• March On Georgetown Falls Short
• Georgetown 68, Syracuse 53
• Attendance Update
• Othella: Then And Now
• Thompson Staying With "The Team"
• Last Call At MCI
• March On Georgetown?
• Georgetown 66, Rutgers 50
• Brandon Bowman Featured At GUHoyas.com
• Villanova 75, Georgetown 65
• Starters Lacking Consistency
• Player Efficiency
• Attendance Update
• Marquette 57, Georgetown 51
• Columnist Follows Hoya Blue
• Coach Thompson & Family
• Father And Son
• Georgetown 17th In National Polls
• XM To Broadcast Conference Tournament
• Sixteen Teams Battling For Tournament
• More on Georgetown-GW
• The Names Of The Game
• West Virginia 69, Georgetown 56
• Attendance Update
• Ten Years After
• Georgetown 64, St. John's 41
• The Team Approach
• Georgetown #15 In Poll
• Hall Of Fame Dinner
• Georgetown 61, Pittsburgh 58
• Smizik's Forecast
• Attendance Update
• Councilman Calls For GU-GWU Game
• Filling the Seats
• Atheltics Update
• Georgetown #30 in "Official" RPI
• Georgetown 64, DePaul 44
• The Class of 2008

As noted Friday, the efforts of a George Washington University student leader to organize a march on Healy Gates calling for resumption of the Georgetown-GW basketball series met with limited results, according to the GW Hatchet.

About 15 students made the trip from Foggy Bottom according to the paper, while some Georgetown-area reports said it was between six and ten. Having inadvertently planned the rally during the Syracuse game, not many Georgetown students were even around to see the protest.

"The numbers don't mean anything," said organizer Lamar Thorpe. "It's the spirit and heart dedicated to a cause that matters."

"I'm proud of my fellow seniors because it's been a roller-coaster ride. But ever since coach Thompson got here, we've been on an upswing, and beating Syracuse is just the latest step." --Darrel Owens, in the Washington Times

Four players scored in double figures in a 68-53 win over Syracuse at MCI Center Saturday, further confirming Georgetown's credentials for the 2006 NCAA tournament field.

Both teams played strong defense for much of the first half--after seven minutes, the score was 8-6. Despite giving up points inside, where Syracuse was getting points in the paint, Georgetown began to build an early lead which grew to seven with 6:11 in the half before Syracuse went on a 12-5 run to tie the game at 27 and bring to life a large Syracuse turnout at the game. The Hoyas answered with a big Jessie Sapp three to retake the lead, 30-27, which was again tied at 30 with 1:19 to play. The final moments of the half set the stage for a play which will find its way into the lore of this rivalry.

Tied at 30, Georgetown took over with 1:19 to play, but found itself unable to get a shot off as the shot clock ran down. A deflection by Syracuse's Louie McCroskey gave the Hoyas the ball out of bounds on its baseline with 44.6 seconds on the game clock. After the shot clock was reset by the officials to two seconds, the game clock inadvertently showed 4.6 seconds, and when Georgetown inbounded the ball, the horn suddenly went off. At this point, the officials reset the shot clock to one second but gave it to Georgetown on its sideline adjacent to the three point arc, upon which Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim protested to no avail. On the inbound, Jessie Sapp launched a missed three pointer that hit the rim but was rebounded by Roy Hibbert, who was fouled on the shot, made the basket, and converted a free throw into a three point play, 33-30.

"They threw the ball inbounds with two seconds," Boeheim explained to the Syracuse Post-Standard. "The guy bobbled it and juggled it and it went out of bounds. The shot-clock went off inadvertently, but it's not hard to count to two. One. Two. It's our ball out of bounds. The shot-clock had no effect on the guy making a play or not making a play."

The larger consequence of the play was that Terrence Roberts picked up his third foul, a foul which would prove crucial in the second half.

Syracuse opened the second half with an Eric Devendorf three to tie the game, but it was quickly answered by a Jonathan Wallace three to regain the lead, 36-33. A pair of missed threes by Devendorf gave Georgetown a chance to extend the lead by breaking the 2-3 zone and getting the ball inside to Jeff Green. In fact, Green accounted for five points and two assists in building the lead to eight, 43-35, at the first TV timeout.

Syracuse made another mini-run to close to 45-42, but again the Georgetown shooting helped keep Syracuse (and its fans) out of the running. Jonathan Wallace answered the Orangemen with his second three of the half, 48-42, extended to 50-44 by a Darrel Owens jumper.

Two key plays followed. Leading by seven with 9:00 to play and Syracuse looking to narrow the lead again, Brandon Bowman stole the ball from Gerry McNamara and found Owens for the basket to build the lead to nine, 55-46, and SU did not close within seven again. After McNamara had cut a 12 point lead back to 9 at at 60-51, Bowman forced Terrance Roberts to pick up his fifth personal foul with 5:46 to play, a play which forced Syracuse to change its inside game.

Bowman's free throws gave the Hoyas a 62-51 advantage with 5:48 to play, but after a pair of errant GU possessions, the Orangemen closed to 62-53 with 4:42 to play, but fans that were expecting a large game run were surprised to see that it was to be their last points of the game. Syracuse missed its next four three pointers and picked up three fouls off the misses, each of which were converted into Georgetown free throws to extend the lead to 68-53 with 1:51 to play. At that point, Syracuse took a three pointer with 1:39, missed, and made no attempt to stop the clock. In the final minute, coach Thompson went deep to the bench for seniors Ryan Beal and Amadou Kilkenny Diaw to get a final moment on the MCI hardwood, joined by juniors Sead Dizdarevic and Ken Izzo and freshman Marc Egerson.

If the game had been close at the end, the first half officiating call in question might have been an issue, but Syracuse's second half shooting proved it unnecessary. After shooting 50% in the first half, Syracuse managed just 10 for 28 from the field, 3 for 13 from three and were outrebounded by ten. With Georgetown committing only four fouls in the second half, the Orangemen did not attempt a foul shot after halftime, much as SU had shut out West Virginia at the line in the second half of last week's upset of the Mountaineers. For its part, Georgetown got the ball inside, and shot 19-24 from the line.

Green led all Georgetown scorers with 18, followed by 12 from Darrel Owens and 10 each from Jonathan Wallace and Ashanti Cook. Roy Hibbert added eight, while Brandon Bowman continued to fight through his late season slump and scored six points overall. Georgetown's 17 offensive rebounds and 39 overall proved invaluable in controlling the flow of the game.

The 53 points scored by Syracuse is the fewest for one game in the modern day era of the series, and the 15 point margin of victory by Georgetown matched its margin in 2002, the last win at home by the Hoyas over the Orangemen. Gerry McNamara, who had averaged 17.3 points per game over his career against Georgetown, was held to just eight, and teamed with Eric Devendorf to shoot just 5 for 15 from three point range. Roberts, who fouled out late, scored two points and picked up two rebounds, a far cry from his 16 point, and 10 rebound effort versus West Virginia.

With the exception of the Duke game, this was the most impressive Georgetown win of the season.

"[Beating] Duke was nice, this one is nicer," said coach Thompson. To beat Syracuse when you're Georgetown is important."

It was, it is, and as rivalries go, it ought to be for years to come.

Here's the Georgetown half of the box score.

         MIN   2FG   3FG   FT  REB  A  PF  PTS
Starters:                                 
Wallace   33   1-3   2-3   2-2   5  2   0    10
Cook      36   4-7   0-4   2-2   5  2   4    10
Bowman    29   1-6   0-2   4-5   2  4   3     6
Green     30   5-10  0-1   8-12  7  4   3    18
Hibbert   30   2-6   0-0   3-3   8  1   0     7
Reserves: 
Izzo       1   0-0   0-0   0-0   0  0   0     0
Owens     27   3-4   2-4   0-0   4  1   1    12
Sapp       9   1-2   1-3   0-0   2  1   0     5
Crawford   1   0-0   0-0   0-0   0  0   0     0
Egerson    1   0-0   0-0   0-0   0  0   0     0
Beal       1   0-0   0-0   0-0   0  0   0     0
Kilk.-Diaw 1   0-0   0-0   0-0   0  0   0     0 
Dizdarevic 1   0-0   0-0   0-0   0  0   0     0
Team Rebounds                    6
DNP: Thornton, Spann
TOTALS   200  17-38 5-17  19-24 39 15  11    68

Post-game links follow below.

• GUHoyas.com
• Syracuse Athletics
• Associated Press
• Syracuse Daily Orange
• Syracuse Post-Standard
• Syracuse Post-Standard (2)
• Syracuse Post-Standard (3)
• Syracuse Post Standard (Blog)
• Washington Post
• Washington Times

Saturday's home finale drew 18,879 at the MCI Center, which gives Georgetown an average attendance of 10,352 in 2005-06, its first 10,000+ figure in eight years and the most since the 12,604 per game which saw Allen Iverson's final year in 1995-96. Congratulations to the ticket office, the Hoya Hoop Club, Hoya Blue and all those involved in a 32 percent increase in attendance in 2005-06.

It doesn't seem like ten years have passed since Othella Harrington was on the court for Georgetown, alongside teammates Jerome Williams, Boubacar Aw, Victor Page, and Allen Iverson. A ten year NBA veteran now with the Chicago Bulls, Harrington talked with the Chicago Tribune on some moments over his pro and college career.

"I chose Georgetown. For me, it was the total package," said Harrington. "It had the academic part, but it also had the basketball. Playing for coach Thompson and the Georgetown legacy of big men was something I couldn't pass up...Watching them on TV with Patrick and Alonzo and Dikembe, and I wanted to be a part of that group."

As to coach John Thompson's tough demeanor, Harrington saw another side. "His outside image was a real hard-nosed tough guy, very difficult to get along with. But from the inside, he was one of the best guys I ever played for. If you do what you're supposed to do, if you take care of your schoolwork, take care of yourself on the basketball court, he was a great guy. Funny, funny guy. He's one of the funniest guys ever to be around."

In local radio news, WTEM-AM has signed a lifetime contract with afternoon host and former Georgetown coach John Thompson. Thompson's radio show, begun on a part time basis shortly after his resignation from Georgetown in 1999, has become the area's #1 rated afternoon talk show.

The Syracuse game is not only the last game of the season at MCI Center, but marks Georgetown's final appearance under the arena's current name. MCI's parent company formally renames the arena Verizon Center next weekend.

George Washington students continue to raise interest in renewing the Georgetown-George Washington series, even if the timing may be a little off.

Friday's Daily Colonial reports that a candidate in the GW student elections is organizing a march of students to Georgetown to call for a game with the Hoyas. Few Georgetown students may see much impact, however, as it is being held during the second half of the Syracuse game.

A GW student seemed confused by the idea, telling the paper "Don’t people have better things to do with their time than to march for a basketball game?”

"This was a good victory, because this is an unforgiving league. A number of teams go through the same slump we had all throughout the season, in league play and we just needed a win. It was good to come back home and win a game."--Georgetown coach John Thompson III

In any scenario when Jeff Green is held to 3 for 9 shooting, Ashanti Cook is saddled with foul problems and finishes 1 for 5, and Brandon Bowman is held scoreless for the first time since Dec. 5, 2002 (the fifth game of his freshman year), all the pieces would have been in place for an upset, but Roy Hibbert had other ideas.

Hibbert scored a career high 25 points as Georgetown picked up a big win in Big East play, assuring the Hoyas a winning record in the conference with a 66-50 win over Rutgers Wednesday before 11,236 at MCI Center.

If the team across from Georgetown Wednesday night was one of a dozen other Big East foes, the Hoyas might have been staring at the possibility of a four game losing streak heading into Saturday's showdown with Syracuse. But a banged-up Rutgers team clearly didn't have the depth, and that was good news for Georgetown.

Both teams started slowly and this set the tone for the game. In the first four minutes, Georgetown held only a 4-2 lead, as Rutgers missed on seven straight shots to open the game. Some quick whistles propped up Rutgers, as free throws, not field goals, kept the Scarlet Knights close as the shots refused to fall. Rutgers fared poorly against Hibbert, though, who collected 13 points and eight rebounds by halftime.

A Jonathan Wallace three extended the Hoyas' lead to double figures at 24-14 with 4:10 to play, and a Wallace three at the end of the half extended the lead to 14 at intermission, 34-20.

Georgetown's efforts had nothing on Rutgers, though, which shot 1-15 from two point range, 5-8 from three, and collected just 20 points at the half, ten from leading scorer Quincy Douby. The lack of support for Douby was the story of the night for Rutgers, as a pair of brief runs could not gain traction with the team's poor shooting.

The second half started sloppily for both teams, and Rutgers did not score a field goal for the first 4:45 of the half. Still, the Hoyas did not put the Knights away, as a Douby three pointer keyed an 11-4 run to close the 18 point lead to eleven with 4:32 to play. Hibbert answered Douby's three with a foul-assisted three point play that pushed the lead back to 14, 56-42. Douby again charged ahead to close to 12, 56-44, but Darrel Owens answered with two threes in a 56 second run to put the game away, 62-47.

Hibbert was the acknowledged star of the game. "The young man has improved immensely from a year ago," said Rutgers coach Gary Waters. "If he continues to grow at this rate, you have a very, very good player on your hands.”

Beyond Hibbert, Green fared well inside, but shot poorly from outside (1-6). Guards Jonathan Wallace and Jessie Sapp stepped up their play, combining for 18 points and helping the Hoyas earn assists on 20 of 26 field goals in the game.

Douby finished with 29 of Rutgers' 50 points; outside his nine field goals, Marquis Webb had two, and no other player more than one. The rest of the RU team shot 5-23 from the floor, and Georgetown's defense held RU to just one field goal in the last three minutes, which is a good statistic on any evening in the Big East.

"They were on [Douby] but he was still 9-for-20, so I think it wasn't him that was the issue," said Waters. "You can't beat a team with one guy scoring 29 and the next guy scoring six."

The Hoyas conclude their home schedule with a 12:00 noon Saturday tip-off versus Syracuse, seeking to complete the home schedule at 12-2, which would be its best record in the MCI Center era (1998-present) and the best winning mark at home since 1996.

Here's the Georgetown half of the box score.

         MIN   2FG   3FG   FT  REB  A  PF  PTS
Starters:                                 
Wallace   39   2-3   2-5   0-0   6  6   3   10
Cook      21   0-1   1-3   0-0   3  0   3    3 
Bowman    21   0-3   0-1   0-2   2  0   2    0
Green     27   2-3   1-6   2-2   6  5   4    9
Hibbert   31 10-13   0-0   5-6   8  3   3   25
Reserves: 
Owens     29   1-1   3-6   0-0   4  5   3   11
Sapp      30   4-4   0-1   0-0   5  1   2    8
Crawford   1   0-0   0-0   0-0   0  0   1    0
Kilk.-Diaw 1   0-0   0-0   0-0   0  0   0    0
Team Rebounds                    3
DNP: Izzo, Thornton, Spann, Beal,
Egerson, Dizdarevic
TOTALS   200  19-28 7-22  7-10  37  20  21   66

Additional links follow below.

• GUHoyas.com
• ScarletKnights.com
• Associated Press
• Bridgewater Courier News
• Bridgewater Courier News (2)
• Georgetown Voice
• Newark Star Ledger
• Newark Star Ledger (2)
• Rutgers Daily Targum
• Washington Post
• Washington Times
• Washington Times (2)

Senior Brandon Bowman is the subject of a player feature at GUHoyas.com.

"Coach always tells us that if we work harder at something, everything else will come," said Bowman. "You see that and go after it and it will lead to other things. That's the mind set I'm taking and how I approach it."

Bowman returned to campus this summer after considering the NBA draft, but was mindful of the need to finish his undergraduate studies. "It's very important," Bowman said. "Saying that you have a degree from Georgetown stands out."

Randy Foye and Allan Ray combined for 42 points as #4 ranked Villanova dealt Georgetown its third loss in seven days, 75-65, before 6,500 at the Pavilion Sunday.

Georgetown opened the game strong, taking advantage of the Wildcats inside for a 7-3 lead. Following a Villanova time out, the Wildcats regrouped and outscored the Hoyas 12-0. The Wildcats were 5-5 from three point range in building a 21-14 lead, but Georgetown closed to 23-20 midway in the half before Villanova extended it once again.

Leading 28-23 with 7:26 in the half, the Wildcats suddenly went cold, missing its final 11 shots of the half. After a pair of free throws by the Wildcats, Georgetown closed to 30-27 with 4:48 but did not make a field goal for the remainder of the half, going 0-4 with a free throw for a 30-28 halftime deficit.

In the second half, Georgetown again started strong, taking two brief leads, the last at 38-37. Once again, Villanova adjusted its attack and began to push the ball inside, leveraging an 11-3 run to lead 48-41, as Foye was responsible for eight of the 11 points in the run. The Wildcats increased its lead to as many as ten, 53-43, but the Hoyas worked the ball inside, scoring on four layups in a four minute period to close to 59-57 with 5:03 to play.

Down two, Georgetown picked up an offensive rebound and looked to tie the score, but missed on consecutive three point attempts that Villanova repaid with a pair of Mike Nardi baskets. The 59-57 lead had grown to 61-57, and after a missed shot by Ashanti Cook, Kyle Lowry went inside for two and the foul, 64-57. Ray than took over down the stretch, scoring seven points in a run that extended the lead to nine in the final two minutes.

As they did in the first half, the Hoyas again went cold at half's end. An Ashanti Cook three pointer closed the lead to five with 2:42 left, but Georgetown managed only one basket the remainder of the game, as Villanova collected five rebounds in the final 2:14 versus none for the Hoyas.

For the second half, both teams shot 14 field goals, but Villanova was 6-14 from three versus Georgetown's 4-9. The Cats were 11-14 from the line after not going to the line at all in the first half. Georgetown was 5-8 from the line in the second half.

Roy Hibbert led the Hoyas with 20 points, 13 in the second half. Ashanti Cook scored 16 (11 in the second half), along with 15 from Jeff Green. As has been the case in this slump, one of the key starters fell short offensively, and Brandon Bowman did just that. Entering the game averaging 12 points a game, Bowman took just two shots in 26 minutes, finishing with four points, no rebounds, and three turnovers, which is his poorest offensive effort since the loss to West Virginia on January 12. Jonathan Wallace had a sub-par shooting game, finishing 1-6 from the field while Darrel Owens did not score in 18 minutes off the bench. Jessie Sapp scored seven in a reserve role.

The statistic of the game was turnovers, where Villanova did not commit a turnover in the entire second half. It's hard to beat any team, much less a top-five one, with a number like that.

Georgetown must now end a three game streak, and soon, that has evoked memories of last season's five game slide that cost the G-men an NCAA berth. With two home games and a road game against bottom-ranked South Florida, it is conceivable Georgetown could win the next three and ride into New York with a great deal of momentum. But after three late game struggles, it is just as conceivable for a worse case scenario, too.

Enough said--the turnaround begins Wednesday versus Rutgers.

Here's the Georgetown half of the box score.

         MIN   2FG   3FG   FT  REB  A  PF  PTS
Starters:                                 
Wallace   28   0-1   1-5   1-2   3  3   3    4 
Cook      29   2-3   4-5   0-0   0  1   3   16 
Bowman    26   0-1   1-1   1-2   0  0   1    4
Green     38   4-6   2-3   1-1   6  6   3   15
Hibbert   35   6-13  0-0   8-12 12  3   3   20
Reserves: 
Owens     18   0-0   0-2   0-0   4  2   2    0
Sapp      23   3-5   0-2   0-0   4  0   1    6
Egerson    3   0-0   0-0   0-0   1  0   0    0
DNP: Izzo, Crawford, Thornton, Spann, Beal,
Kilkenny-Diaw, Dizdarevic
TOTALS   200  15-29  8-18 11-17 30 15  16   65

Additional articles follow below.

• GUHoyas.com
• Villanova.com
• Associated Press
• Allentown Morning Call
• New York Daily News
• New York Post
• Philadelphia Daily News
• Philadelphia Inquirer
• Philadelphia Inquirer (2)
• Phillyburbs.com
• Villanova Viewpoint
• Washington Post
• Washington Times
• Washington Times (2)

Playing top teams requires all the starters to be at their best, and such has not been the case with Georgetown in these last three games. Here's the scoring totals from the starters, plus 6th man Darrel Owens in the last five games:

Here's a recap of the points per possession (PPP) statistic this season for the top six players versus their efficiency in the last three games. PPP is defined as the sum of total shots - offensive rebounds + possessions that end in a turnover versus total points scored. The ratings follow below:

Georgetown closes its home schedule this week. If the Hoyas can average 13,066 to Rutgers and for Syracuse, it will reach a 10,000 average attendance for the first time in eight years. Here are conference totals as of Feb. 19, where Georgetown is 10th of 16 Big East schools in the averages:

The Georgetown Hoyas failed to play its game in a 57-51 loss at Marquette on Thursday night. The second poor finish in as many games, the offensive symmetry of the 2005-06 season appears to have been lost at a critical time for confirming the Hoyas' NCAA tournament chances.

Georgetown opened the game on fire, connecting on its first seven shots, all from inside, leading 14-7 with 14:44 to play. As Marquette (17-8) opened up from three and switched defenses, GU began a series of offensive moves that fell flat with alarming consistency. The Hoyas went almost five minutes without a field goal as the Warriors (aka Golden Eagles) closed to 16-13 before consecutive baskets by Marc Egerson and Jessie Sapp gave the Hoyas breathing room at 21-15 with 8:30 in the half. From that point, and with Jeff Green sitting on the bench with two fouls, Georgetown proceeded to miss eight straight shots in the next 8:28, while giving back another four turnovers that allowed Marquette to outscore the Hoyas 14-1 before Roy Hibbert added a basket at the end of the half. From their first seven shots, Georgetown made 3 of its final 17 of the half and trailed 29-24 at intermission. The seniors were particularly out of sync, with Brandon Bowman, Ashanti Cook, and grad student Darrel Owens combining to go 2 of 11 in the half.

The second half borrowed heavily from the same script. Down five, GU hit three threes in its first four attempts to close to 34-33 with 15:24 left, but then proceeded to go over six minutes without another field goal. As Georgetown's shots began to stray, the Marquette offense picked it up again, pulling ahead 42-35 midway through the half. Since opening 7 for 7 to open the game, GU had now missed 25 of its last 32 attempts.

Down nine with 7:44 to play, the offense rediscovered Hibbert down low, feeding him the ball for three of the next four series to bring the Hoyas within three, 47-44. The Warriors' offense was starting to stall, as its players looked to be tiring down the stretch. A Brandon Bowman basket closed the gap to two, 48-46, with 4:42 to play, and an Ashanti Cook three gave GU the lead, 49-48 with 3:49 to play.

Meet the wall.

Off a missed jumper by Steve Novak, Georgetown appeared to be ready to build a lead, but Jeff Green traveled with 2:52 left. The defense held Marquette to a five second violation, but on the ensuing possession Ashanti Cook committed a cheap offensive foul. Marquette took the favor and answered with a three pointer, 51-49, and never trailed thereafter.

On its next series, down two, Brandon Bowman launched a three point air ball at the two minute mark, but caught a break when Marquette missed its own three point try with 1:29 to play. Once again, guard mistakes were deadly, as Jonathan Wallace, in the midst of a three game slump, stepped on the baseline driving to the basket, turning the ball over with 1:05 to play. Dominic James answered for the Warriors with a jumper, 53-49. Down four, but instead of going inside for a quick basket, Darrel Owens threw up a wild three that caromed off the backboard, which was promptly converted by two Marquette foul shots to extend the lead to six, 55-49. An Ashanti Cook basket with :12 left with the outcome already in place was Georgetown's only field goal in the final 3:49 of the game.

After hitting three of its first four shots to open the second half, GU finished 8-24, 1-9 from three. Perhaps even more disturbing was that its veteran leadership continued to take ill-advised outside shots in the second half despite a visible advantage in the middle.

Roy Hibbert's play was commendable: 17 points on 8-10 shooting. The remaining starters cannot say the same:

• Brandon Bowman scored the opening points of the game five seconds in the contest. His next bucket came 34 minutes later, finishing the game 3-9 from the field, 0-3 from three point range, and only seven points, his fewest points since the South Florida game on Jan. 18.
• Jeff Green disappeared in this game--1 of 2 in the first half, 0-4 in the second, with a career high eight turnovers. Coach Thompson called it "the worst game I've ever seen him play."
• Ashanti Cook continues his scoring drought. Cook was 0-5 against St. John's, 1-9 versus West Virginia, and was 1-7 entering the final minutes of the game, finishing 3-10. Over the last five games, Cook has missed 14 of his last 17 three point attempts.
• Jonathan Wallace fared little better, going 0-3 from inside and 2-7 overall. Wallace has not scored in double figures during the month of February after doing so four times in January.

Outside of Hibbert, a Georgetown team that entered the game shooting a conference leading 48 percent from the field shot only 13 of 42 (31%), with 5 for 21 on three point attempts. In its last two games, Georgetown is 12-47 from three (25.5%).

The struggling Hoyas now must face a Villanova team Sunday fresh off a win over #1 Connecticut, averaging 39 points a game from its backcourt, winners of 20 of its 22 games, and more than eager to avenge a last second loss to Georgetown before its home fans. If the team that played like it did Thursday shows up at the Main Line, the results will be self-evident.

Here's the Georgetown half of the box score.

         MIN   2FG   3FG   FT  REB  A  PF  PTS
Starters:                                 
Wallace   32   0-3   2-4   0-0   3  4   4    6
Cook      31   2-3   1-7   0-0   1  2   2    7 
Bowman    34   3-6   0-3   1-2   5  4   3    7
Green     29   1-4   0-2   0-0   6  3   3    2 
Hibbert   34  8-10   0-0   1-1   8  0   1   17
Reserves: 
Owens     16   1-3   0-2   2-2   3  0   0    4
Sapp      18   1-1   1-2   0-0   0  0   2    5
Crawford   1   0-0   0-0   0-0   0  0   0    0
Egerson    4   0-1   1-1   0-0   1  1   0    3
Kilk.Diaw  1   0-0   0-0   0-0   0  0   0    0
Team Rebounds                    3
DNP: Izzo, Thornton, Spann, Beal, Dizdarevic
TOTALS   200  16-31 5-21   4-5  30  14  16  51

Additional articles follow below.

• GUHoyas.com
• GoMarquette.com
• Associated Press
• The HOYA
• Marquette Tribune
• Marquette Tribune (2)
• Marquette Tribune (3)
• Marquette Warrior
• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (2)
• Scout.com
• Washington Post
• Washington Times
• Washington Times (2)

Sports Illustrated writer Luke Winn rode with Hoya Blue on a school bus to last week's St. John's game, and spent time with students (and a popular Georgetown parent) in a feature at the SI web site.

"As our caravan crawls East, downhill on Prospect Street, then goes over to M Street and eventually Pennsylvania Avenue, leaving the picturesque district of Georgetown behind, conversations about internships and grad-school applications [take place] -- this is, mind you, also a top-25 academic university," writes Winn.

By coincidence, both major Washington dailies have features in Tuesday's editions discussing John Thompson III and his off-court concerns during his wife's treatment for breast cancer.

"The relationship between him and his wife has been extraordinary," said former Princeton coach Pete Carril in the Washington Post. "He's a family man, he gets help from dad and mom. Everybody's praying for her to get better; in the meantime, he's got to do his job."

When we first heard the news, it was kind of a jaw-dropping thing," said Darrel Owens in the Washington Times. "But you know, he's a strong man, and he has a strong family. And I know whatever they're going through, they're going to get through it. As his players, we've just got to do everything in our power to not put any more pressure on him than he's already put on himself. Whether that be on the court or off the court, we've got to stay strong and do all the positive things that we need to do."

The Washington Times also features a column by Dick Heller comparing the public persona of Coach Thompson with his father, when the elder Thompson held the same role at Georgetown.

"Big John, who coached Georgetown to 596 victories, one national title and three Final Four appearances from 1972 to 1999, was loud, intimidating and frequently argumentative," writes Heller. "Little John, the honcho of Hoyas hoops these days and nights, is soft-spoken, accessible and co-operative."

         MIN   2FG   3FG   FT  REB  A  PF  PTS
Starters:                                 
Wallace   34   1-2   1-5   0-0   1  1   3    5
Cook      35   0-4   1-5   0-0   4  4   2    3 
Bowman    36   6-9   1-5   0-0  11  1   5   15
Green     38   7-11  2-5   1-5  10  2   2   21 
Hibbert   12   1-5   0-0   0-0   2  4   2    2
Reserves: 
Owens     33   2-3   2-6   0-0   3  3   0   10
Sapp      11   0-0   0-0   0-0   1  0   0    0
Crawford   1   0-0   0-0   0-0   0  0   0    0
Team Rebounds                    1
DNP: Izzo, Thornton, Spann, Egerson, Beal,
Kilkenny-Diaw, Dizdarevic
TOTALS   200  17-34 7-26   1-5  33 15  14   56

         MIN   2FG   3FG   FT  REB  A  PF  PTS
Starters:                                 
Wallace   27   1-1   1-4   0-0   3  4   3    5
Cook      29   0-4   0-1   2-2   4  3   2    2 
Bowman    24   7-8   0-1   2-2   2  2   1   16
Green     29   0-1   1-2   6-9   5  2   1    9 
Hibbert   21   5-7   0-0   4-6   8  1   1   14
Reserves:
Owens     26   0-2   3-5   0-0   2  2   0    9
Sapp      18   2-2   1-3   0-0   1  1   2    7
Crawford   3   0-0   0-0   0-0   1  0   0    0
Thornton   3   0-1   0-1   0-0   0  0   0    0
Spann      3   0-1   0-0   0-0   3  0   1    0 
Egerson    9   0-0   0-1   0-0   1  1   0    0
Beal       2   0-0   0-0   0-0   0  0   0    0
Kilk.-Diaw 3   1-2   0-0   0-0   1  0   2    2
Dizdarevic 3   0-1   0-0   0-0   0  0   0    0
Team Rebounds                    4
DNP: Izzo 
TOTALS   200  16-30 6-18  14-19 35 16  13   64

         MIN   2FG   3FG   FT  REB  A  PF  PTS
Starters:                                 
Wallace   36   2-3   1-3   0-1   2   4  2    7  
Cook      37   4-5   0-2   0-0   3   2  1    8 
Bowman    33   2-6   2-4   5-5   4   4  2   15
Green     39   5-7   4-7   0-2   4   2  2   22 
Hibbert   26   3-7   0-0   1-2   4   1  1    7
Reserves:
Owens     23   0-1   0-3   2-2   3   1  1    2 
Sapp       2   0-0   0-1   0-0   0   0  0    0
Egerson    4   0-0   0-0   0-0   0   0  1    0
Team Rebounds                    3
DNP: Izzo, Crawford, Thornton, Spann, Beal,
Kilkenny-Diaw, Dizdarevic
TOTALS   200 16-29 7-20   8-12  23  14 10   61

         MIN   2FG   3FG   FT  REB  A  PF  PTS
Starters:                                 
Wallace   35   1-4   2-5   1-1   1  2   1    9 
Cook      23   2-4   1-2   1-1   2  2   4    8 
Bowman    28   2-6   2-3   0-0   7  3   3   10 
Green     33   4-7   1-2   4-5   7  2   1   15
Hibbert   25   7-9   0-0   3-4   8  2   1   17
Reserves:
Owens     26   0-1   1-3   0-0   4  2   1    3
Sapp      16   0-1   0-0   0-0   3  0   0    0
Crawford   1   0-1   0-0   0-0   1  1   1    0   
Thornton   1   0-0   0-0   0-0   0  0   0    0
Spann      1   0-0   0-0   0-0   1  0   0    0
Egerson    9   0-3   0-0   0-0   3  0   0    0
Kilk.-Diaw 1   1-1   0-0   0-0   0  0   0    2
Dizdarevic 1   0-0   0-1   0-0   0  0   0    0
Team Rebounds                    1
DNP: Beal, Izzo
TOTALS   200 17-37  7-16  9-11  38 14  12   64