Teams

Georgetown:
Georgetown has been a streaky team this year, following stellar performances with uninspired losses and vice versa. This game was a tour-de-force for the Hoyas, as they pounded the Bearcats by 27. We have known for a while what this Georgetown team is capable of achieving when they play well, and they demonstrated that Saturday. The hard part will be actually playing at that level consistently. But, going into the Big East Tournament, this was a huge confidence boost.

Cincinnati:
The Bearcats were not in sync this game, struggling to get anything going offensively, shooting just 39% from the field, including a miserable 2-10 from beyond the arc. They had more turnovers, 16, than assists, 12, and in the second half they went five minutes without scoring followed by a three minute stretch without a point.

Players

Georgetown:
I think a lot of Hoya fans, myself included, were anxious to see how Austin Freeman would play and how many minutes he would get. I think Coach Thompson did take him out more frequently than he would have earlier in the season, but Freeman still played 30 minutes, and he played pretty well in that time. He scored 24 points and was 4-7 from beyond the arc and he looked like his old self. The Hoyas need Freeman to produce if they want to do some damage in the postseason, and Freeman allayed a lot of fans’ fears with his performance.

Cincinnati:
Freshman Lance Stephenson was very impressive, scoring 23 points on 11-17 shooting. He seemed to be the only player scoring for the Bearcats early. Deonta Vaughn had an off-day, taking only three shots from the field, missing them all, and he ended the game with just two points. They missed his scoring production, and while Stephenson tried to carry the scoring burden, it was not enough.

Number of the Game

12: Rebounding advantage for the Hoyas. Rebounding has been a problem for this team, as Georgetown has been prone to giving their opponents second and third chance opportunities by failing to secure basketball. The Hoyas did a great job on the boards at both ends of the floor, grabbing 15 offensive rebounds and outrebounding Cincinnati 40-28 on the day.

Championship Road

The Hoyas do not have an easy road to a Big East Tournament Championship, as they might have to face three of the Top 10 teams in the nation in order to win the title. For the Hoyas to win, potentially they would have to play #3 Syracuse in the quarterfinals, followed by #10 Villanova in the semis, and then #6 West Virginia in the championship. However, if all that were to happen and Georgetown is able to prevail, then the NCAA Tournament will seem like a walk in the park.