Wow. Just wow. I'm going to let that game sink in for a second. Ok, now we're ready. Georgetown beat Missouri in overtime tonight 111-102 in the game of the year so far in college basketball. Read that score again. Georgetown's plodding, unathletic, silly little Princeton offense put up 111 points against the most suffocating defense in college basketball. The Hoyas went in and defeated the #8 ranked team in the country in what was, for all intents and purposes, a home game for the Tigers.
There were so many heroes in this game, but it starts with the Big Three. From now on I will be calling them Run DMV (courtesy of allenixis), unless someone has something better. Run DMV was spectacular tonight. Austin Freeman scored 31 points on 17 shots, hitting 6 three pointers along the way. Jason Clark carried the Hoyas through overtime, hitting three enormous three pointers, and finished with 26 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Chris Wright hit the biggest shot of the season, an absolute dagger of a three with no time remaining in regulation to tie the game at 94 and send it into overtime. Wright has had plenty of memorable games as a Hoya in his four years, but nothing compares to the virtuoso performance he had tonight. Against the most suffocating of presses, Wright scored 21 points, had 10 assists, and hit 9 of 9 clutch free throws. As the primary ball handler, he played 45 of 50 minutes and had 3 turnovers. If there was ever a time for NBA scouts to take notice of all three members of Run DMV, it was tonight. The three of them, two seniors and a junior, have great chemistry, know exactly where the other is on the floor, and carry each other, and the team, throughout different parts of the game.
After The Jump, I may cry tears of joy.
There were so many things to be satisfied about tonight's game. Henry Sims, who was a non-factor his first two years at Georgetown, played 33 quality minutes, notching 10 points and 7 rebounds while Julian Vaughn was tied to the bench with foul trouble. We know Vaughn is our best post player, so rather than get down on him, let's celebrate that we have some big man depth because of the emergence of Sims. Freshman Nate Lubick played a solid 20 minutes, contributing on the glass and dished some nice assists as well. Jerrelle Benimon also helped off the bench to spell the rest of the big men.
The contributions of the big men on the bench were not to be outdone by Vee Sanford and Markel Starks. Both guards played confidently against the Missouri press and added crucial baskets in the first half. Sanford had a mind-boggling 8 points in 3 minutes, which on a 40 minute adjusted base would be something like 104 points. Starks showed poise in his 10 minutes, and it was great for John Thompson III to get him some time in such a high pressure environment.
Tonight was a special night to be a Georgetown fan. The team stared down a hot shooting guard named Marcus Denmon, who looked like Stephen Curry and Armon Bassett, while scoring 27 points. This game was eerily similar to the UNC Elite Eight game in 2007. A Georgetown point guard banged home a big three pointer to send the game into overtime, and the Hoyas dominated the extra period. There were so many games in the last two years that came down to the last possession that we lost. But not tonight. Of course, it is November, but this game leaves me incredibly hopeful for this season. The Hoyas went into a hostile environment against the 8th ranked team in the country, and our three leaders carried us to a victory.
Georgetown had 10 players contribute tonight, which is plenty good for a team with an alleged "lack of depth." We are deep, talented, and have senior leadership. Granted, all of us may have heart attacks before the season ends, but so far, this has been a spectacular season. We may as well enjoy Freeman and Wright in their senior seasons, because we haven't had guards this good since Allen Iverson and Victor Page.
WE ARE...