West Virginia took it to the short-handed Hoyas Monday night, amassing a 27-point lead early in the second half before cooling off a bit. The Hoyas kept fighting til the end, narrowing the lead to nine points, but could not muster much offense, and seemed dispirtied, without leading scorer Austin Freeman.
The Hoyas had a few bright spots — a solid game from Greg Monroe (22 pts, 9 rebs, 4 assts), a Vee Sanford sighting (career-high 9 pts, 3 rebs, 2 stls). However, for the second straight game, the Hoyas got outworked. West Virginia dominated the ball control game, giving up just 8 turnovers while forcing the Hoyas into 20 miscues. The Mountaineers turned those turnovers into points, getting to the line 34 times, compared to just 21 for the Hoyas.
The Hoyas’ late-game effort was nice to see–Sanford and Chris Wright in particular were working their tails off, score be damned–but no substitute for effort and competence for the few minutes when the game hung in the balance.
The Hoyas return to action Saturday at home against Cincinnati; they’ll seek to win just their second game in their last six. Still, hope springs eternal, and this weekend a hopefully healthy Georgetown squad will attempt to generate a modicum of momentum going into the postseason.
Think we’re looking at the perils of a relentless Big East schedule, with quality teams at every slot. A healthy Freeman and a quality showing against Cinci and they’re still a team to be reckoned with.