A few things on my mind before the Hoyas clash with the Mountaineers in the Big Apple:
Look for a battle on the boards. Georgetown’s advantage in its semifinal win over Marquette: 40-18. West Virginia’s in its win over Notre Dame: 35-18. The Hoyas, without Austin Freeman, finished with a 31-29 rebounding advantage when the teams met in Morgantown 12 days ago, 31-29, not that it was a factor given how badly the Hoyas lost.
Speaking of Freeman, he’s 0 for 7 from beyond the arc thus far in the Big East Tournament. it hasn’t mattered, and he’s still been a signficant contributor, averaging 12.7 points and 5 rebounds in three games, but he was the one guy who was missing on Mar. 1 — he was back on campus getting diagnosed with diabetes — when the Hoyas were overrun by the Mountaineers. Don’t let the fact that Greg Monroe and Chris Wright have been Georgetown’s headliners. Freeman is due.
But, a resounding yes, Monroe has been a standout, proving once and for all that he’s a night-in, night-out game changer with a willingness to dominate and take over when necessary — not just pass. His line over the last three games is fantastic: 18.0 points, 10.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists.
Wright’s game has reached another level, too. His 27-6-6 performance against Syracuse was the best game of his Georgetown career. Remember what he did in Morgantown? Yeah, he finished with 21 points, but not before he missed eight of his first nine shot attempts in the game. His ball-handling and decision-making have both been lauded over the past three days. Both of those elements will be tested significantly by West Virginia, which plays frenetic, athletic and aggressive defense.
Revenge is absolutely a factor for the Hoyas, who were undermined by 12 first-half turnovers, many of them needless or careless, in their loss at West Virginia. With a rematch against the Mountaineers, Georgetown can beat the fourth-straight team that it lost to during the regular season.
The Hoyas’ run solidifies the impact that John Thompson III has made since taking over as head coach of the program that his father built. When the Hoyas take the court to try and win their eighth Big East Tournament championship, they’ll find themselves the conference final for the third time in the last four seasons. Thompson has only been in charge on the Hilltop for six years, but his success rate has already started to approach that of John Thompson Jr., who never went to the finals any more than twice in a row. Of course, Big John won the title six times in the tournament’s first ten years.
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