Here’s what Coach and the Big Three had to say afterwards:

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.

Here are the full lists:

[Via BigEast.org]

Teams

Georgetown:
The Hoyas have been a hot-and-cold type of team all season long, and you saw both sides in this game. The first 25 minutes of the game were difficult to watch, as Georgetown looked flummoxed by the Syracuse zone, as if the Orange have not been playing the same defense for 30 years, and they were totally incapable of stopping Syracuse, giving up wide open three-point looks or dunks.

However, then the Hoyas seemed to awake from a bad dream and put together a furious comeback, overcoming a 23-point second half deficit to give themselves a chance to take the lead with under a minute to play. And that is perhaps the most frustrating thing about this team. When the Hoyas are playing well, they can blow out teams like Duke and Villanova. But at other times they look lethargic, unable to beat even the weakest opponent.

Syracuse:
The Orange played like a number one seed for half of the game, and for a while it seemed like they were headed for a huge blowout. However, they looked very vulnerable as the Hoyas started their run. They got flustered and stopped getting the high-percentage shots that helped them in the first half. In the end, though, they were able to hold on for the win.

Players

Georgetown:
For the second time this season, Austin Freeman, Greg Monroe, and Chris Wright each scored 20 or more. Chris Wright was the only Hoya making any shots in the first half. Austin Freeman was instrumental in Georgetown’s second half run, punctuating the comeback with a thunderous dunk to make it a two point game with three minutes remaining. Greg Monroe missed the free throw to tie the game, but came up with a big offensive rebound to give the Hoyas another chance. All the efforts were for naught unfortunately, as the Hoyas had perhaps dug themselves too deep of a hole, but the Big Three brought the Hoyas almost all the way back; hopefully next time they’ll be able to get the win.

Syracuse:
Andy Rautins had a great game, putting up 26 points, including the two free throws to ice the game. He was the only player for the Orange who was scoring as the Hoyas were making their run, and he showed that he was the leader of the team.

Coaches

The Hoyas missed a chance to take the lead with under a minute to go, which meant Syracuse had the ball up one with about 41 seconds left in the game. Coach Thompson elected not to foul and play defense. Unfortunately, the Orange were able to run off valuable seconds and still get the basket, scoring with nine seconds to play, making it that much more difficult for the Hoyas to complete the improbable comeback. It’s a tough decision, but I probably would have elected to foul, seeing as Syracuse has not been a great free throw shooting team this season.

Fans

There were way too many Syracuse fans at the game for my tastes, and they were very loud for most of the first half. However, as Georgetown attempted to get back in the game, the Hoya fans started making a lot of noise, spurring their team on. In the end, the Hoyas would come up short, but the Georgetown fans did all they could to help.

Number of the Game

27: Made free throws for the Orange. Syracuse entered the game shooting just 65.8% from the stripe, but connected on 90% of their attempts in this one. Georgetown was only 66.7% from the free throw line, and that may have made all the difference in the game.

Teams

Georgetown:
Georgetown started the game looking very lethargic. In a game where the outside shots weren’t falling, the Hoyas adjusted well to go inside either by giving the ball to Greg Monroe or by getting to the basket. However, when the game was winding down, they went away from that and they could not get much needed stops on the defensive end, and that ultimately caused the loss.

Rutgers:
Rutgers has now won four straight at the RAC, and their confidence is soaring. They went into the game against the Hoyas knowing they were outmatched, but they were not intimidated and they wanted the win so much that their energy gave them the W.

Players

Georgetown:
Austin wasn’t hitting his three-pointers – he was only 1-5 before the last second desperation attempt – but he managed to step up his game in other ways. He drove to the basket for close looks, he made strong cuts for easy baskets, and he hustled for loose balls and rebounds. When the Hoyas aren’t hitting 75% of their shots, they need to find a way to win, and I thought Austin was doing his part to adapt.

Rutgers:
Rutgers’ freshman Dane Miller earned his second career double-double on Sunday. His tenth rebound came with 20 seconds to play when he put back Rosario’s miss to give the Scarlet Knights the lead. That putback gave him eleven points, and then he knocked down clutch free throws with ten seconds left to push the Rutgers lead to three.

Coaches

With ten seconds to play, Georgetown was down by three points. Rutgers had a full court press to slow down the Hoyas, and then before Freeman could take a shot, Mike Rosario committed a foul. That was the best coaching move of the game for either team, as the Hoyas could only cut the lead to one, and they would not have very much time to get the ball up court after fouling the Scarlet Knights.

Number of the Game

2: Number of jump shots the Hoyas made in the 2nd half. Greg made two jump shots, and the rest of the Hoyas’ points came from layups or free throws. In the first half, the Hoyas made some threes and the Benimon foot-on-the-line long two, and beside that, no mid range jump shots.

• As Mike pointed out, this was the first time that the Hoyas scored 100 points against a Big East opponent in regulation since 1996. In the last game of the regular season, the Hoyas defeated Villanova at the Caps Center/USAir Arena/whatever it was called at that time 106-68. It was the final home game for Othella Harrington, Jerome Williams, and Allen Iverson.
• The game marked the first time a team has scored 100 points against Villanova while Coach Jay Wright has been there. The last time was when Providence beat them 100-74 on February 11, 2004.
• Austin Freeman scored 25 points That marks the fourth straight game that Free has gone for 20 or more points. The last Hoya to do that was Mike Sweetney in 2003. Big Mike amazingly scored 20 or more in 26 out of 32 games that season.
  
  The last guard to score 20 points in four straight was Shernard Long back in 1998.
• Jason Clark scored a career high 24 points and one was one three-pointer shy of tying Mark Tillmon and Darrel Owen’s record of 7 in a single game.

Image via ESPN

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.