Rejuvenated: Georgetown 70, Louisville 60

Austin Freeman scored 24 second-half points to finish with a game-high 29 as the Hoyas emerged from Freedom Hall with a convincing 70-60 victory. The Hoyas shook off two disappointing losses and a steep first-half deficit, shutting down the Cardinals after the break as Freeman heated up. A few quick thoughts:

• Star–Freeman.  29 points, 9 of 12 shooting, 5 of 6 from 3, 6 of 6 from the line. Just an amazing shooting display.  More impressive was how he got his points–taking the ball to the hoop, putting back offensive rebounds, and, of course, his sweet 3-ball stroke.  In one particularly crucial stretch of the second half (described below), Freeman made six straight from the field to go with a pair of free throws.  He capped his shooting display with a four-point play that put the Hoyas up 15 with 3 minutes to go.
  
• Honorable mention–Greg Monroe, who finished with 16 points, 14 rebounds, and 5 assists.  Not the best shooting night for Monroe, who struggles mightily going to his right.  Still, he scored 12 points in the first half when the Hoyas badly needed help, dominated the boards, largely shut down Louisville big man Samardo Samuels, and put the game out of reach with two particularly impressive possessions.  First, he drove from the wing, drew three Cardinal defenders, then made a sweet behind the head pass to Julian Vaughn for an easy lay-in.  On the next possession, Monroe caught a lob in-bounds pass and converted a quick lay-in to put the Hoyas up 14.
  
• Surprising development–bench scoring!  Hollis Thompson sunk two key 3s  (and made 3 sweet steals) to keep the Hoyas afloat in the first half, Vee Sanford made two free throws, also before the break, and Jerrelle Benimon scored 4 points–not Earth-shattering production, but 12 more points than those three scored last game.  Their contributions will be ever more important down the stretch, as the starters’ legs tire.
  
• Discouraging pattern–getting down double digits early.  The Hoyas have now trailed by 10 or more in the first half against Marquette, UConn, Villanova, Syracuse, and Louisville.  Thursday, the Hoyas trailed 16-5 at one point, and failed to close the gap for the rest of the half, entering the break down 35-29 and struggling in the half court to beat Louisville’s soft 2-3 zone.  Still…
  
• Key sequence–In the first ten minutes of the second half, the Hoyas scored 24 points to Louisville’s 3.  Increased defensive tenacity on one end, Austin Freeman (18 of the Hoyas’ 24, 6 for 6 from the field, 2 of 2 from the line) and better ball movement on the other.
• Discouraging pattern, deposed–Before the second ‘Cuse game, the Hoyas had not lost a game this season in which Chris Wright scored in double digits, and had not won when Wright failed to scored in double digits.  Between the loss to ‘Cuse and last night’s W, in which Wright scored 4 (but, for you Wright haters, expertly sliced up the Louisville press), both streaks are over.
  
• Telling stat–each team has 5 steals.  Louisville relies on its press to convert defense into easy offensive buckets, while the Hoyas’ defense seeks to force bad shots, rather than turning the ball over.  The Cardinals’ low steal total indicates just how ineffective their press was.
  

The win puts the Hoyas back in the hunt for a top-4 Big East seed and the double-bye in the Big East tournament that comes with it.  Currently, the Hoyas stand at 9-6 in conference, tied in the loss column with Louisville and Marquette, but ahead of the former and behind the latter based on tie-breakers.  All of that means that the Hoyas are basically sixth in conference, and so must supplant two teams to finish fourth.  The best candidates are the Golden Eagles/Warriors/Gold and Blue/nickname du jour and West Virginia, which has 5 conference losses and which the Hoyas play next Monday.  In the end, seeding matters less than winning, and the Hoyas need to do just that with three tough games remaining.

The Hoyas return to action Saturday at home against Notre Dame.