In a month, we'll look back at this game as just another double digit win over a Big East foe. Yet, anyone who watched the game will know how much of a battle it was. Georgetown defeated St. John's 71-61 today in a game that was back and forth throughout. Sophomore Nate Lubick and freshman Greg Whittington were the unlikely stars today. Lubick filled up the stat sheet with 7 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks. Whittington scored 12 crucial points, all of which at huge points in the game.
The Hoyas had a very balanced scoring effort today. 7 of the 9 players that saw action had 7 points or more. Jason Clark had a very tough game, shooting 4-13 from the field, but scored 6 of his 11 points with the game in the balance. St. John's was led by Moe Harkless, D'Angelo Harrison, and John Cahill, who combined for 44 points and some of the most ticky-tack foul calls in college basketball this season.
More thoughts after El Jump.
Georgetown didn't play all that well today. For a team that doesn't shoot the ball all that well, they continue to take an unbelievable amount of three pointers per game. Today they settled for 22 threes, only making 7 of them. Many of the three point attempts were rushed, particularly from Markel Starks and Clark. That said, Starks hit 3 of 5 attempts and appears to have regained his shooting stroke, which bodes well for the next month. After the loss to Syracuse on Wednesday, one of my biggest concerns was the limited contribution of our sophomores. Today eased that concern. Lubick was fantastic throughout the game, doing everything that we expected he would do throughout the season. His performance gave Henry Sims a much needed breather, while Starks' ability to stay on the floor limited turnovers. The Hoyas turned it over only 7 times today, showing how important having a true point guard on the floor is.
St. John's was a game competitor today, especially considering they start 5 freshmen and can barely field a full team on a game-to-game basis. Harrison and Harkless are fantastic players, guys that I have no interest seeing with another year of experience. In addition, St. John's freshman Amir Garrett came out of nowhere to steal the title of the player I hate most in the Big East, ripping it from Scoop Jardine's hands. Garrett was beyond irritating today, fouling the crap out of Otto Porter and Clark on his way to his stellar 2 point, 4 rebound, 5 foul outing.
Georgetown has a week off before heading to Rhode Island to face Providence next Saturday. The Hoyas are now 19-5 overall and 9-4 in the Big East, sitting in the top 4 of the conference's standings in a year that we were expected to finish 10th. Georgetown has 3 more very winnable games coming up - Providence, Seton Hall, and Villanova - before finishing the season against the Notre Dame Mock Turtlenecks and Marquette.
Providence is next.