Big East Sports Blog

Sorry Villanova fans, I feel for you, I really do. 

The Wildcats’ most recent defeat to No.8 Georgetown signaled the end of Rivalry Week, but it wasn’t without some dramatics.  It was everything you’d expect.  Two big time rivals going head-to-head, with the memory of 1985 still fresh in everyone’s minds. 

As difficult as wins are to get in the Big East, the Wildcats nearly pulled off the upset over the Hoyas, a win that would given the Wildcats confidence, but new life going into the last leg of their schedule.  But instead, for the sixth time in the last seven games, the Wildcats were left with an empty and losing feeling.

Villanova guard Corey Stokes was whistled for a foul on Georgetown guard Jonathan Wallace with 0.1 seconds left in the game, and Wallace walked almost 70 feet the other, sunk both free throws and rescued Georgetown from the upset.  At first, I thought the whistle was blown because Wallace had stepped out of bounds, but it became apparent that the official signaled Stokes for a foul.

There’s a couple ways to look at this, but ultimately that was an awfully touchy call to make in such a crucial point in the game.  Certainly, you don’t hear any of the Hoyas refuting the call and rightfully so.  A win is a win is a win, and Georgetown was damn lucky to pull out the victory.  But I’m sorry, on a good, chilly day along the East coast in February, there are strong winds that have bumped or nudged Wallace harder than Stokes did.

What’s lost in all this is the fact that I have no clue how in the world Villanova was in the game.  They shot 25 percent in the game.  They were 4-of-31 shooting in the second half, and went 1-of-21 in the final 12 minutes of the game.  And still, Scottie Reynolds had a chance to win it on Villanova’s last possession of the game.  Again I’ll state:  Villanova shot 13 percent in the second half, and STILL almost won.

From the Georgetown side of things, this may be the most perplexing win of the season.  How they held Villanova to such a putrid night shooting from the field, especially holding them to one field goal in the last 12 minutes, and still came away with the win is head scratching.  Sometimes it’s just better to be lucky than good, and the zebras helped bail out the Hoyas in the end. 

Monday, Feb.4th

• Louisville 71, #16 Marquette 57
• St. Joseph’s 77, Villanova 55

Tuesday, Feb.5th

• #6 Georgetown 63, South Florida 53
• Providence 79, DePaul 65

Wednesday, Feb.6th

• #19 UConn 63, Syracuse 61
• #22 Notre Dame 95, Seton Hall 69
• St.John’s 52, Rutgers 45

Thursday, Feb.7th

• #25 Pittsburgh 55, West Virginia 54

Friday, Feb 8th. - No games scheduled

> Find great Big East gear including Providence clothing, Villanova apparel & more through Big East Fans.

Coming down the home stretch during Rivalry Week, entering Big East play on Saturday, Georgetown, Notre Dame and UConn all went 2-0 dating back to last Saturday, Feb.2nd.  For the all the success the previously mentioned teams are having, DePaul, Villanova and Seton Hall posted goose eggs in the win column.

Beasts of the Big East

#6 Georgetown- defeated Seton Hall last Saturday 73-61, then followed up with a 10-point win against South Florida on Tuesday, 63-53.  While the Hoyas needed to rally from 10 points down, they pulled away late for the win and remain on top of the Big East standings at 9-1.

#22 Notre Dame.  Hot on the heels of the Hoyas are the Irish, who matched Georgetown by going 2-0 as well.  With wins over DePaul last Saturday 89-80 and mauling Seton Hall on Wednesday 95-69, the Irish remain just one game behind Georgetown in second place in the Big East at 7-2.

UConn - No team is hotter in the Big East right now.  The Huskies pulled out a tough, physical match up a week ago against Pitt, 60-53, and followed up one hard nosed win with another, knocking off arch rival Syracuse on Wednesday 63-61.  In their two wins this week, they’ve only surrendered an average of 57 points per game, and find themselves inside the Top 25 polls, riding a five game win streak and third in the Big East.

Iron unkind

DePaul- They played Notre Dame close, losing 89-80, but close doesn’t cut the mustard in the Big East.  The Blue Demons suffered their second straight loss this week on Tuesday, losing 79-65 to Providence.  DePaul has lost lost four straight, three on the road, since winning consecutive games over Rutgers and Florida Gulf Coast.

Seton Hall- After winning five in a row, the Pirates have had a power outage this week.  Thought they lost to the best two teams in the Big East ( 73-61 loss to Georgetown, 95-69 loss to Notre Dame), Seton Hall has only averaged 65 points in the two losses.

Villanova-Since starting 13-3, the Wildcats have lost five straight and went 0-2 this week, losing to Syracuse last weekend and getting hammered against Big Five rival St. Joe’s on Monday, 77-55.  An alarming stat this week for Villanova: they’ve given up an average of 82 points in both losses, while only scoring an average of 64.

Scoreboard for Monday, Jan.28th

UConn 69, Louisville 67

The Huskies prevail on Big Monday behind a big night from guard A.J. Price, who poured in 20 points.  UConn pounded Louisville on the glass, winning the rebounding advantage 40-29.  Very uncharacteristic night for Louisville.  The Cardinals jacked up 33 3-point attempts, connecting on 11; Juan Palacios and Terrence Williams combined to hoist 17 3’s.  UConn played with a short bench, due to suspensions to Doug Wiggins and Jerome Dyson last week.  The frontcourt duo of Stanley Robinson and Jeff Adrien combined for 28 points and 20 rebounds to help UConn to win their 4th straight.

Tuesday, Jan.29th  - #17 Marquette 62, South Florida 52

With Jerel McNeal and Dominic James struggling, Lazar Hayward scored 23 points and Wesley Matthews dropped in 16 to help Marquette past South Florida.  McNeal was held to six points, James managed only three for the Golden Eagles.  In a surprising twist, (not really) Kentrell Gransberry turned in another double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds, but the Bulls were unable to overcome an eight-point halftime defict.

Wednesday scoreboard - Jan.30th

• #6 Georgetown 74  St. John’s 42
• #18Pittsburgh 69  Villanova 57
• Syracuse 60  DePaul 55
• Cincinnati 62  West Virginia 39
• Seton Hall 84  Rutgers 71

Anything less than a thriller between Georgetown and Syracuse just wouldn’t be Big East basketball, and on Big Monday folks in the Verizon Center and all across the country weren’t disappointed.

Down seven points with five minutes remaining, No.9 Georgetown rallied to force overtime and avoided the upset at the hands of Syracuse, coming away with a 64-62 win.  The familiar names led the way for the Hoyas (15-2, 5-1), in the form of Roy Hibbert and Jonathan Wallace.  Hibbert had 15 points and nine rebounds, including the only made field goal in the overtime session, while Wallace added 15 also. 

But on this night, the hero was backup point guard Jeremiah Rivers for the Hoyas.  Rivers played fantastic defense on Syracuse guard Jonny Flynn, who attempted a 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have given the Orange the victory.  Flynn was a man on a mission, playing the entire 45 minutes, while leading Syracuse with 24 points.  His last desperation 3-pointer rimmed out at the buzzer, clinching the win for Georgetown.

Donte Greene chipped in with 15 points, despite going 1-of-13 from the field at one point in the game.  Greene finished the night 5-of-19; Arinze Onuaku added 12 points and 13 rebounds.  Aside from Flynn, Syracuse’s backcourt struggled, with Paul Harris and Scoop Jardine combining for just seven points, despite playing a combined 82 minutes. 

Greene shook off a bad night shooting down the stretch, draining a 3-pointer to put Syracuse up 60-55 with two minutes remaining.  But Hoya guard Jessie Sapp scored five of his 11 points in the final two minutes, connecting on a long 3-pointer and a layup to pull the contest even at 60 with 74 seconds left in the game. 

The overtime frame saw only six points between the two teams and only one basket from the field on a jumper from Hibbert.  The first three minutes of overtime were scoreless from the field, and the only points for either team came from Sapp, by way of the free throw line.  Syracuse just flat out ran out of gas in overtime, going 0-for-6 from the field and making just 2-of-7 free throw attempts.  Onuaku went to the line twice, but missed all four of his attempts.  Hibbert’s jumper put Georgetown up 64-60 with a minute remaining in overtime.

It was the fourth time in almost 10 days Syracuse was in action. The Orange did everything they could to pull off the upset; they outrebounded the Hoyas by 10 and held the Hoyas to just 35 percent shooting in the game.  Still for the Orange, they shot just 36.5 percent and have lost four of their last five.  A little over a year ago, Syracuse defeated Georgetown 72-58 to end the Hoyas’ 11-game win streak.  The Orange have had Georgetown’s number of late, winning seven of the last eight games.

It was impressive the way Georgetown never panicked or tightened up down the stretch, trailing by five with two minutes to go.  Sapp stepped up huge by pulling Georgetown even and Rivers stifled Syracuse’s main offensive threat (Flynn) in the second half and in overtime.  The victory puts Georgetown in sole possession of first place in the Big East standings at 5-1, and they run their home record to a perfect 10-0 so far in 2007-08 season.

No.9 Georgetown will face off against West Virginia on Saturday, while Syracuse will look to regroup Sunday against Providence.

Hibbert leads No.5 Georgetown in romp of Irish

Pre-season All-American Roy Hibbert poured in 21 points and dished out five assists to lead No.5 Georgetown easily past Notre Dame 84-65 on Saturday.  The Hoyas’ stalwart was defense was in full effect against the Irish, holding Notre Dame to a season low 32.8 percent shooting from the field.

DaJuan Summers had a double-double for Georgetown (14-2, 4-1) with 17 points and 11 rebounds, while freshman guard Austin Freeman dropped in 16 points.  The Hoyas shot 52.8 percent from the field.  Their starting five dominated the Irish, scoring 76 of their 84 points, despite being outrebounded by Notre Dame, 36-30.

Luke Harangody led Notre Dame 13-4, 3-2) with 13 points on just 3-of-13 shooting from the field before fouling out in the second half.  Harangody had a difficult afternoon at both ends of the floor.  He struggled offensively, and had the unpleasant task of matching up against Hibbert at the defensive end of the floor.  Kyle McAlarney also had a rough day from the field, finishing with 10 points on 4-of-15 shooting from the field, and just 2-of-8 from 3-point range.  McAlarney wasn’t the lone Irish player to struggle from long distance; Notre Dame shot 28 percent from downtown on 7-of-25 shooting.  Notre Dame was 20-of-61 from the field.  The 64 points was a season low scored by the Irish, who dropped 64 points alone in the second half last weekend against Connecticut.

The Hoyas were trailing 17-16 with just under 10 minutes to play in the first half.  Emphasis on were.  Georgetown preceded to race to a 15-0 run, a stretch in which the Irish went almost seven minutes without a basket.  Georgetown took a 38-25 lead into the break.  Notre Dame wasn’t able to get back into the game in the second half, and there 1-of-10 start from the field in the second didn’t help matters much.

No.5 Georgetown returns to action on ‘Big Monday’ against long-time rival Syracuse.  Notre Dame will have a full week off to prepare for Villanova next Saturday, Jan.26th.

No.25 Villanova bests Syracuse in the Carrier Dome

Anytime you’re able to pick up a win in the Big East, let alone on the road in place like the Carrier Dome, it’s a tremendous feeling, a feeling Villanova was able to experience first hand on Saturday.

Scottie Reynolds led the Wildcat attack and No.25 Villanova took full advantage of the foul trouble Syracuse found themselves in, picking up the road win 81-71.  Syracuse had four players with at least four fouls, with Scoop Jardine and Donte Greene fouling out for the Orange.

Villanova (13-3, 3-2) rebounded in the second half from a disappointing effort in the first half, shooting just 29 percent.  Greene picked up his fourth foul not even three minutes to start the second and then Arinze Onuaku got his fourth with just over 12 minutes to go.  The Wildcats wiped out a five point deficit at the half, trailing 35-30. 

Villanova went up 57-53 with just over 10 minutes to play when Greene and Onuaku checked back in, giving Syracuse (13-6, 3-3) a momentum boost with eight points between the two.  The warm, fuzzy feeling for the Orange didn’t last long, as Greene fouled out with about five and a half minutes left.  Onuaku pulled Syracuse to within three, 66-63, but Corey Fisher canned a 3-pointer and then Reynolds was fouled on a 3-point attempt and sunk all three free throws.  Villanova led 72-63 with three and a half left and the Orange couldn’t mount one final charge. 

Losing Greene killed any momentum or ideas of a comeback by Syracuse and a lot of credit goes to head coach Jay Wright and Villanova.  His players hung tough after a difficult first half, with the home crowd feverishly into it and they battled back down the stretch and came up with some tremendous baskets and key execution on offense in crunch time.

Fisher added 15 for Villanova and Cunningham chipped in with 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds.  Villanova’s bench outscored Syracuse 31-5.  Losing one player is very tough for Syracuse, but then losing Onuaku killed Syracuse.  Freshman Jonny Flynn led Syracuse in scoring with 23 points.  Greene finished with 12 and Onuaku added 10 points and 10 rebounds before both players fouled out. 

No.25 Villanova will travel to Rutgers on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.  Syracuse will face off against rival Georgetown on Big Monday at 7 p.m.

Cincinnati beats second ranked opponent in as many weeks, knocking off No.15 Pittsburgh

Last Saturday, Cincinnati took a bite out Villanova, this week, it was the same story, just a different chapter.  This Saturday, Pittsburgh bit the dust at the hands of Cincinnati as the Bearcats upset No.15 Pittsburgh 62-59.

With things tied at 40, Cincinnati (9-9, 4-2) used a late 13-0 run with just over 4 minutes to play and was able to stave off a late rally by Pittsburgh (15-3, 3-2).  The Panthers had one final attempt to send the contest to overtime, but Keith Benjamin’s 3-point attempt was blocked with three seconds to play.  Benjamin, with Pittsburgh already depleted by injuries, suffered a cut on his hand and needed stitches.  He left the game in the first half, but returned in the second half for Pitt.  Sam Young led the way for Pittsburgh with 24 points and nine rebounds.  Benjamin was the only other Panther in double figures, finishing with 11.  Freshman DaJuan Blair finished with only four points and three rebounds and was hampered by foul trouble in the second half.  Tyrell Biggs, who replaced Blair, also found himself in foul trouble, and was limited to six points off the bench.

Deonta Vaughn led Cincinnati with 14 points.  Adam Hyrcaniuk finished with 12 points and team high seven rebounds and Rashad Bishop added 11.  The Panthers shot just 2-of-10 from beyond the arc in the first half, and led by one at the break, 28-27.  The loss snaps a three-game winning streak for the Panthers.

With the victory, Cincinnati has moved into a three-way tie for second place in the Big East at 4-2.  DePaul and West Virginia are also 4-2.  The Bearcats have won three of their last four games.

Pittsburgh returns to action on Wednesday night at St. John’s at 7 p.m., while Cincinnati also returns to the hardwood on Wednesday night with a home contest against Connecticut at 7:30 p.m.

The first game on Big Monday was just that for No.15 Pittsburgh - big.  The backcourt tag team of Ronald Ramon and Keith Benjamin scored 18 points apiece to help the Panthers defeat No.5 Georgetown 69-60 on Monday night.

Pittsburgh (15-2, 3-1) extended their home winning streak to 13 games, and handed Georgetown (13-2, 3-1) their first conference loss.  Despite the losses to Levance Fields and Mike Cook, the Panthers are 4-1 without Fields in the lineup.  Freshman DeJuan Blair didn’t cower or shy away from 7-foot-2 center Roy Hibbert, getting 15 points and nine rebounds against the Georgetown big man.  In their two wins over top 10 teams this season, Duke and now Georgetown, Blair hasn’t shone the look of just a freshman, rather a dominant upperclassman, going for 30 points and 29 boards in the two contests.

Jonathan Wallace led Georgetown with 14 points.  Hibbert had the game’s only double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 boards.  The Hoyas bench outscored the Panthers 21-7, but it was the trio of DaJuan Summers, Jessie Sapp and Austin Freeman that didn’t get things done for the fifth-ranked Hoyas.  The trio combined for just 13 points on 6-of-22 shooting.  Summers was held scoreless in the game and miss all seven shots he took.

After a see-saw, physical first half with Pittsburgh leading by just one, 27-26, Georgetown came out flat and slow, as the Panthers went on a 15-4 spurt to lead 42-30, with Ramon and Benjamin leading the charge on back-to-back 3-pointers.  The Hoyas responded with an 8-0 run, getting to within three at 47-44, but Pittsburgh answered back, going up by eight with eight and a half minutes to play, 52-44.

Georgetown never led against Pittsburgh in the game, and the rebounding factor once again hindered Georgetown.  Against a much smaller Pittsburgh team, the Panthers were able to outrebound the Hoyas 37-33.  Georgetown’s inability to make a late push in the game was due largely to their severe ineffectiveness from 3-point range, shooting just 3-of-20 from downtown.  The Hoyas had entered the night as the best shooting team from the field in the country at 51.6 percent, but a lot of credit goes the Pittsburgh on the defense end, holding Georgetown to just over 44 percent in the game.

You can’t say enough good things about the way head coach Jamie Dixon has this Pittsburgh team playing, down to just nine players due to the injuries to Fields and Cook.  No excuses coming from Pitt, they’re just doing the work and doing whatever it takes to pull out wins.  They wanted, and maybe even needed, this one more than the Hoyas, as Pittsburgh extracted some revenge from the blowout loss they suffered nearly a year ago to Georgetown in the Big East Championship Game 65-42.  Both teams are now in a five-way tie atop the Big East standings at 3-1, with Marquette, Cincinnati and DePaul all at 3-1 as well.

No.15 Pittsburgh will be off until this coming Saturday when they travel to Cincinnati to face off against the Bearcats at 4 p.m.  No.5 Georgetown will also have off until Saturday when they return  home to face Notre Dame at noon.

Somewhere Patrick Ewing, Dikembe Mutombo, and Alonzo Mourning are ecstatic and a little surprised.  The next big man in the Hoyas’ storied tradition at center wrote another chapter in his legacy with a shot that nobody could have predicted.  It was a match-up centered around two Big East rivals, with Hasheem Thabeet and Roy Hibbert putting the ‘big’, back in Big East.  Game, set, match for Georgetown.  Advantage Roy Hibbert.

Roy Hibbert drained a 3-pointer with four seconds left to break the tie ballgame, giving No.7 Georgetown a 72-69 win on Saturday, capping off the Hoyas come-from-behind victory against Connecticut.  It was just the second career 3-pointer Hibbert made, catching the UConn Huskies defense completely off guard, not expecting the 7-foot-2 center to nail the step-back three to win it.

Georgetown (13-1, 3-0) is now the lone undefeated team in the Big East and the Hoyas notched their second straight win over UConn (11-4, 2-2).  The Huskies were without head coach Jim Calhoun on the sidelines for the first time since 2003 due to the flu.  Georgetown held the lead at halftime 42-38.

UConn had the Hoyas on the ropes in their own building, up 67-61 with about four and a half minutes to go, but Georgetown erased the six point deficit behind two three’s from Jessie Sapp and Austin Freeman.  The successive three’s by Georgetown tied the game at 67.  The Huskies didn’t score a basket from the field rest of the way after Jerome Dyson gave UConn the 67-61 lead.

Hibbert had 20 points and eight rebounds, both game highs.  Hibbert dominated the big man match-up between he and opposing center Hasheem Thabeet.  Thabeet only registered seven points and grabbed just two rebounds.  Despite the struggles from Jessie Sapp and Jonathan Wallace (both were just 2-of-8 shooting; Sapp had six points, Wallace had five), Patrick Ewing Jr. gave the Hoyas a tremendous boost off the bench with 14 points.  Austin Freeman added 13 points and DaJuan Summers finished with 12.

For UConn, Jeff Adrien led the way with 18 points and six rebounds, A.J. Price had 17 and Doug Wiggins scored 15.  Dyson, entering the contest as the leading scorer for UConn, fell into foul trouble early on and finished with only eight points.

It’s a difficult pill to swallow for UConn, a really shocking way to lose a game.  I have a funny feeling the Huskies never planned for a spot-up 3-pointer from Hibbert.  It’s not like they had an abundance of game film they could of used to prepare for that situation.  If you didn’t like this one, you don’t like Big East basketball.  Two old rivals going fiercly at one another, a see-saw, tooth-and-nail match-up that went down to the last few seconds.  The go-to-guy wound up with the game on his fingertips, and you’d probably be expecting a hook-shot or short turn around shot in the paint from Hibbert.  Lesson for UConn: Expect the unexpected.  Oh, and the Roy Hibbert can shoot 3-pointers.

Georgetown can enjoy the victory, but it’ll have to be short-lived, as they’ll hit the road for another Big East clash on ’Big Monday’ against Pittsburgh on Monday at 7 p.m.  UConn will return home Thursday night at 7 p.m. against Providence.

Roy Hibbert asserted himself early and often, and showed why he’s considered one of the most dominant forces in the Big East, something DePaul found that out the hard way.

Hibbert led the Hoyas with 17 points, 11 rebounds to go along with five assists, as No.7 Georgetown routed DePaul 76-60 on Tuesday night.  Georgetown (12-1, 2-0) won their fourth straight game rather easily, leaving little doubt early that DePaul would win their fifth in a row and third straight in the Big East.

The Hoyas started fast and put DePaul behind the eight ball early, scoring the game’s first 11 points.  DePaul didn’t help their cause much, missing 18 of their first 22 shots including their first seven attempts from the field.  It was a succession of easy, uncontested baskets during the first 20 minutes and Georgetown held a monster lead at the break, 46-25.  The Blue Demons couldn’t mount any sort of surge and at one point, Georgetown led by as many as 28 in the second half.

Aside from Hibbert, the Hoyas had three other players in double figures.  Austin Freeman added 13 points and Jonathan Wallace and Jessie Sapp each finished with 12.  Georgetown shot an impressive 54 percent from the field, while holding DePaul to 32 percent shooting. 

DePaul (6-8, 2-1), Mac Koshwal and Dar Tucker each had 14 points, with Koshwal grabbing 13 rebounds.  Will Walker added 13 points, and leading scorer Draeolon Burns finished with only six points on 2-of-9 shooting.  DePaul’s bench outscored the starters 31-29 on the night.

Georgetown’s stalwart style of defense has largely been the main reason why the Hoyas are 12-1 out of the gate this season.  The 60 points scored by DePaul marks only the third time this year the Hoyas have given up 60 points or more, and the first time since surrendering 85 points in the loss against Memphis on Dec. 22nd an opponent scored more than 55 points.

Georgetown returns home this Saturday when they host Connecticut at 2 p.m., while DePaul travels to St. John’s on Saturday at noon.

Offensively, it won’t be looked upon as a stellar game for the No.7 Hoyas, but then again the old saying is defense wins championships and the Hoyas can defense with the best of them.  No.7 Georgetown’s defense was in full effect on Saturday as they held Rutgers to 31.1 percent shooting, defeating the Scarlet Knights 58-46.

Georgetown (11-1, 1-0) won their sixth straight over Rutgers and seventh straight victory in Big East opening games.  The reigning Big East champs opened conference play with their first victory, led by freshman Austin Freeman who scored 13 points.  Jonathan Wallace had 11 points, including 3-of-3 from beyond the arc, and Jessie Sapp and DaJuan Summers both added 10 points.

Rutgers (8-7, 0-2) has lost four of their last five games and they’ve dropped eight of their last nine against the Hoyas.  J.R. Inman led the Scarlet Knights with 11 points and was the lone Knight in double figures.  Rutgers welcomed back second leading scorer Corey Chandler back to the lineup after missing the last three games with an injured foot, but struggled in his first game back finishing with six points on 2-of-13 shooting.

Rutgers had their chances in this one, but they missed a plethora of open, uncontested looks, from layups to dunks to free throws.  Despite their win, Georgetown had problems of their own, problems that seem to be carrying over into 2008.  Their free throw shooting continues to be a problem; the Hoyas were only 7-of-13 from the line with center Roy Hibbert missing on four of his six attempts.  Speaking of Hibbert, the big man is not having the type of season many expected for the pre-season Big East Player of the Year.  He struggled against a smaller Rutgers squad, finishing with only six points and four rebounds on 2-of-7 shooting from the field, and 2-of-6 from the free throw line. 

Maybe the most alarming factor is Georgetown’s rebounding.  They were outrebounded 43-26, and a whopping 22-4 disadvantage on the offensive glass.  Georgetown can get away with being outrebounded by Rutgers, but as they get deeper and deeper into Big East play, they simply won’t get by on being the more talented team.  Rebounding is an attitude, a feeling that you’re going to outwork the next guy no matter what it takes. 

The Hoyas need to find that killer instinct when it comes to hitting the glass, and it needs to start with Hibbert.  He cannot continue to be a non-factor and sleep walk through games.

Georgetown only led 27-20 at halftime, but they used a 12-3 suffocating run in the first five minutes of play in the second half to lead 41-25.  Their largest lead in the second was 47-30 with 10 minutes to play and the Scarlet Knights failed to mount a late charge.

Georgetown will face DePaul on Tuesday night at 9 p.m., while Rutgers will travel to Providence on Wednesday night 7:30 p.m.