Georgetown
After a successful trip through their non-conference schedule, the Georgetown Hoyas (18-5, 7-4 Big East) entered the Big East with as much momentum as any team in the league. But the team’s 11-1 start was short-lived after it lost four of its first five games to open conference play. While Georgetown never dropped out of the AP Top 25 during that stretch, many wrote them off as a Big East contender.
But six straight wins, including two over ranked opponents and three on the road, have the Hoyas back on track as one of the hottest teams in the Big East and just 2.5 games out of first.
Last week the Hoyas knocked off then-No. 7 Villanova 69-66 and then-No. 13 Louisville 62-59 in the span of three days to close January before holding on to beat a pesky Providence team 83-81 on Saturday.
Coach John Thompson III, in his seventh season with the Hoyas, said defense has been the key to his team’s turnaround that has them at 7-4 in conference.
“I think lately we have been defending much better,” Thompson said. “We’re trying to make the opposition take more difficult shots. That being said, everyone has seen it and the coaches have said it since day one: this league is terrific. The parity is not just a word. It’s reality in this league.”
Experience has been another factor as well as senior guards Chris Wright and Austin Freeman have led the charge for Georgetown. Freeman has averaged 18.7 points per game while connecting on 45.7 percent of his threes, and Wright’s 5.4 assists per game rank third in the Big East.
The road doesn’t get any easier for the streaking Hoyas, who will travel to the Carrier Dome to take on No. 12 Syracuse tomorrow before hosting the Marquette Golden Eagles Sunday afternoon.
Villanova surges
Just like the Hoyas, Jay Wright and his Villanova Wildcats (19-4, 7-3 Big East) also experienced a hiccup of their own two weeks ago, but have since rebounded.
After being upset on the road against Providence and then losing at home to Georgetown, the Wildcats put together an impressive week by taking down Marquette 75-70 Wednesday and West Virginia at home.
West Virginia coach Bob Huggins, whose Mountaineers fell to Villanova 66-50 on Saturday, had high praise for Wright and his balanced squad.
“Villanova is really good,” Huggins said. “Jay does such a great job of teaching them spacing, and penetrating and pitch. They’ve got their big guys so much more involved now than they probably did a year ago. I think they’re very good and are well deserving of being one of the top 10 teams in the country.”
Getting their big guys involved is exactly what they did this week, as senior forward Antonio Pena averaged 12 points and seven rebounds in the two wins, while sophomore budding star Mouphtaou Yarou averaged 14.5 points, including a team-high 18 against Marquette, and 5.5 rebounds. The Wildcats are tied for fourth in the Big East in rebounds per game as 38.5 per.
Games next week for the Wildcats include a trip to Rutgers tomorrow and a home showdown against the No. 4 Pittsburgh Panthers Saturday.
Marshon Brooks: The Big East’s leading scorer was in full force this week, averaging 33.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.5 threes, while shooting 56.8 percent from the field.
The Friars knocked off the South Florida Bulls on Wednesday before losing a heartbreaker to Georgetown on Saturday, when Brooks dropped a career-high 43 points on the Hoyas.
The senior wing has scored in double digits each game this season and has been held under 20 points just once in Big East play, helping Providence to three Big East wins.
Game to Watch:
Pittsburgh at Villanova Feb. 12, 8 p.m.
The health of junior guard Ashton Gibbs could be a deciding factor in this one as two teams at the top of the Big East fight for positioning in the standings.
Gibbs, the Panthers’ leading scorer, suffered an MCL injury in a 71-59 win over Cincinnati in which he scored 25 points. He is expected to miss 10 to 14 days, meaning Villanova will get a free pass on facing Gibbs.
The Wildcats are in prime position to steal one from Pittsburgh and could find themselves in first place by the end of this week.
