The Morning After: Georgetown Hoyas vs. UCLA Bruins

Georgetown Spoils Debut of U.C.L.A.’s Shabazz Muhammad - NYTimes.com
The sky-high promise and harsh reality of Shabazz Muhammad were nicely illustrated on one play late in the second half Monday night. Muhammad, a U.C.L.A. freshman, tried to soar over Georgetown center Nate Lubick for an impressive one-handed dunk. He landed face-first.

Starks, Porter lead Georgetown to 78-70 win over No. 11 UCLA in Legends semifinals - The Washington Post
“I just let the game come to me and that’s what I want to do and we’ll all get open shots,” said the 6-foot-8 Porter, who led the team as a freshman in rebounding (6.8) and field goal percentage (52.5 percent). He seemed to be right as Georgetown shot 54.5 percent for the game (30 of 55), including 60 percent in the second half (18 of 30).

Porter Returns, Leads Hoyas Over No. 11 Bruins - Sports - The Hoya
“When they went to the zone in the last seven minutes of the first half … we really were tentative, didn’t get it inside,” Howland said. The Bruins were 0-for-7 from beyond the arc in the first half and shot below 40 percent overall for the period.

Amidst Hype For Anderson and Muhammad, Georgetown Trio Shines | ZagsBlog.com
“I think Starks had a great game tonight,” UCLA head coach Ben Howland said. “He had 23 and that was as many points as he’s scored in the last six games of the season last year combined. That kid really hurt us. Any time we failed to trail him, he exploited us.”

Greg Whittington fits perfectly with unconventional Georgetown - CBSSports.com
At 6-foot-8, he's one of the most versatile defenders in the country. Whittington has the size to defend bigger forwards, but he also has the length and athleticism to harass opponents on the perimeter. Before going to the zone, Whittington made things difficult for Shabazz Muhammad in the highly touted freshman's debut.

Markel Starks, Otto Porter lead Georgetown past No. 11 UCLA | CollegeBasketballTalk
Georgetown is not a traditionally ‘big’ team. Mikael Hopkins and Nate Lubick are a long way from Cody Zeller and Thomas Robinson. Where the Hoyas have size, however, is on the wings. They start Greg Whittington and Otto Porter, who are both 6-foot-8 with insanely long wingspans, at the two and the three. They have Stephen Domingo and Jabril Trawick, who are both 6-foot-5 and athletic, coming off the bench. When the Hoyas settle back into that zone, that length makes them tough to score on.

Vox Populi » Postgame Roundup: Hoyas stun Bruins in Brooklyn, 78-70
“Otto’s first full game, if you look at the stat sheet, which I normally don’t focus on, was a full game,” his coach, John Thompson III said. “Then there was a lot of other stuff he did that doesn’t show up on this piece of paper. We’re a better team with him on the court and it was good to have him back.”

UCLA basketball: Georgetown's offense presents a challenge for Bruins - latimes.com
UCLA Coach Ben Howland called Porter "one of the best players in the country," but even without him, Howland said facing Georgetown's offense will be difficult. "They have really good players and they really execute their stuff," Howland said after UCLA beat James Madison last week. Howland said the Hoyas' patience on offense will probably mean that UCLA won't be able to run on offense as much as it would like to do.

Rushed Reactions: Georgetown 78, #7 UCLA 70Rush The Court | Rush The Court
The culture of winning John Thompson III has established at Georgetown is one of the underappreciated stories in college basketball. Year after year, the Hoyas produce a winning team that displays great fundamentals and a trust between teammates that results in great chemistry and sound execution. Georgetown isn’t as talented as some of its previous teams but if the Hoyas keep playing this way, they’ll contend in the Big East yet again.