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Georgetown Basketball: February 2007 News Archive

Syracuse 72, Georgetown 58 2/27/07

"Georgetown is a rivalry and a really great basketball team. Eleven straight wins and the big game they had Saturday, we probably caught them a little bit down. But I'm not sure of that. I just think we played well today."--Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim

A tired Georgetown team made it 30 minutes into Monday's game against Syracuse before the wheels fell off on its 11 game win streak, as the Hoyas fell behind by as many as 20 in a 72-58 loss, earning the Orangemen a significant step forward in its drive for the NCAA tournament.

The loss marked Georgetown's seventh setback to Syracuse in its last eight games of the series, and its seventh loss in the last eight at the Carrier Dome, where Georgetown has won only once since the 1994-95 season.

Signs of the end of the streak came early--the Hoyas missed its first six shots of the game. Despite Georgetown's ragged offense, Syracuse was no less proficient, missing eight of its first nine shots from the field from three. The Hoyas held a brief lead at 25-24, when consecutive threes by Eric Devendorf and Andy Rautins quickly turned into a five point deficit, 30-25. A late three by Jeremiah Rivers was Georgetown's only field goal of the final 5:12, as the Hoyas trailed 32-29 at the break.

Georgetown opened the half tying the score at 34, where a Devendorf layup and a Rautins three increased the margin back to five, 39-34. With both teams the victim of inconsistent calls from the officials, Jonathan Wallace was tagged for charging into a clearly moving Demetris Nichols, with John Thompson III's response earning a rare technical foul against the coach. The Orangemen returned the favor less than a minute later when SU's Paul Harris argued a call and was assessed a technical foul of his own, and on the ensuing free throws the Hoyas closed to 41-39. Georgetown took the lead at the 11:58 mark on a pair of Jessie Sapp free throws, and the Hoyas were only down one, 47-46, with 10:35 to play.

And from that point, the Hoyas and their streak just ran out of gas.

With 9:13 to play, Andy Rautins sank a three, 50-46. Off a Jeff Green turnover, Demetris Nichols added another three, 53-46. On its next possession, another Rautins three, 56-46. Next possession, Nichols from three, 59-46. By the time Darryl Watkins took a layup with 5:27 to play, the lead was 15, 61-46.

Georgetown did not score a field goal until less than a minute to play, at that point down 72-52. In that nine minute stretch, here is the box score between the teams: 


               FG  3FG    FT  REB  A   TO  PTS
Syracuse      7-8  5-6   4-5   8   7    3   23
Georgetown   0-12  0-7  6-10   7   0    4    6

The Hoyas simply had nothing left, and a hot Syracuse team took advantage. For the second half, the nation's #2 ranked team by field goal percentage shot just 6-30 (.200) and 17 for 57 for the game (.298), the lowest percentage of the John Thompson III era. For the game, the Hoyas posted more turnovers (19) than field goals (17), and were just 3 of 14 from two point range. Four starters turned in what will likely be season low numbers: Dajuan Summers (1-10), Jonathan Wallace (1-7), Jessie Sapp (2-12) and Jeff Green (3-13).

Such won't be the case Saturday against Connecticut. And for all the post-game celebration by the Orangemen, it doesn't change the fact that Georgetown, not Syracuse, is in the driver's seat for the conference's top seed. Any combination of a Georgetown win Saturday or a Pitt loss to either West Virginia or Marquette this week clinches the top seed for the Hoyas.

Here's the Georgetown half of the box score. The stats reflect a team that just wasn't in it Monday; not only did they face a motivated Syracuse team but for the first time since early January, the shots simply weren't falling.

Back to business Saturday.


         MIN   2FG   3FG   FT  REB  A  PF  PTS
Starters:                                 
Wallace   26   0-3   1-4   4-4   3   0  2    7 
Sapp      36   2-4   0-8   4-6   6   6  3    8 
Summers   26   0-5   1-5   7-8   4   0  3   10 
Green     39   2-8   1-5   2-3  10   2  3    9
Hibbert   20   3-4   0-0   0-0   2   0  3    6
Reserves:
Macklin    9   1-1   0-0   0-0   1   0  0    2
Rivers    17   0-0   1-1   0-0   3   2  2    3
Crawford   3   0-2   0-0   0-0   1   0  1    0
Spann      1   0-0   1-1   0-0   1   0  0    3
Ewing     23   3-5   1-1   1-5   7   2  3   10
Team Rebounds                    5
DNP: Izzo, Dizdarevic
TOTALS   200 11-32   6-25 18-26 43  12 20   58

Additional coverage follows below.

Lacrosse: Georgetown Upsets Maryland 2/27/07

Georgetown opened its men's lacrosse season with an thrilling 8-6 win over Maryland Saturday, its first win ever in seven meetings against the Terrapins. The win propelled the Hoyas to a #1 national ranking in the USILA poll for the first time ever, and second in the Inside Lacrosse poll, five votes short of Princeton.

"It's certainly a milestone for the program, and that's a good thing," coach Dave Urick told the Washington Post. "I know the kids are pretty excited about it, but they need to understand exactly what it means, which isn't a whole lot."

Maryland didn't do themselves any favors prior to the game, as a Friday article in the University of Maryland's Diamondback essentially called out the Hoyas.

"I feel a little angry that we're not ranked ahead of them because the past three years we have been, and we've beaten them easily," senior midfielder Ryan Clarke told the paper. From senior Max Ritz, this quote: "You don't want to go back home saying, 'I lost to those wimps from Georgetown.'"

Game recaps follow below.

All-Century Selection Remembered 2/27/07

One of two Vintage Era players named to the Georgetown All-Century team, former guard Fred Fees (L'20) is recalled in this link to the Altoona Mirror.

Cousins Fred Fees III and David Caldwell represented the Fees family at the weekend's ceremonies. "It was great just to be at that banquet and watching [coach John] Thompson and people like that speak," Caldwell said.

Eighty seven years after his graduation from the Law Center, Fees' 16.8 scoring average is still ranked sixth all time among Georgetown players.

Georgetown 61, Pittsburgh 53 2/27/07

Jonathan Wallace's 17 points led Georgetown in a thrilling 61-53 win over #7 Pittsburgh Saturday at Verizon Center before a season high 20,038 at MCI Center.

Georgetown opened the game tight, giving up four turnovers in the first three minutes to fall behind 4-0. The Hoyas closed to one before Pitt extended its early lead back to four, 11-7, as Aaron Gray made his first appearance in two games following an ankle injury. Following consecutive baskets by Dajuan Summers, the Hoyas took a 14-11 lead, and extended the lead to as many as five, 16=11, with 8:10 to play. The Panthers worked their way back by controlling the boards, forcing Georgetown into a lot of single shot opportunities. A Ronald Ramon three gave Pitt a 22-20 lead, but georgetown regrouped and controlled the final minutes of the half, with Jonathan Wallace scoring seven of the team's nine points in a two minute stretch that saw Georgetown earn a hard fought 29-26 lead at half. Despite shooting 13 fewer shots than their opponents, Georgetown held Pitt to just 32 percent shooting.

For the second half, every possession was a battle. Georgetown led by seven early but Pitt went back to work, outscoring Georgetown 13-0 to take a 39-33 lead. A Jeff Green jumper and foul closed the deficit to 39-35, but a Lavon Kendall jumper and a Ronald Ramon three extended the lead to 44-36, a significant hurdle against a Pitt team not prone to giving up leads. For the Hoyas to fight back, it would be one possession at a time.

With 11:24 to play, Jessie Sapp found Roy Hibbert inside for the basket and the foul, 44-39. Off a missed Pitt layup, Jeff Green converted the turnover, 44-41. A Levance Fields three extended the lead to six, 47-41, but a pair of Wallace free throws and a Green jumper to two with 7:25 to play. A pair of Summers free throws tied the score, answered back by a Fields layup, 49-47. When Jeff Green drove with 5:25 to play, the score was tied again at 49 with 5:25 to go. The five minute mark was crucial--Pitt was an incredible 23-0 in games leading at the 5:00 mark, but not today.

Following a Georgetown turnover, the Panthers missed two shots, opening the door for Jessie Sapp to drive with 3:24 to play, 51-49. On its next series, Pitt picked up two offensive rebounds but could not close the deal, whereupon a cross court pass from Sam Young was intercepted in mid-air by Jonathan Wallace who raced down the court for the layup, 53-49. Pitt answered with a quick basket, 53-51, with 2:30 to play, and fouled Green, who sank both free throws, 55-51. On its next series, Young turned the ball over near the sideline, where Green evaded a double-team to find Sapp streaking to the basket, 57-51.

Pitt's Aaron Gray was fouled inside but missed the first of two free throws. Hitting the second, Pitt trailed 57-52 with 1:53 to play. The Hoyas drove the clock to 1:17 before a long miss, but green picked off Mike Cook with :55 to play. Following one of two free throws by Jessie Sapp, the Hoyas led by six, and after Ronald Ramon missed a three, Young picked up the offensive rebound and was fouled. Unfortunately for the Panthers, another late miss could close to only five. Fouled on the next series inbounds, Jonathan Wallace extended the lead at the line, 60-53. The Panthers missed each of their last three attempts from outside as the Hoyas earned its biggest conference win of the year.

Georgetown shot 50% for the half versus just 33% for the Panthers and the Hoyas' late game focus was too much for the Panthers.

"At halftime, Coach told us to calm down," Green said in post-game comments. "We converted that energy into the defensive end, and we got a lot of big stops and a lot of rebounds."

"It's rare that you lose a game when you get 20 more attempts and have less turnovers than the other team, but that's what happened," said Pitt coach Jamie Dixon in the Associated Press link below. "It was two very good teams playing together. It just came down to the team that got to the free-throw line more." Georgetown was 22-29 from the line (.758) versus just 8-16 (.500) for Pittsburgh.

The extent of Georgetown's defensive effort late cannot be understated. For the Panthers, arguably one of the nation's most efficient offensive teams, saw the following statistics at game's end: in the final 11:56, Pitt was 2-17 from the field, 2-6 from the line, and five turnovers.

Any combination of one Georgetown win or one Pitt loss for the final week of the season earns the Georgetown Hoyas the top seed in the Big East tournament, and this was the finish that made it happen.

Here's the Georgetown half of the box score.


         MIN   2FG   3FG   FT  REB  A  PF  PTS
Starters:                                 
Wallace   35   3-3   1-3   8-8   1   2  0   17 
Sapp      33   2-3   0-2   3-4   7   2  3    7 
Summers   35   1-1   1-5   4-6   5   0  2    9 
Green     30   4-6   1-5   3-5   4   3  5   14
Hibbert   28   4-7   0-0   4-5   5   0  4   12
Reserves:
Macklin    5   1-2   0-0   0-0   2   0  0    2
Rivers    11   0-0   0-0   0-0   3   0  1    0
Ewing     23   0-1   0-0   0-1   2   1  3    0
Team Rebounds                    2
DNP: Izzo, Crawford, Spann, Dizdarevic
TOTALS   200 15-23   3-15 22-29 31   8 18   61

Additional coverage follows below.

Georgetown 75, Cincinnati 65 2/22/07

All the elements were in place Wednesday for the Georgetown Hoyas to end its nine game win streak to the league's worst team. Despite the hazards, a team effort steered the Hoyas clear of Cincinnati, 75-65, and into a first place tie with Pittsburgh in conference play.

The Bearcats entered the game having dropped eight straight and opened with a flurry of three point shots, hitting each of its first five three point shots and leading by as many as ten at 17-7 and 24-14. The accurate shooting allowed UC to set up a backcourt press which Georgetown struggled to react to, while failing to get the ball to 7-2 Roy Hibbert inside. The Hoyas were sputtering when Jeff Green, who had scored nine of the team's 15 points, picked up his second foul with 8:57 to play, sitting him for the rest of the half. Instead of falling further behind, the Hoyas rallied to go on a 10-2 run, keyed by a pair of Dajuan Summers jump shots and a long three from Jonathan Wallace.

Much like the Villanova game, the Hoyas needed a spark late in the first half. Down 29-26 with 2:29 to play, reserve guard Jeremiah Rivers entered the game. The Cincinnati defense backed away from Rivers outside, mindful that he was only 1 of 11 all season from three point range. Left open ten seconds later, Rivers hit the three to tie the score, and off a Cincinnati missed three, sank a second one just 43 seconds later. The pair of unexpected threes gave the Hoyas a lead it would not relinquish, as Georgetown took a 37-31 lead into intermission.

Jonathan Wallace opened the half with a three and the Hoyas led by as many as 10, but twice in the half the Hoyas made mental mistakes that allowed UC right back in it. Two Wallace turnovers in a 19 second span saw the Bearcats close to three, 42-39. Georgetown extended the lead to five before another pair of quick turnovers (two in 24 seconds) gave the Bearcats another chance to make a run, closing to three before a Wallace jumper, a pair of Jeff Green free throws and two drives by Jessie Sapp increased the lead to 11, 54-43.

By the seven minute mark, the game had deteriorated into a free throw shooting contest. UC did not make a field goal in a four minute stretch, but the lead hung at ten with foul shooting. With Roy Hibbert's fourth foul coming with 4:29 to play (erroneously listed as a fifth foul by the ESPN broadcasters), Green went to work, hitting a clutch three and stopping two late UC runs to preserve the win.

The Hoyas won this one at the line. At one point before a stretch of 1-5 at the line with the outcome already decided, Georgetown was 14-16 from the line, helping keep Cincinnati's hope for the big upset at rest. The Bearcats missed four of its 11 free throws down the stretch and their outside shooting failed them. From the 5-5 start from three, the Bearcats finished 8-23 from outside, missing 12 of its 14 attempts in the second half. Given how erratic the Hoyas looked at moments of the second half, any spark of outside shooting could have burned the Hoyas in this one, but Georgetown's defensive sets forced UC into poor shot selection which proved the difference.

It was a team effort in scoring as three players scored in double figures, led by Green with 21. Jonathan Wallace scored 17 but turned in an uncharacteristic six turnovers. Jessie Sapp had another strong game with 14 points, and Rivers' two threes were as big as any in this game to stall the Bearcats' momentum. Roy Hibbert finished with only seven points but contributed nine rebounds,

"On a night when we didn't play well, because of what they were doing to us, it's good to come out of here with a win," said coach John Thompson III in post-game comments. "We didn't do a good job of guarding the three point line and we shoot 15 of 21 from the free throw line, and being able to walk away from here with a win, I'm very happy to get the victory and from here we have to improve."

Georgetown returns home Saturday to face #4 Pitt at Verizon Center for a nationally televised game which could decide the regular season champion and the top seed in the upcoming Big East tournament.

Here's the Georgetown half of the box score.


         MIN   2FG   3FG   FT  REB  A  PF  PTS
Starters:                                 
Wallace   36   3-4   3-6   2-2   1   2  2   17 
Sapp      37   5-9   1-4   1-5   6   4  2   14 
Summers   35   2-3   0-4   2-2   4   0  1    6 
Green     29   4-7   2-3   7-8   3   2  3   21
Hibbert   32   3-4   0-0   1-2   9   2  4    7
Reserves:
Macklin    4   1-1   0-0   0-0   0   0  1    2
Rivers     5   0-0   2-2   0-0   0   1  3    6
Ewing     18   0-0   0-1   2-2   1   2  3    2
Team Rebounds                    3
DNP: Izzo, Crawford, Spann, Dizdarevic
TOTALS   200 18-28   8-20 15-21 27  13  19  75

Additional coverage follows below.

Balt. Sun Feature On Summers 2/21/07

Despite being 30 minutes from Washington, the Baltimore press does not regularly cover schools like Georgetown, but Wednesday's Baltimore Sun takes a look at the development of freshman Dajuan Summers, who played high school basketball at McDonogh HS.

"My mind-set used to be: 'If I'm not scoring, I'm not helping the team,'" Summers said, "but that Villanova game was a perfect example that even when your shot's not on, you can always do other things."

Green Wins Weekly Big East Honors 2/20/07

Georgetown forward Jeff Green was named Big East Player of the Week following Saturday's win at Villanova--here's the Big East release with further details.

Post Feature On Freeman, Wright 2/20/07

By this time next year, Austin Freeman and Chris Wright are expected to be key contributors to the 2007-08 Georgetown Hoyas. For now, they're still high school stars for the DeMatha and St. John's basketball teams. The Washington Post takes a look at two of the area's standout senior players in advance of the WCAC tournament this week.

"We've never had any jealousy of each other," said Wright. "We've respected each other's games. Luckily, we're going to be playing together in college. It should be fun."

More On Big East-SEC Challenge 2/19/07

The Philadelphia Daily News reports that Villanova will host one of two doubleheaders being planned next season between Big East and Southeastern Conference teams. The Wachovia Center will likely host Villanova-LSU and Providence-South Carolina.

An earlier article from the Birmingham News suggested a second doubleheader was in the works with Alabama-Georgetown and Auburn-West Virginia in December.

February Statistical Review 2/19/07

Here are the current player averages for minutes, points, rebounds, and assists per game:

Player Mins Points Rebounds Assists
Green 32.8 13.4 6.0 3.7
Hibbert 25.8 13.0 6.3 0.8
Wallace 31.1 11.0 2.7 2.5
Sapp 32.2 9.1 3.7 1.8
Summers 24.6 9.0 3.3 1.8
Ewing 11.3 3.5 1.6 0.8
Macklin 11.3 3.3 1.5 0.7
Crawford 9.7 2.6 1.8 0.4
Rivers 12.0 1.2 1.5 0.7
Spann 2.5 0.3 0.4 0.0
Dizdarevic 1.4 0.5 0.2 0.1
Izzo 1.0 0.1 0.1 0.0
Total** 69.1 32.6 14.8
**Includes totals for Marc Egerson.

Here's how GU ranks among 16 Big East schools in each category. And here's how much things have changed in this era--if someone had told you five or ten years ago that Georgetown would someday lead the league in both field goal and three point shooting, but also be among the lowest in the league in rebounds and steals, would you have ever believed it?

  2006-07 2005-06
Scoring 11th 13th
Scoring Defense 1st 1st
Field Goal % 1st 2nd
Three Point % 1st 6th
Free Throw % 6th 9th
Rebounds 15th 15th
Rebound Margin 1st 4th
Assists 6th 5th
Steals 16th 12th
Blocks 4th 11th
 

How did individual players fare in Big East play this season? One efficiency measurement is points per field goal attempt. 1.00 is considered a benchmark.

  2006-07 (Big East) 2006-07 (Non-Conf) 2005-06 (All) 2004-05 (All)
Hibbert 1.87 1.70 1.85 1.17
Macklin 1.67 1.71 NA NA
Ewing 1.57 1.58 NA NA
Wallace 1.51 1.37 1.15 1.17
Summers 1.45 1.48 NA NA
Green 1.42 1.61 1.17 1.65
Sapp 1.21 1.16 0.99 NA
Crawford 1.19 1.19 0.62 1.19
Izzo 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
Rivers 0.75 1.13 NA NA
Spann 0.67 0.00 1.10 NA
Dizdarevic 0.50 0.00 0.80 0.82

A more detailed statistic is points per possession (PPP), defined as the sum of total shots - offensive rebounds + possessions that end in a turnover. The ratings follow below:

  2006-07 (Big East) 2006-07 (Non-Conf) 2005-06 (All) 2004-05 (All)
Hibbert 2.18 2.04 1.52 1.16
Macklin 1.85 1.64 NA NA
Ewing 1.70 1.50 NA NA
Summers 1.37 1.25 NA NA
Green 1.25 1.35 1.22 1.70
Wallace 1.19 1.06 1.30 0.95
Crawford 1.04 1.09 0.57 1.19
Sapp 1.01 1.10 1.01 NA
Spann 0.67 0.00 1.22 NA
Rivers 0.52 0.89 NA NA
Izzo 0.50 0.50 1.00 1.00
Dizdarevic 0.50 0.00 0.80 0.82

The Hoyas' record in the John Thompson III era has a strong correlation to its points per possession record versus that of its opponents. In games where it had a higher points per possession total, Georgetown is 59-1. In games where it trailed on points per possession, Georgetown is 2-27; however, Saturday's game versus Villanova was one where the Hoyas actually trailed in this statistic--in a statistical sense, GU pulled off the upset despite the numbers.

Opponent Score Hoyas Opp. Diff.
Notre Dame 66-48 1.20 0.87 +0.33
Villanova 52-56 1.04 1.08 (0.04)
at Pittsburgh 69-74 1.38 1.64 (0.28)
at Rutgers 68-54 1.39 1.10 +0.29
at Seton Hall 74-58 1.35 1.09 +0.26
DePaul 66-52 1.50 1.06 +0.44
Cincinnati 82-67 1.95 1.31 +0.64
at St. John's 72-48 1.44 0.84 +0.60
at Louisville 73-65 1.66 1.44 +0.22
Marquette 76-58 1.46 1.02 +0.44
W. Virginia 71-53 1.42 0.93 +0.49
at Villanova 58-55 1.14 1.17 (0.03)
 
Georgetown 58, Villanova 55 2/18/07

Jeff Green scored 19 points as the #14-ranked Georgetown Hoyas held off the homestanding Villanova Wildcats scoreless in the final 3:40 of a gritty 58-55 win at Wachovia Center Saturday. In what might have been the Hoyas' toughest game all season, Georgetown secured its 20th win of the season for the 22nd time in school history and defeated Villanova for only the fourth time in 13 games over the last nine seasons.

Georgetown entered the game mindful of Villanova defensive sets which neutralized center Roy Hibbert when the two teams met Jan. 12 at Verizon Center. Hibbert, who failed to take a single shot in the Jan. 12 game, picked up his first foul 35 seconds into the game, and went to the bench with a second foul with 15:29 to play, having no points and one rebound. A Jeff Green jumper closed the Villanova lead to 11-9, but the Wildcats answered back with a 10-2 run, keyed from the hot hand of freshman Scottie Reynolds, who scored two threes, an assist and a steal in leading the Wildcats to a 21-11 lead with 7:52 to play.

Jumpers by Green and Patrick Ewing closed the lead to seven, but the Wildcats were back up by 11 with 4:30 to play. A move to put guard Jessie Sapp on Reynolds proved vital to the Hoyas, proceeded to blank the Wildcats in the final 4:30 of the half. A Green dunk closed to nine, followed by two Dajuan Summers free throws following a foul by Reynolds, 29-22. After a missed layup and a turnover by Villanova, Green came up big again, with an inside dunk to close to 29-24. After Mike Nardi missed a three pointer with five seconds to play, Jessie Sapp took the rebound and proceeded to launch what he called the "Gilbert Arenas" shot, a 60 footer that sailed in the basket with 1.6 seconds to play, 29-27. It's believed to be one of the longest shots in school history, and at least the longest since a half court shot by George Butler in December 1994 versus Memphis.

"The irony in that is, I fussed at him the other day after practice," John Thompson III told the Washington Post in the link below. "I said, 'Hey [Jessie], why don't you work on your normal shots that you get every day? You're not going to get that shot.' I guess I don't know everything."

The shot was a huge momentum boost for the Hoyas in its 9-0 run to end the half, but the Wildcats answered with a basket and two long threes to open the second half, building its lead back to eight, 37-29. Following a Jonathan Wallace jumper, 37-31, Jessie Sapp began to take over offensively, scoring nine of the Hoyas' next 11 points, including a three pointer with 12:43 to play, giving Georgetown its first lead, 42-40. When Hibbert finally got on the board with a put back with 12:39 left, 44-40, the Hoyas had outscored the Wildcats 15-3.

Hibbert picked up his fourth foul with 10:58 to play, leading by four. A Curtis Sumpter jumper with 10:27 to play closed the count to 44-42, and for the next seven minutes no team led by more than two. Reynolds picked up his third and fourth fouls within a 45 second span, going to the bench with 8:08 to play, down two, 46-44. After Dante Cunningham made one of two free throws for the Wildcats, Georgetown turned the ball over and Sumpter hit a three, 48-46. On the next series another key moment followed when Patrick Ewing Jr. was fouled going to the basket. He made the first free throw, missed the second, whereupon Green snapped up the short rebound and promptly deposited it in the basket--a three point play of sorts that gave GU the lead again, 49-48.

Both teams exchanged free throws by the five minute mark, 51-50, when Hibbert returned to the lineup. Sumpter added two more free throws, 52-51, and off a Sapp miss, Reynolds answered with a 25 foot shot, 55-51, and the game looked to have turned. It did, but in a way totally unexpected by the 19,089 in attendance.

On its next series, Georgetown looked to be in trouble with the shot clock winding down, but Summers found Hibbert down low for his second and last basket of the game, 55-53. On the Wildcats' next possession, Sumpter was blocked by Summers, but his pass to Hibbert was too far under the basket and Hibbert was stuffed by Sheridan with 2:00 to play. Georgetown's defense kept Reynolds bottled up, and Mike Nardi had to force a shot to avoid a shot clock violation with 1:25 left. Summers was fouled on the rebound, making the first but missing the second, his first miss in eight attempts for the afternoon, but closing to 55-54.

Villanova took over, up one with 1:20 left, and the Hoyas defense closed the Cats down once again, forcing a shot clock violation with 0:44 left. On the succeeding series, Green moved past Mike Nardi for a 12 foot jumper with 0:19 to play, 56-55.

"I work on those pull-ups every day after practice so it came natural to me," Green said in post-game comments. "Not everybody can make a three, so you've got to have that."

Holding for the last shot, Reynolds and Sumpter were blanketed by the Georgetown defense. Nardi kicked the ball to Shane Clark on the far baseline with five seconds to play. Clark, the hero in the Jan. 12 game for the Wildcats, looked to repeat the history of last second wins overt the Hoyas that has been all too common in this rivalry, but the three point shot tagged the far end of the rim and fell into Jeff Green's hands. Off the miss, Green was fouled and sank both free throws, 58-55.,/P>

The Cats had yet another chance in the final possession, as Reynolds advanced to the edge of the three point line in the final 3.6 seconds, but his shot was short at the buzzer. Sapp raced off the Wachovia center court pointing to the "Georgetown" on the front of the jersey, a team effort that made it all possible.

Sapp stood tall in this one--after a 1-3 start, he hit 5 of his next 7, including the half-ending three and two more threes early in the second half. Sapp's ball handling in the second half also proved important, as Georgetown gave up only four turnovers in the second half and 12 overall, a considerable improvement from the 22 giveaways to the Wildcats when the teams played at Verizon Center. And after Reynolds went for 13 in the first half, Sapp held him to just two field goals in the second.

Jeff Green turned in one of the memorable games of his career: 19 points, nine rebounds, and eight blocks, the most in a single Georgetown game since 1992, and the most by any forward in school history. His points were vital in Hibbert's relative absence, as Roy finished with four points in 18 minutes.

With the win, Georgetown moves into a first place tie with Pittsburgh in the conference with four games to play.

Here's the Georgetown half of the box score.


         MIN   2FG   3FG   FT  REB  A  PF  PTS
Starters:                                 
Wallace   36   1-4   0-1   0-0   1   5  1    2 
Sapp      39   3-6   3-4   1-2   5   3  1   16 
Summers   35   2-5   0-4   7-8   6   2  2   11 
Green     40   7-14  1-2   2-3   9   4  2   19
Hibbert   18   2-4   0-0   0-0   3   0  4    4
Reserves:
Macklin    8   0-0   0-0   0-0   1   0  1    0
Rivers     5   0-0   0-0   0-0   1   0  1    0
Ewing     19   1-1   1-2   1-2   2   1  1    6
Team Rebounds                    3
DNP: Izzo, Crawford, Spann, Dizdarevic
TOTALS   200 16-34   5-13 11-15 31  15  13  58

Additional coverage follows below.

NY Sun: "Princeton Offense, NBA Talent" 2/15/07 

Here's a pair of Georgetown columns in recent papers, with the New York Sun talking about the development of the Georgetown offense this season, and a recap of the recent growth in the program from the Falls Church News Press .

Georgetown 71, West Virginia 53 2/13/07

Six days ago, Georgetown stared across a three game run against three of the Big East's top five teams. Now, those three teams are staring up at Georgetown.

Roy Hibbert posted 20 points, his third straight game of 20 or more, in Georgetown's 71-53 runaway over #22 ranked West Virginia. Pinpoint passing, defensive adjustments, and a blistering 79 percent shooting in the first half gave the Hoyas a lead they would not relinquish against one of the league's most formidable offenses.

The Hoyas started a little ragged in the game, committing four turnovers in their first six possessions, but led 7-5 at the first break with 15:28 to play. By the 12:10 mark Georgetown had connected on 6 of 7 field goals, building a 14-8 lead. Over a seven minute period, Georgetown went on a 17-0 run, shooting 6 for 9 from the field and building a 16 point lead, 24-8. By the half, Georgetown led by 17, 37-20, hitting 15 of 19 shots and outrebounding the Mountaineers 17-7. For its part, the Georgetown defense held WVU to 4-12 shooting from two point range, 4-15 from three.

The Hoyas opened the half on an 11-2 run, extending the lead to 26, 48-22. Roy Hibbert picked up two quick fouls and the offense was not as sharp in the succeeding series, as WVU closed to 50-30 with 10:30 to play. After having started the second half 4-13, Hibbert added five quick points and a Jeff Green three sent the Hoyas back out to a big lead, 63-37, and never looked back. From its 1 for 7 slump midway in the half, the Hoyas shot 7 of 13 over the final ten minutes.

Hibbert continued the consistent play of the last week that earned him Big East Player of the Week honors. Over the last three games, he has shot 20 of 27 from the floor (74.1%) and a remarkable 23 of 25 (92.0%) from the line. But like each of the last three games, it wasn't a one man effort. Starters Wallace, Sapp, and Summers have each allowed Hibbert and Jeff Green to flourish on the offensive sets, as Georgetown posted 18 assists in 26 field goals Monday night. Defensively, GU held West Virginia's leading scorer, Frank Young, to just 3 for 12 shooting, while Da'Sean Butler was only 2 for 8 and center Rob Summers took only two shots all evening. Having shot 39 percent for the game and outrebounded 35-19, West Virginia had very few answers in this one.

Here's the Georgetown half of the box score.


         MIN   2FG   3FG   FT  REB  A  PF  PTS
Starters:                                 
Wallace   25   3-4   2-2   2-2   5   3  2   14 
Sapp      36   2-5   0-0   0-0   2   4  1    4 
Summers   29   2-2   2-3   0-0   5   1  1   10 
Green     31   6-7   1-6   0-1   6   5  0   15
Hibbert   22   4-5   0-0  12-13  6   0  3   20
Reserves:
Macklin   18   2-3   0-0   0-0   3   2  2    4
Izzo       1   0-0   0-0   0-0   0   0  0    0
Rivers    16   0-1   0-0   0-0   5   2  1    0
Crawford   7   0-0   0-1   0-0   1   0  0    0
Spann      2   0-1   0-1   0-0   0   0  0    0
Ewing     12   2-3   0-0   0-1   0   1  1    4
Dizdarevic 1   0-0   0-0   0-0   0   0  0    0
Team Rebounds                    2
TOTALS   200 21-31   5-13 14-17 35  18  11  71

Additional coverage follows below:

100th Anniv. Weekend (Part 2) 2/12/07 

If you missed it over the weekend, here are links to some of the extensive coverage around this past weekend's anniversary:


The All-Century team, front row: Charles Smith, Fred Brown, Eric Floyd, Derrick Jackson, Craig Shelton, Brian Sheehan, Dan Kraus, Tom O'Keefe, Jim Christy, Jim Barry, Jim Brown, Michael Jackson, Reggie Williams, John Duren. Top row: Charlie Adrion, Patrick Ewing. (Photo by Dan McQuillen)

Georgetown 76, Marquette 58 2/12/07

Jeff Green scored 24 points as Georgetown shut down #11 Marquette 76-58 before a season high 17,867 at Verizon Center on the 100th anniversary weekend for Georgetown basketball.

Marquette entered the game having won eight straight, but the effective use of Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert inside propelled Georgetown to a ten point lead midway in the first half, 16-6. Both teams shot poorly and a run of poor outside shooting by Georgetown gave Marquette a chance to get back in it. The tandem of Lazar Haywood and Ousmane Barro combined for 15 points and 12 rebounds (seven of them offensive rebounds) in giving the Warriors (aka Golden Eagles) numerous second chance points. A basket and free throw by Hayward gave MU a one point lead with 1:09 in the half, but a pass by Dajuan Summers found Hibbert inside for the dunk, and a Jeff green free throw late helped the Hoyas to a tenuous two point lead at the half, 28-26. The two teams combined for 27% shooting between them and 2 of 13 from outside, thanks largely to solid defensive sets on both sides of the ball.

In the first five minutes of the half, Georgetown continued to go to green and Hibbert to maintain a tight lead. Georgetown led by as many as 8 before Marquette worked the lead to one with 7:31 to play, 53-52. But as noted in the Pre-Game Report that the period from the eight minute to four minute time out would make or break the game, that's exactly what happened.

Hibbert opened up the run with a jumper, 55-52. Off a marquette missed three pointer, Green sank a long range three, 58-52. The Warriors then committed three fouls in a 17 second stretch that Green answered with a basket and two free throws, 62-54. Dominic James missed a three, whereupon Jessie Sapp threaded a rope to Green driving to the basket and the foul at the four minute time out, 65-54. Jerel McNeal fouled out 29 seconds later, and the Hoyas rode 9 of 10 free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

For the half, Georgetown rode a 59 percent shooting wave, but put the clamps defensively on marquette's formidable attack. The Warriors shot only 33 percent in the half, 3 for 14 from three. leading scorer Dominic James was shadowed by Jonathan Wallace and shot 2 for 17 in the game and 0 for 7 in the second half. Hayward and Barro were held to only four rebounds as Georgetown owned a +4 in rebounds for the half after having been even at intermission.

Green ended with 24 points, 5 rebounds, and four assists. Hibbert's 23 points and 11 rebounds tied a career high, while Dajuan Summers scored 10, none bigger than a pair of three pointers that helped the Hoyas maintain momentum following a pair of Marquette runs. Still, Hibbert and Green were the driving forces behind the Hoyas' seventh straight win, and while Coach Thompson remarked that he didn't want to be "the goat" if the Hoyas lost before the stars of the program's first century, Hibbert and Green wouldn't let that happen.

For Hibbert, his 12 field goal attempts qualified him for a category that, even a few years ago, would have seemed unthinkable for a Georgetown player: Hibbert now leads the nation in field goal shooting.

We're never satisfied, but we're getting there, slowly but surely," Hibbert told the Washington Times.

"It's February at Georgetown. It's our time. It's Georgetown's time."

Here's the Georgetown half of the box score.


         MIN   2FG   3FG   FT  REB  A  PF  PTS
Starters:                                 
Wallace   36   2-5   1-4   3-4   6   6  2   10 
Sapp      32   2-3   1-3   2-2   3   2  3    9 
Summers   33   2-4   2-3   0-1   5   2  3   10 
Green     38   7-11  2-4   4-5   5   4  1   24
Hibbert   35   7-12  0-0   9-11 11   0  3   23
Reserves:
Macklin    4   0-1   0-0   0-0   1   0  0    0
Rivers     8   0-2   0-0   0-0   1   0  1    0
Crawford   4   0-0   0-1   0-0   1   0  0    0
Ewing     10   0-1   0-1   0-0   3   1  0    0
Team Rebounds                    3
DNP: Izzo, Spann, Dizdarevic
TOTALS   200 20-39   6-16 18-23 39  15  13  76

Game recaps follow below.

100th Anniv. Weekend (Part 1) 2/12/07

In the first of a week long look back at the centennial weekend, we begin with Saturday's announcement of the All-Century team, as determined by fan voting. The 25 man team is as follows:

Fred Fees (1916-20) Eric Floyd (1978-82)
Ed Hargaden (1932-35) Fred Brown (1980-84)
Dan Kraus (1942-48) Patrick Ewing (1981-85)
Tom O'Keefe (1946-50) Michael Jackson (1982-86)
Bill Bolger (1950-53) David Wingate (1982-86)
Brian Sheehan (1958-61) Reggie Williams (1983-87)
Jim Christy (1961-64) Charles Smith (1985-89)
Jim Barry (1962-66) Dikembe Mutombo (1988-91)
Jim Brown (1963-66) Alonzo Mourning (1988-92)
Charlie Adrion (1967-70) Othella Harrington (1992-96)
Derrick Jackson (1974-78) Allen Iverson (1994-96)
John Duren (1976-80) Mike Sweetney (2000-03)
Craig Shelton (1976-80)
 

Excepting the five current NBA players named to the team, 16 of the 18 living All-Century team members attended the halftime and gala festivities, including the oldest living honoree, Dan Kraus (C'47), who will turn 84 on Tuesday. Members of the families of Fred Fees (L'20) and Ed Hargaden (C'35) were also on hand to be acknowledged, including Fred Fees III and Ed Hargaden Jr. (C'60), who played varsity basketball from 1957-60.

In addition, the centennial group named a number of names to the All Century team as honorable mention recipients based on fan support in the online poll. Congratulations also go to Fred Rice (1907-10), Don Dutton (1927-30), Fred Mesmer (1927-30), Joe Murphy (1936-39), Buddy O'Grady (1939-42), John Mahnken (1942-43), Andy Kostecka (1942-43; 1946-48) Barry Sullivan (1950-52), Lou Gigante (1951-54), Joe Missett (1954-57), Paul Tagliabue , Steve Sullivan (1964-67) (1959-62), Mike Laughna (1969-72), Jon Smith (1972-76), Merlin Wilson (1972-76), Eric Smith (1978-82), Bill Martin (1981-85), Mark Tillmon (1986-90), Jerome Williams (1994-96),and Kevin Braswell (1998-02).

Selections to these All-Century teams were made by online voting at the Georgetown University web site.

Georgetown 73, Louisville 65 2/8/07

Roy Hibbert scored 20 points and 11 rebounds as the Georgetown Hoyas gutted out a strong challenge at Louisville, 73-65, its first Big East win this season not settled by 10 or more points.

Hibbert was the key early as the Hoyas established an offensive framework that the Cardinals could not match. Hibbert opened the game 4 for 4, with three rebounds, and a block as Georgetown raced to a 12-3 lead. Louisville was quite the opposite--it was 1 for 12 to start the game. The Cardinals stayed reasonably close by long range shooting, hitting five of seven from three and not collecting a two point basket until the 8:56 mark to close to 22-19.

Georgetown did a lot of the little things right in order to maintain its first half lead. The Hoyas twice converted on baskets when the shot clock was running down, and were adept at offensive rebounds to extend key possessions. Taking advantage of early fouls, Louisville worked the lead down to 33-29 with 2:36 to play, but a Hibbert layup and a clutch three by Jessie Sapp extended the lead to 38-31 at the half.

The Cardinals again began the half with shooting troubles, missing five three point attempts in its first six shots as the Hoyas continued to advance, building a 44-33 lead. Georgetown led by as many as 13, 52-39, before the Cardinals began to effectively use the middle to work on the Georgetown defense and, with the substitution of freshman Earl Clark for Juan Palacios, began to whittle down the lead.

Over a three minute stretch midway in the half, Georgetown gave up the ball on consecutive series via turnover and missed two three point attempts, answered by two Clark baskets and four free throws to close to 52-47 with 6:21 left. A Dajuan Summers three increased the lead to 55-47, but Clark answered with a layup to close to six. Each team traded a three before Summers found Hibbert down low for a layup, 60-53. From this point, Louisville missed three straight three pointers in a 54 second stretch, answered by a Summers three and a Hibbert dunk to build the lead to 65-53 with 1:23 left.

After shooting 2 for 13 in the second half from three, Louisville closed the lead late with three consecutive threes, but Georgetown's 8 for 8 free throw shooting cemented the win.

Roy Hibbert and Jeff Green turned in great efforts all night, combining to shoot 80 percent (16 for 20) in the game. Dajuan Summers' two late threes and his four assists were key to repelling the Cards' comeback, and the defensive work of Summers against Terrance Williams was superb. Williams, the leading scorer for Louisville entering the game, was held to 3 for 17 in the game.

Louisville set a Big East record with only one turnover for the game, and despite shooting 33% for the game managed to leverage 11 three pointers to stay close. The game may have been lost from inside the arc, however, as the Cardinals managed only 9 for 32 shooting from two point range, with big men Jose Palacios and David Padgett shooting a combined 2 for 12, thanks to excellent interior defense from Hibbert and Green.

"As the season has progressed, we've gotten better," said Georgetown coach John Thompson III in post-game comments. "We went on the road to a lot of places. You go to Duke, Vanderbilt [and] Michigan with the thought that it would help pay off this time of year. The crowd gets into it, they go on a run and our guys are used to that. We did a good job of just settling down."

"Everything they do is with fundamentals in mind," said Louisville coach Rick Pitino, facing the Hoyas as a college coach for the first time in 20 years Wednesday. "They don't have to gamble with defensive passing moves. They're not going to protect the basket. They are going to limit you to one shot. So they do everything fundamentally sound and you have to have great strength in the front court to play with this team ,and obviously we do not."

Here's the Georgetown half of the box score.


         MIN   2FG   3FG   FT  REB  A  PF  PTS
Starters:                                 
Wallace   29   0-1   1-3   4-4   2   3  4    7 
Sapp      37   0-4   2-5   5-6   4   5  0   11 
Summers   35   2-6   2-3   3-4   6   4  3   13 
Green     39   6-8   1-2   1-3   7   4  1   16
Hibbert   35   9-10  0-0   2-2  11   1  4   20
Reserves:
Macklin    2   0-0   0-0   0-0   0   0  1    0
Rivers    14   0-1   0-0   0-0   0   1  1    0
Ewing      9   3-3   0-0   0-2   1   1  5    6
Team Rebounds                    4
DNP: Izzo, Crawford, Spann, Dizdarevic
TOTALS   200 20-33   6-13 15-21 35  19  19  73

Game recaps follow below.

Georgetown 72, St. John's 48 2/2/07

Red Storm, meet the Green Wave.

A career high 24 points from Jeff Green led Georgetown to an impressive 72-48 win over St. John's at Madison Square Garden Thursday, a game that saw the Hoyas rally from a 10 point first half deficit to win by 24.

The Redmen (aka Red Storm) have played some of their best games of the season on the Madison Square Garden hardwood, with wins over Syracuse and Notre Dame, and opened play with the kind of shooting to add a third upset to their slate, shooting 70% (7 for 10) to open the game. Georgetown opened the game tentative and unfocused, with three turnovers in the first two minutes and failing tp pick up an individual rebound in the first 12:45 of the first half.

The key to St. John's early success was forward Lamont Hamilton, who helped spur the Redmen on offensive sets and was an effective presence inside on shutting down Georgetown's interior passing. He picked up his second foul with 7:54 to play in the fist half with St. John's up eight, 22-14 and went to the bench, whereupon SJ failed to take further advantage of Georgetown errors. With 4:01 left in the half, St. John's led 26-16 but had begun to pick up a number of turnovers.

St. John's owned a nine point lead entering the final 1:17 of the half, 28-19. Georgetown closed it to 28-21, then saw Jonathan Wallace sink a long three pointer, 28-24. When St. John's failed to get a basket late, Georgetown went for the last shot, and a difficult three point shot by Jessie Sapp closed the once double-digit gap to one, 28-27. St. John's went to halftime with the lead, but Georgetown had rediscovered its touch.

The second half opened with a fury, and St. John's had no answer. Georgetown scored the first 11 points of the half to lead 38-28 with 16:55 to play--a combined 19-0 run since the last two minutes of the first half. St. John's couldn't shoot and Georgetown had rediscovered the middle, driving inside with relative ease. After the Johnnies' first basket of the half at the 15:31 mark, 38-30, Georgetown then outscored St. John 11-3. When Patrick Ewing Jr. hit a three pointer with 12 minutes to play, St. John's had seen its nine point lead of the first half become a 16 point deficit, 49-33.

Hamilton picked up his fifth foul with 8:39 to play with St. John's down 22, 57-35. The run was now 38-7 since the final minutes of the first half, and the Redmen were long since done. Georgetown emptied the bench at game's end, capped by Sead Dizdarevic's first points of the season via a three pointer. The ESPN cameras showed former coach Lou Carnesecca making an early exit towards the end of the game, and a lot of SJU fans were probably wishing they could do the same. The 24 point margin of victory was the most in this series dating back to a game at Madison Square Garden in 1982.

The 30-5 run might not have even been possible without Green's efforts in the first half where Georgetown could not get it together. Green accounted for 12 of the Hoyas' first 21 points, helping keep the Hoyas' confidence up, whereupon the late threes opened the floodgates for the rest of the game.

The Hoyas' second half shooting was as close to perfect as a coach would like. Georgetown shot 73 percent from the floor and a remarkable 13 for 16 from inside two point range. The St. John's shooting touch of the first half vanished. From a 7-10 start, the Redmen missed 26 of its final 39 shots, shooting 32 percent from the floor and 1 of 13 from outside. In the paint, where St. John's had outrebounded GU 7-0 for the first 12 minutes of the first half, Georgetown outrebounded St. John's 30-15 thereafter, including a 20-7 advantage in the second half.

In post game comments, head coach John Thompson III continued to stress the need for improvement.

"We can still continue to improve," he said. "We are not a lot different than other teams. As the year progresses, you start to piece things together and everyone understands what they must bring to the table on any given night. Hopefully, on both ends of the floor, we can continue to improve because there is still time to get better.”

With the win, Georgetown has won five straight, but at the expense of the Big East's second tier. Neither Rutgers, Seton Hall, DePaul, Cincinnati, or St. John's have a winning record in Big East play, and a few of these teams may be battling not for the NCAA or NIT at month's end, but simply a place in the Big East tournament. The five wins have come against teams with a combined conference record of only 13-29 (.309), but in a three game, six day gauntlet beginning next Wednesday, Georgetown will play Louisville, Marquette, and West Virginia, with a combined conference mark of 18-7.

Welcome to February.

Here's the Georgetown half of the box score.


          MIN   2FG   3FG   FT  REB  A  PF  PTS
Starters:                                 
Wallace    35   2-3   2-3   3-4   4   1  1   13 
Sapp       30   3-5   1-2   0-0   2   2  0    9 
Summers    23   1-3   1-4   1-2   2   1  1    6 
Green      36   7-10  2-3   4-5   8   4  2   24
Hibbert    28   2-5   0-0   4-6   3   1  1    8
Reserves:
Macklin    12   2-2   0-0   0-0   2   1  2    4
Izzo        1   0-0   0-0   0-0   0   0  0    0
Rivers     15   0-1   0-0   0-0   1   1  1    0
Crawford    3   0-0   0-0   0-0   0   0  1    0  
Spann       2   0-0   0-0   0-0   0   0  1    0
Ewing      16   1-1   1-3   0-0   3   0  2    5
Dizdarevic  1   0-0   1-1   0-0   0   0  0    3
Team Rebounds                     5
TOTALS   200  18-30   8-16 12-17 30  11  12  72

Additional links follow below.

Attendance Update 1/8/06 

What was once a tough ticket in New York basketball circles is anything but in the recent games of the Georgetown-St. John's rivalry. Attendance at Thursday's game was only 7,797.

St. John's attendance at the Garden has waned in recent years, averaging 8,983 per game this season at Madison Square Garden this season despite other high profile opponents such as Texas, Maryland, Connecticut, Syracuse, and Notre Dame. Here's a review of Garden attendance by games in the season series with Georgetown since 1982, with sellouts in bold.

Date Attendance Date Attendance
1/6/82 19,591 2/19/94 13,378
1/8/83 19,591 3/5/95 17,238
1/21/84 15,901 1/27/96 13,888
2/27/85 19,591 2/1/97 13,121
1/11/86 19,591 1/11/99 9,563
2/2/87 17,093 1/12/00 11,882
2/24/88 17,892 2/21/01 14,168
2/25/89 19,591 2/18/04 6,192
2/3/90 17,588 2/20/05 7,464
2/25/91 14,029 1/8/06 5,812
3/2/92 16,816 2/1/07 7,797
2/1/93 11,690
 
The "Voice" of The Hoyas 2/1/07

In the 34 years of the Modern Era of Georgetown Basketball, there has been one constant: the steady voice of Rev. William McFadden, S.J., the public address announcer for Georgetown games dating back to 1973. The Georgetown Voice took an opportunity to speak with Rev. McFadden for his thoughts on the names and the games of the recent past.

Ewing Jr.'s Garden Debut 2/1/07

A quarter century after his father made his Madison Square Garden debut as a collegian on Jan. 6, 1982 versus St. John's, Patrick Ewing Jr. will make his first appearance in New York in Thursday's game. The New York Times talks to Ewing on the preparation leading up to the game.

"Fans will say things like, 'Your daddy's better,'” said Ewing. “I'm more focused on proving to them that I'm not my father. I'm myself. I can do my own thing.”

A similar article is also found at this link to Newsday.

Birmingham Eyes Georgetown Game 2/1/07

The Birmingham News reports that negotiations are underway for a December doubleheader which could feature Georgetown as part of the new Big East-SEC challenge series.

The series will feature two doubleheaders each season over three seasons, with not more than one appearance per team over the course of the series. The report suggests the Birmingham doubleheader would feature Alabama-Georgetown and Auburn-West Virginia, but no specifics have been finalized.

 
 

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