Hoyas Blow Big 2nd Half Lead, Lose to Xavier 80-67

What started out as a wonderful first game in the burgeoning rivalry between Georgetown and Xavier ended in disaster, as the Hoyas blew a 17 point 2nd half lead en route to a disheartening 80-67 loss.

A lot will be written across the internets about the collapse and Georgetown's being outscored 51-25 in the 2nd half (yikes!), but since there's no point in wallowing in our sorrows (and thank goodness the Big East schedule doesn't give us time to), perhaps we can at least point out some positives and move on.

While the 2nd half collapse certainly casts a dark cloud over the ultimate outcome, there were a number of good developments for Georgetown that are worth noting. First, freshman Reggie Cameron played his best game as a Hoya, finishing with a career-high 13 points and showed glimpses of how he can be a valuable cog in Georgetown's offense going forward.  Second, D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera and Markel Starks combined for 37 points and remain a formidable if not the most formidable backcourt duo in the Conference. And finally, Aaron Bowen has continued to show he can be a productive rotation player, scoring 9 points, consistently finding open spots on the floor and playing better, all-around smart basketball.

Georgetown's ultimate undoing was again its frontcourt, a unit sapped this season by the departures of Otto Porter to the NBA and Greg Whittington to the wasteland known as Rutgers.  Mikael Hopkins, Nate Lubick and Moses Ayegba are giving it all they have, but frankly, what exactly can we expect from that group?  Josh Smith was brought in to anchor the Hoyas up front and he has failed himself and his teammates by failing in the classroom (note: I don't know this to be true but rumors are rumors and this is a damn rumor-mongering blog).

Hopefully Smith's academic issue is cleared up and he comes back in the next few days or weeks because this Georgetown season hangs delicately in the balance.  There are 14 games left in the regular season and the Hoyas probably need to win 8 of them to make the Tournament.  Here they are:

You tell me.  Are we Dancing?

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