Three thoughts on the Hoyas’ West Coast wake-up call win over the Huskies.
That was Georgetown’s best defensive performance in a very, very long time. If you were a member of the Washington Huskies and you played more than 2 minutes on Saturday morning in Anaheim, you had at least one turnover. The Hoyas forced ten different guys to cough the ball up for a combined 25 turnovers. Julian Vaughn had two blocks and Greg Monroe (15 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals) had another – officially – but countless times the Huskies were stripped going up for a shot or were simply smothered inside.
The Georgetown roster showed balance, not depth. The Hoyas went only six deep on Satuday, with Henry Sims getting in, throwing a terrible pass, and being taken out, and Vee Sanford – I can’t remember when he played. Each of the other players registered at least 24 minutes. All five starters scored in double figures, led by a career-high 18 points for Vaughn. Austin Freeman followed us stellar shooting at Madison Square Garden with a stinker (11 points on 3 for 12 from the field). I still wonder about Chris Wright (13 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists). He was solid in transition but didn’t seem to find a groove in the half-court offense at all. Jason Clark (13 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals) has become the more dominant player of the two in the backcourt.
The Hoyas have won two in a row against ranked but inferior teams. Guilty as charged. Washington wasn’t as good as they’ve been ranked, and I’ll be sure to knock them down and perhaps out of my Top 25 ballot when I put it together tomorrow evening. What does that mean for Georgetown. Simply that they haven’t had a game yet that will likely prove as difficult as their Big East opener vs. St. John’s on New Year’s Eve, though neither Old Dominion and Harvard will be walkovers.
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