It is a small sample size against small-school competition, yet positive encouragement to Brandon Murray that he leads Georgetown with 15 assists and four steals entering Tuesday’s visit from Northwestern in the Big Ten-Big East Gavitt Tipoff Games.
“I think that’s just me making the right play, the right read throughout the game,” Murray said. “It is nothing specific I’ve been working on. I can just make the right reads and see the court really well. That has been helping me.”
Murray showed strong potential at LSU last season, averaging 10 points in 31 minutes per game as a freshman before transferring to Georgetown.
He is off to a solid start for the Hoyas (2-0), averaging 18.5 points per game while shooting 6-for-9 from 3-point range. Murray was among four Hoyas in double figures during Saturday’s 92-58 victory against Wisconsin-Green Bay, scoring 19 points on 7-for-12 shooting while adding seven assists and four rebounds.
“(Murray) can score at all three levels and is also a lockdown defender,” Hoyas coach Patrick Ewing said, “But it’s not about the scoring, it’s about defense. … He makes all the right plays.”
Northwestern (2-0) also excelled defensively in the first week of the season. The Wildcats stifled Northern Illinois during Friday’s 63-46 home victory, holding the Huskies to 33.3 percent shooting while forcing 17 turnovers.
“I thought defensively, we really did the job when we needed to,” Wildcats coach Chris Collins said. “Holding this team to 19 points in the second half. They have dangerous scorers.”
Robbie Beran led Northwestern with 15 points, Boo Buie scored 13 and Ty Berry contributed 11 points and 11 rebounds for his first career double-double.
Collins likes the Wildcats’ perseverance and focus thus far.
“It’s not easy to win at this level,” Collins said. “It’s not. All these teams have good players. They have veteran guys, and if you’re not ready to play at a high level, you can lose to anyone. You have to respect your opponents, and I thought we did.”
Tuesday marks the first meeting between Georgetown and Northwestern.
–Field Level Media
