The Hoyas slammed the brakes to avoid skidding completely off the road to the Final Four.

Thank you, Rutgers.

Georgetown is going to live or die by the performance of their three star guards, and on this night Freeman/Wright/Clark combined for 53 points and the first win in what seemed like forever. At the very least it was good for these guys to see the ball go in the basket and maybe regain some of the early season swagger that resulted in impressive road victories against Mizzou and Memphis.

It was Austin Freeman’s 25 points that seemed to carry the Hoyas, including three critical 3-pointers when the game got close. Georgetown will need to continue the rebound against Seton Hall and St. John’s before facing another real test in the Villanova Pussy Cats.

Teams

Georgetown:
The Hoyas started off their two-game New Jersey road trip on the right foot, defeating the Scarlet Knights with relative ease. It was not a perfect game, but the Hoyas did the little things that had been missing during the losing streak to help earn the victory.

Georgetown did a better job defending and rebounding, but most importantly they got their three point shooting on track. In the first five Big East games this season, the Hoyas were 23-90, 25.6%, from beyond the arc. Against Rutgers the team was almost double that, hitting 11 threes on 50% shooting. And while one game doesn’t necessarily mean all is well, I think the poor shooting was more mental than anything, and seeing the ball go through the hoop can certainly help regain confidence in one’s shot.

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The Hoyas pulled out their first victory since New Year’s Day, and the mood in the media room was much lighter than it had been for two weeks.

Here’s what a jovial Coach Thompson, Chris Wright, and Austin Freeman had to say about winning and finding their outside shot.

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Before the Hoyas made it into the conference room, Coach Rice talked about how he thought his Rutgers side did.

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Georgetown lost their third straight game, falling to Pittsburgh 57-72 at Verizon Center. It was another depressing press conference, but here’s what Coach Thompson, Chris Wright, Austin Freeman, and Julian Vaughn had to say:

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On the other end of the happiness spectrum, here’s what 4-0 Pittsburgh Coach Jamie Dixon thought:

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The Hoyas dropped their first home game of the season, losing to West Virginia 59-65 at the Verizon Center, and after the loss, here’s what Coach Thompson, Chris Wright, Austin Freeman, and Jason Clark told the media:

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Also, here’s what Bob Huggins had to say on how his team played:

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The Hoyas won their Big East home opener beating DePaul 86-75 at the Verizon Center, and after the game, here’s what Coach Thompson, Chris Wright, and Austin Freeman had to say:

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Also, here’s DePaul head coach Oliver Purnell’s thoughts on the game:

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Georgetown played its first truly flat game of the season Wednesday night, losing to #15 Notre Dame 69-55 in the Joyce Center. Facing a well-prepared opponent in a tough environment, the Hoyas seemed out of joint the entire game, getting in early foul trouble, rushing offensive sets, and missing defensive assignments. An experienced Irish squad capitalized on nearly every Georgetown mistake, hitting free throws, gathering Hoya misses, and converting open looks.

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Teams

Georgetown:
Georgetown is a team that depends heavily on its offensive rhythm to succeed in games. Tonight, they had no rhythm whatsoever. Notre Dame packed in their defense, making it difficult for the Hoyas to penetrate. The Hoyas then turned to their three-point shooting, which was not up to par. The Hoyas hit just four of 22 attempts, with many of those shots looking forced and missing badly.

Georgetown did an decent job defensively, but allowed Notre Dame’s three-point shooting threats too many open looks. Combine that with the lack of offensive firepower, and the Hoyas were in for a long night.

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Teams

Georgetown:
The Hoyas passed their final non-conference test with flying colors. The Tigers came out energized and seem intent on running. Georgetown did a good job of eventually slowing Memphis down and keeping them from getting quick transition baskets. Once in the half-court defense, the Hoyas played their usual staunch defense and for the most part kept the Tigers’ offense from getting into any rhythm.

On the offensive end, the Hoyas hit 4-6 three pointers in the first half, then exploited the Memphis man-to-man defense in the second half, scoring on backdoor cuts seemingly at will. Georgetown slowly but surely pulled away from the Tigers, wearing down their opponents to get another signature out of conference win. Other than some missed free throws, it was a very good game for the Hoyas heading into Big East play.
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Thanks to social media, we now have the chance to get to know a little bit about the players off the basketball court. After the Hoyas suffered their first loss of the season, co-captains Austin Freeman and Chris Wright took to Twitter to vent some of the frustration that all Georgetown fans were feeling. The tweets give us a little insight about the person behind the player.

Learn from the mistakes we made 2nite…come back on Sunday…and get after it

Austin Freeman’s comment shows that his mentality is similar to his game: concise, to the point, and focused. Figure out what went wrong, correct it, and perform better next time.

Ill take the blame #toughloss but ill take the heat and be a man about it #Hoyas

Like his teammate, Chris Wright’s tweet also mirrors his on-the-court demeanor. He is the team leader, the floor general, so he takes responsibility for the loss, and is intent on picking up his level of play for the next game.

This window into the lives of the players should serve as a reminder that our heroes on the floor are also just people off of it.