Teams

Georgetown:
From the opening tip, it looked as though Georgetown did not have it’s A-game. Players were missing wide open shots, and the motion offense too often was not moving. The team made only three shots in the first half en route to its the worst shooting game of the year, 29.3% from the field.

The defense was solid, which was crucial, and the team was 70% from the free throw line, and in a game when the Hoyas shot 36 free throws, that made the difference. In the end, the Hoyas should try to put this game behind them and just be grateful that they were able to get a win when performing so poorly offensively. Hopefully, this performance was an anomaly, and the team can forget this game and move forward.

Rutgers:
The Scarlet Knights led for most of the game, breaking Georgetown’s press easily and getting transition baskets whenever possible. And while the Georgetown offense was having its own problems, Rutgers’ defense certainly compounded them. The Scarlet Knights had a 50-45 lead with two and a half minutes to go in the game, and at that point it looked as though Rutgers was going to pull off the upset. However, the Scarlet Knights would not score the rest of the game, as Georgetown ended the game on a 7-0 run to steal victory from the jaws of defeat.

Players

Georgetown:
Two Hoyas stuck out by making big plays at big times, and they are both freshman. When the Hoyas found themselves down seven midway through the second half, Greg Whittington responded for the Hoyas, going on a 7-0 run by himself to get Georgetown back even.

Otto Porter had a quiet day for most of the game, but came up very big when it mattered most. He scored the final six points of the game to give Georgetown the win, none more important than his clutch free throws with eight seconds to play to put the Hoyas ahead. In a game where no one was playing particularly well, it was a good sign that the freshmen were not afraid to step up and help guide the Hoyas to victory.

Rutgers:
Eli Carter had a game-high 14 points, and his three pointer with just over 2:30 to go in the game gave Rutgers a five point lead. However, he was whistled for an offensive foul that gave Georgetown the ball back with a minute to play. He had a chance redeem himself, as he penetrated towards the basket on the final possession, but his floater would miss. Still, it was an impressive performance from Carter.

Referees

The officiating was simply atrocious. It was pretty much the opposite of the St. John’s game from one week ago. The refs called every touch foul, even when the contact was minimal and had no impact on the play. The Hoyas got a majority of the calls in their favor, which led to Georgetown shooting 36 free throws. It could have been more if the Hoyas had connected on the front end of some 1-and-1 attempts. The referees were consistent in that they continued to call lots of fouls the whole game, including the off-the-ball hold on Porter with under 10 seconds in the game that ended up being the difference.

Number of the Game

86: Seconds of the game during which Georgetown led. The Hoyas were behind almost the whole contest, taking the lead briefly on just three occasions, and only once did the Hoyas have the ball with the lead. Fortunately for Georgetown, they had the lead when it mattered, at the final horn.