Look out world, Georgetown is a force again. The Hoyas completed an impressive Saturday-Monday stretch, beating Louisville 62-59 in Washington, DC on Monday night. This victory came on the heels of a thrilling road victory over Villanova in Philadelphia on Saturday. Georgetown continues to feed off of its senior leaders, with Austin Freeman and Chris Wright setting the tone for this team. Tonight Wright, the fiery point guard, carried Georgetown. He scored 24 points on 15 shots, while limiting reigning Big East Player of the Week Peyton Siva to 5 points on 5 shots.
Wright's fellow seniors, Freeman and Julian Vaughn, chipped in 13 and 10 points respectively. Vaughn continues to impress with his expanding array of low post moves, and seems to be revitalized with Nate Lubick joining him in the starting lineup. Yet, there was no bigger basket than the one made by Hollis Thompson, who Lubick displaced in the starting lineup. In a topsy turvy Big East battle, Thompson knocked down a three with less than two minutes to go, putting the Hoyas up 58-55 with a lead they'd never relinquish. Jason Clark and Wright nailed four big free throws to solidify the victory, sending the Hoyas to their 5th consecutive Big East win.
Celebrate good times after The Jump.
Georgetown now sits at 6-4 in the conference, with Providence coming to Washington, DC on Saturday. In a college basketball season that has been defined by parity, Georgetown seems to be the bellweather. Less than three weeks ago I wrote "We've seen this team play extremely well this year, and hell, it's not inconceivable that they rip off next six games and sit at 7-4 heading up to the Carrier Dome. But right now, it's very hard to envision." This came on the heels of a 72-57 drubbing on our home floor to Pittsburgh. Since then, Pittsburgh has lost to Notre Dame at home and barely squeaked by Rutgers on the road. Villanova has lost to Providence. Syracuse, oh mighty, mighty Syracuse, with its unbelievable fanbase and its unbelievable coach and its unbelievable talent, has lost four straight, including a 22 point demolishing in the Carrier Dome to Seton Hall.The reality is that this college basketball season had no other option but to be one of extreme parity. WIth an impending lockout in the NBA, every 1st round worthy talent besides Kyle Singler left for the NBA last year in fear of what lies ahead. As much fun as it is to make jokes about Syracuse's recent struggles, this is a season that has seen Duke lose to St. John's, Louisville lose to Drexel, and Ohio State barely sneak by Northwestern. What I like about Georgetown is that we're learning how to win tight games, which differs from the last two years. We have now won three nailbiters against top 25 competition - at Missouri, at Villanova, and tonight vs. Louisville.
More than anything, what I like about this team is its resilency, led by the three seniors in the starting lineup. The most poignant moment of the night came after the final buzzer sounded. Wright threw his hands up in the air in triumph, found Freeman at midcourt for a hug, and both were soon joined by Vaughn. These three guys have been in the thick of the Big East for the last four years, and tonight, like most nights this season, would not let their team lose. As a fan, that feels really good as the calendar creeps towards March.