Teams

Georgetown:
The Hoyas dominated this game from start to finish. They ran their offense to perfection, abusing the Duke defenders throughout the game for easy looks. On the other end of the floor, the Hoyas played pressure defense, holding Duke to 37% from the field.

Also, the Hoyas have had a tendency to take the foot off the pedal on occasion when opening a big lead, but they stayed focused the whole game, only letting up slightly in the final minute of the game with a 19 point lead.

Duke:
The Blue Devils were outmatched and outplayed. The Hoyas came out fired up and ready, and it seemed as if the Duke players were indifferent. They struggled to find a rhythm offensively, turning the ball over to the Hoyas’ pressure, and they were flatfooted on defense, allowing Georgetown open looks and easy baskets. The Blue Devils did not look like a top 10 team, and in my opinion, when the polls come out on Monday they shouldn’t be.

Players

Georgetown:
This truly was a team effort, as everyone contributed to the win, but the Big Three carried the day. Austin Freeman, Chris Wright, and Greg Monroe all had monster games, combining for 62 points, 12 assists, and six steals. The fate of the Hoyas this season will rest on their shoulders, and when they perform at this level, the Hoyas can beat any team in the country.

Duke:
Kyle Singler did his part to keep the Blue Devils close, hitting two three pointers early when the game was still in the balance. No Duke player really stepped up to hit big shots when the Blue Devils were struggling, but Singler was at least not afraid to shoot.

Referees

The officiating was fair in that it was equally atrocious. The referees chose to call the game very close for most of the day, calling touch fouls and off-the-ball fouls on both teams, and it seems like for many of these fouls neither side wanted them. But, the officials were consistent for the most part, and they did make some poor calls, but they didn’t have an impact on the outcome.

Coaches

The Hoyas blew the game open with a 18-3 run midway through the first half, and Coach Krzyzewski chose not to use a time-out during that stretch. Similarly, the game started to get away from Duke in the second, and Coach K again elected not to call a timeout, and watched as his team fell farther and farther behind.

Fans

The crowd was electric throughout, as Verizon Center began to fill up an hour before tip-off and kept rocking until the final buzzer. The presence of the President and Vice President only added to the excitement.

Number of the Game

34.6: Difference in field goal percentage. The Hoyas scorched the nets, shooting almost 72% on the day, and they showed no lack of effort on the defensive end, holding their opponents to 37% from the field. It was a commanding performance for the Hoyas, and almost every stat backs that up.

Don’t Rush

The last time the Hoyas faced Duke at Verizon Center, the game ended with the students rushing the court to celebrate a thrilling 87-84 victory. This time, as the clock wound down with the Hoyas assured victory, the fans were not thinking of rushing the court. It was in part due to the convincing manner of the win, and maybe because of the President’s courtside position. But I think it was also because of the state of the program. With a team this good, Georgetown fans should always believe that they are the better team, especially at home, so a victory of this nature should not come as a shock. Rushing the court implies that the win was an upset, and if you are an elite program, no win should be an upset. This weekend Georgetown made a statement about its basketball program, in more ways that one.