The Morning After: Georgetown Hoyas vs. Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Georgetown basketball vs. Rutgers: Otto Porter Jr. wills Hoyas to victory - The Washington Post
"With Nate going into foul trouble and Coach allowing me to play a little bit longer, I was able to get in my groove," Hopkins said. "When I made a mistake, he let me play through it."

Rutgers gives Georgetown scare but has no late answer for Hoyas star Otto Porter - NY Daily News
Georgetown broke the Knights’ hearts again, defeating them, 69-63, before a crowd of 6,335. It was the Hoyas’ 13th victory in the last 15 meetings between the two teams, proving there is still a gap between the Hoyas and a team without an NCAA Tournament bid since 1991, one still struggling to establish some kind of traction since its basketball program joined this powerhouse league in 1995. Rutgers (12-10, 3-8) saw its losing streak reach six games.

Observations from Saturday afternoon - Men's College Basketball Nation Blog - ESPN
Georgetown coach John Thompson III doesn’t get nearly enough credit. The Hoyas’ 69-63 victory over Rutgers marked their seventh win in their past eight games. Included in that stretch are wins against Notre Dame and Louisville and two victories over a red-hot St. John’s squad. Each year, Georgetown seems to lose stars to the NBA draft or seasoned veterans to graduation. But Thompson always responds. He always has guys ready to step in. Heck, this Georgetown team lost its second-leading scorer and rebounder (Greg Whittington) to academics midway through the season -- and the Hoyas got better. The man is an excellent coach, plain and simple.

Hoya Prospectus: Game stats: Georgetown 69, Rutgers 63
The biggest perceived negative from today's game is likely the huge advantage in offensive rebounds [17-9] that Rutgers had over the Hoyas. The reality is that the teams got their own misses at essentially the same rate [GU: 45%, RU: 46%], it's just that Rutgers missed a ton more shots.

1/8Rutgers loses 69-63 to No. 20 Georgetown
"We don't have that guy," Rutgers coach Mike Rice said. "I think we have a pretty good team with some options. We shared the game and had the passion to play with one another, but in the Big East, you're going to face lottery picks and first-round draft choices. You have to defend as a team and we didn't do that."

Georgetown-Rutgers Postgame Quotes - Georgetown University Official Athletic Site
Georgetown Head Coach John Thompson III On Grinding Out the Win: "It was a typical BIG EAST game. I think at halftime I said it to the guys, `It's going to be one of those games where we're going to have to grind it out, possession by possession.' They are a very good team, and they're well coached and they put so much pressure on you. Eli Carter is pretty good, huh? But we knew what it was going to be, we had to stay focused, and it was one of those games where we could tell early on it's going to come down to the end and we're going to have to make the plays at both ends of the court.

Despite knowing Otto Porter blueprint, Rutgers unable to stop No. 20 Georgetown in 69-63 loss | NJ.com
Thirty-four minutes, 18 seconds. That was how long it took before Otto Porter, Jr. went to work on Rutgers, scoring 19 points and grabbing 14 rebounds in a 69-63 win over the Scarlet Knights, the best player on No. 20 Georgetown's roster was sliding in and out of screens looking for his spots. But he kept looking for the matchups on the floor. Kept looking for the switching patterns in the Rutgers defense that provided the daylight.

Recap: Rutgers vs. Georgetown | Mens Basketball | Bradenton Herald
"We had passion and played for each other today. But when you lose, it takes the joy away from your everyday experience," Rutgers coach Mike Rice said.