Teams

Georgetown:
Coming into this game the Hoyas had not shown consistent play in their last four games. The trend of unexceptional play continued for Georgetown in the Carrier Dome with a very poor start. The game was an important one for the Hoyas, but their lack of intensity in the first half bordered on indifference. The team fought harder in the second half, but failing to give the right effort for prolonged periods nearly always spells defeat, especially on the road.

Syracuse:
It was an important win for the Orange. Syracuse was desperate for a win after their recent loss to South Florida, and they turned their desperation into a solid performance. Four players scored in double figures for Syracuse; and despite losing a large lead, they bent but did not break.

Players

Georgetown:
Jon Wallace scored a game-high 26 points, shooting 9 for 10 from the field and 6 for 7 from three point range. After a prolonged shooting slump (by his standard) from downtown, Wallace lit it up from beyond the arc. Nothing good ever comes from losing, but maybe Wallace has re-found his shooting touch.

Syracuse:
It was a very efficient game for Paul Harris. He finished with 22 points on 5 for 8 from the field. He made his only three-point attempt and went 11-14 from the foul line. A few more misses down the stretch and it could have made the finish a little tighter.

Coaches

Coach Thompson tried to do what he could to weather the storm when Syracuse was pulling away. None of the changes were very effective. The one thing that he may try again was to go with a very small line-up. With Roy Hibbert in foul trouble, Coach used Patrick Ewing at the five position. Since Syracuse doesn’t really use a low post game the move helped add some quickness defensively.

Coach Boeheim had his players ready to go in this one. The urgency was there from the players, and often when a team begins a game in the right mindset the credit goes to the coach.

Fans

The Carrier Dome crowd is incredible. I’ve been at a Georgetown-Syracuse game played in the dome and the noise is unreal. This season Syracuse does not have a lot of good shooters, but the energy that flows from the fans into the shots is remarkable. The sixth man was a factor in this game for sure.

Number of the Game

21: That the number of points the Hoyas trailed by. The huge deficit was not a matter of Syracuse being red hot, it was a matter of Georgetown doing very little to be proud of anywhere on the court. The Hoyas cut the lead to five in the second half, but 21 points is just too many to spot another team.