past players they lost to the NBA or the transfer portal. It\u2019s time to lock in.<\/p>\n Shooting\u2014especially free throws\u2014should be a top priority this season. Accuracy aside (where the Hoyas sat in the bottom half of the conference at 70.4%), last season saw the Hoyas attempt the fewest free throws on average across the BIG EAST, indicating that Georgetown wasn\u2019t forcing opposing defenses into tough positions. As the famed Wayne Gretzky quote suggests, the Hoyas are indeed missing 100% of the shots they aren\u2019t taking.<\/p>\n The shots they are taking, though, could use some work, too. Last year\u2019s Hoyas sat in the top half of the conference for field goal attempts, but remained below average in terms of accuracy. While they aren\u2019t scared to shoot threes, they only make around 32% of them, again sitting in the bottom half of the conference. With some focus on improving accuracy and bravery at the free-throw line and from beyond the arc, the Hoyas could make strides in the rankings.<\/p>\n This year, the Hoyas can also look forward to a game against George Washington\u2019s men\u2019s basketball team for the first time in over 40 years. With the geographic rivalry between the two universities, we can expect this game to have a lot of attention on both sides.<\/p>\n The Georgetown men\u2019s basketball team will take on GW in an exhibition game ahead of the 2025-26 season on Saturday, Oct. 18, at GW\u2019s Charles E. Smith Center. The last time the two teams played each other was Dec. 16, 1981, which resulted in a win<\/a> of 61-48 for the Hoyas.\u00a0<\/p>\n As we look ahead to the start of the regular season, the Hoyas will go against Morgan State University on Nov. 3 for their first regular season game and face Marquette University on Dec. 17 for their first conference game.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For the first time in a long time, last year\u2019s Hoyas gave fans a glimmer of hope. 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