The Hoyas continue their quest for an eighth Big East Tournament Championship tonight against Marquette in the conference semifinals. The last time these two teams met, Marquette shot 26 three pointers and connected on 12, led by David Cubillan 6-6 performance. Three point shooting could make the difference this time as well.

How many three’s will the Hoyas make, and who will lead the team?

We think Austin Freeman will find his groove again – he is 0-6 so far in the tournament – and lead the Hoyas, who make nine three pointers. Give us your guesses in the comments.

In a game charged with energy from the very start, the Orange came out shooting, hitting three threes and taking an early 11-4 lead. The Hoyas countered, scoring the next 10 points, and the battle was on. Georgetown trailed by as many as nine in the first half but cut the margin to three at halftime, 40-37.

Syracuse started the second half hot, connecting on eight of their first 10 shots to push their lead back to nine. However, the Hoyas never lost their cool and put together a 19-2 run to take a nine point lead with seven and a half minutes remaining in the game. The Hoyas fended off Syracuse from that point on, and despite trouble from the free throw line and some turnovers late in the game, Georgetown held on for the upset victory.

Chris Wright led four Hoyas in double figures with 27 points while also picking up six assists. Wes Johnson led the Orange with 24 points. Syracuse also lost big man Arinze Onuaku, who went down with a right knee injury late in the second half, and his status for the NCAA Tournament is questionable.

Georgetown advances to the semifinals to take on Marquette Friday, who were upset winners over Villanova, with a spot in the Big East Tournament Final at stake. That game is scheduled for 7 PM at Madison Square Garden.

* Georgetown’s Team Leaders updated 3/11/10

Teams

Georgetown:
Entering the 2010 edition of the Big East Tournament, the Georgetown Hoyas had played in 28 of the previous 30 quarterfinals. They made it 29 out of 31 with a convincing performance, defeating a pesky and unpredictable South Florida team. The Hoyas were sharp on defense and efficient on offense to methodically pull away from the Bulls.

South Florida:
Even though they defeated the Hoyas in February, the Bulls were a long-shot to win the rematch in a game of this magnitude. South Florida was absolutely atrocious shooting the ball from the perimeter. Some credit may go to the Georgetown defense, but the Bulls couldn’t throw it in the ocean, which made the upset bid impossible.

Players

Georgetown:
Chris Wright was the hero today for Georgetown. His numbers were impressive (16 points, 2-2 3PT, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 0 turnovers), but he made big plays at the right time. Greg Monroe picked up his fourth foul and went to the bench with 10:31 to play in the game; the Hoyas were up by 10 at that point. South Florida made a free throw to cut the lead to nine, and on the ensuing possession Wright made a three-pointer to stretch the lead back to 12. The Hoyas never let the Bulls get any closer.

South Florida:
Dominique Jones is the best player for the Bulls, and he led all scorers with 21 points. The Hoyas held him to a low percentage from the field (6-18 FG), but as always he got to the line a bunch of times to pad his point total. After 12 points in the first half, Jones tried to get his teammates involved to start the second half, collecting four assists on the Bulls’ first four baskets to get South Florida within six points of the Hoyas. Jones is a great scorer who excels when driving to the hoop, and occasionally making three-pointers. On this day his game was totally one-dimensional today, as he finished 0-5 from downtown.

Quality Not Quantity

A lot has been made of the lack of point production off the bench for the Hoyas, but the reserves made key contributions in the second half against South Florida. When the Georgetown lead was cut to six, Hollis Thompson made a three-pointer to stretch it back to nine. Jerrelle Benimon grabbed an offensive rebound and then collected an assist as Austin Freeman pushed the lead to 14. When Vaughn fouled out, Henry Sims came in and immediately forced a turnover. Then he collected a defensive board, drew a foul, and hit the front end of a one-and-one.

Number of the Game

79:39: That’s how long it took South Florida to make their first three-point basket in the 2010 Big East Tournament. They were 0-8 from long range in the 40 minutes of their opening win over DePaul, and they started 0-8 against the Hoyas, before reserve Shaun Noriega hit from beyond the arc with 21 seconds remaining.

Best Served Cold

When the buzzer sounded in South Florida’s upset win over Georgetown on February 3, Dominique Jones ran over to the student section and flexed his biceps directly at the Hoya fans. Now he will get a chance to make the same obnoxious gesture on the road in the N.I.T.

Tomorrow, the Hoyas face Syracuse in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals. The last time the teams met, it was a tale of two halves as Syracuse went into the break with a thirteen point lead, and the Hoyas outscored the Orange by nine in the second half. Hopefully Georgetown won’t find themselves in as big of a hole tomorrow, but we anticipate that a big second half performance will be important regardless. So here’s our question:

Which team will score more in the second half and by how many points?

We’ll say the Hoyas will outscore the Orange by six points in the second half (and hopefully they’ll outscore them in the first too). What do you think?

The Hoyas opened the game with a 21-9 run, and never really looked back. Chris Wright provided a bulk of the offense in the first half, scoring 10 points, while Georgetown’s tough defense held South Florida to just 19 first half points, their lowest total of the season. Georgetown took a 12 point lead into the break.

South Florida twice cut the lead to six early in the second half, but the Hoyas were never flustered, as they systematically extended their lead. Despite foul trouble for Georgetown’s big men, the team was able to hold on for a comfortable win.

Greg Monroe and Jason Clark each scored 16 for the Hoyas in the victory, with Chris Wright adding 15 points and four assists. Dominique Jones had a game-high 21 points in the loss, which puts the Bulls squarely on the bubble come Selection Sunday, and with the Seton Hall-Notre Dame game this evening, things do not look good for South Florida.

The Hoyas now take on top-seeded Syracuse for a spot in the semifinals. The Orange won both of the meetings during the season, a fact that we’re sure is not lost on Georgetown. Tip-off in Madison Square Garden is at 12 PM.

Here’s the link: [Google Docs]

* South Florida’s Team Leaders updated 3/10/10