The anointing had begun. Georgetown was poised to set a school record with 12 consecutive Big East wins and ESPN analyst Jay Bilas said the Hoyas deserved be in the discussion for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
That is, until Syracuse proved Georgetown is not invincible. Not that Hoya coaches needed convincing.
“If you beat Penn on Tuesday and lose to Dartmouth on Saturday, you still have one loss,” Hoyas head coach John Thompson III’s warned after last weekend’s win over Pittsburgh, referencing his Princeton days.
Thompson has repeatedly said his team is a work in progress. With one game left for Georgetown (22-6, 12-3 Big East) before the Big East Tournament, Syracuse highlighted the areas that still need work:
» 1. Limit turnovers: Against Syracuse’s 2-3 zone, Georgetown gave the ball away 19 times and finished with only 12 assists, the most turnovers and worst assist-to-turnover ratio in Big East play in five weeks. In addition, Hoyas starters had 15 of those turnovers — including four each by Jonathan Wallace, Jessie Sapp and Jeff Green — their highest combined total in conference play since a Jan. 8 loss to Villanova.
» 2. Remember Roy: The ineffectiveness of Georgetown’s offense without consistent input from center Roy Hibbert isn’t a revelation and was most effectively demonstrated by his zero field-goal attempt, two-point performance in that loss to the Wildcats. Monday in the Carrier Dome, Hibbert went 3-for-4 from the field in the first half, but didn’t take a shot after halftime. He had no free-throw attempts. That’s not consistent input.
» 3. Defending the 3-pointer: The Hoyas combined their second-worst 3-point shooting performance in league play (24 percent) with an equally poor job behind the arc defending Syracuse (42.9 percent), the second-best showing of all Georgetown’s Big East opponents so far. In particular, not finding Syracuse specialist Andy Rautins — 134 of his 165 shots this season have been from 3-point range — on several occasions was a huge mistake.
Despite the setback, it’s hardly time to panic. First, Monday’s performance is unlikely to be duplicated in a rematch on a neutral floor because Syracuse was a desperate team in front of 26,000-plus fans. Second, Georgetown has its highest ranking since the preseason, and with a win in its regular-season finale, the ninth-ranked Hoyas still claim the top seed in the Big East Tournament. They currently own the tiebreaker over Pittsburgh.
“We can’t look at the rankings and say, ‘Hey we’re finally back in the top 10,’” said Green last weekend. “We have to stay hungry and keep trying to beat teams.”
