The View from Press Row

Despite matching a season low point total and shooting just 38 percent from the field, Villnova extended its BIG EAST winning streak to 21 games with a 55-50 victory over Georgetown on Saturday afternoon.  Georgetown got out to a 5-2 lead early on thanks to two D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera jumpers but it was all Villanova from there as the Wildcats led for the final 28 minutes and 21 seconds.

The crowd of 15,535 - the second biggest of the season - was dying to get involved in the second half as the Hoyas chipped away in taking a 12 point deficit all the way down to three on three occasions but a late turnover by Jessie Govan basically ended the possibility of Georgetown stealing a win.

Smith-Rivera struggled to find space to get off good shots but he did lead three double-figure Hoya scorers with 15 points.  Isaac Copeland had 11 points while Reggie Cameron finished with 10.  For Cameron it's the first time that he's notched back-to-back games in double figures.

While they technically aren't in win the automatic bid or bust mode just yet, the Hoyas have quite the mountain to climb in order to get themselves back in the conversation for the NCAA Tournament.  At 11-7 the more realistic talk might be about staying above .500 to qualify for the NIT. 

Where it was Lost: This game was lost on the free throw line and on the inside.  Villanova with its strong guard play was able to get to the line where the Wildcats held a 22 to 11 advantage in attempts over the Hoyas.  Josh Hart and Ryan Arcidiacono accounted for 14 of those attempts.  DSR didn't attempt a free throw for just the third time this season.

Inside the Hoyas couldn't get it going, even from point blank range. Bradley Hayes and Jessie Govan combined to go 1-for-10 with Govan only taking one of those shots from 3-point range. In a game where the Hoyas needed to exert their dominance down low, Villanova actually held a 20-18 advantage in the paint.

Home Struggles: After today's loss Georgetown is now 7-4 at the Verizon Center this season.  JT3 has never lost more than five home games in a season and it's something that he's done twice.  It happened in both his first season of 2004-05 (12-5) and in 2008-09 (11-5).  Both of those seasons ended in the NIT.

Freshmen Jitters:  Georgetown's frosh trio of Derrickson, Govan, and Johnson came into today averaging a combined 18 points, 11 rebounds and 3 assists.  In their first big time conference game at home they struggled mightily.  After missing his first game of the season against St. John's, Derrickson returned for his first game as a bench player but was held scoreless in 10 minutes.  Govan continued to get more minutes than Bradley Hayes but he went just 1-for-7 from the field to finish with five points, six rebounds, three blocks but also three turnovers.  Johnson played 15 minutes and missed his only shot from the field, a drive to the hoop early on.

Top Ten: DSR became the second player under JT3 to enter the school's Top 10 all-time scoring list joining Austin Freeman.  DSR now has 1,678 points for his career.  Next up for him to pass is Kevin Braswell who sits in 9^th place with 1,735.

Numbers:

.327 - Georgetown shot a season low from the field.

3 - Georgetown is now 0-3 against Top Ten teams this season.  Georgetown will get their fourth shot at taking down a highly ranked team on Tuesday at Xavier.

6- DSR matched a career-high with six turnovers