There would be no storming the court, and not just because the Secret Service would have none of it with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden in attendance.
Four years ago, Hoyas nation found ecstasy on the Verizon Center hardwood after a victory over then No. 1 Duke that announced head coach John Thompson III’s reintroduction of his father’s formerly prominent program to the national stage.
With Saturday’s stunning shooting performance against a Blue Devils team that was allowing opponents the fewest points in a more than a half-century — combined with their own utterly suffocating defense — the Hoyas simply reasserted their place among the nation’s elite with a dominant 89-77 win in front of a gray-clad sellout.
Every time Georgetown has lost this season, it’s bounced back by playing even better than it had before its latest defeat. Five days after an embarrassing 17-point loss at rival Syracuse, the Hoyas (16-4, 6-3 Big East) gave Thompson his 200th career victory with their best shooting performance (71.7 percent) of his six-year tenure.
Georgetown shook off the nerves of playing in front of a presidential audience — on the game’s first shot, Greg Monroe (21 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists) barely found the rim with an errant 3-point attempt — to shoot 77.3 percent in the first half, nearly double the season average allowed by the Blue Devils (39.5 percent).
Duke took its only lead, 17-16, on a putback by Mason Plumlee. But sparked by a 3-pointer from Austin Freeman (20 points, 5 assists) and back-to-back buckets by Chris Wright (21 points) — who made all six of his first-half shots — Georgetown responded with an 18-3 run en route to a 46-33 halftime lead.
After the Blue Devils (17-4, 5-2 ACC) cut the lead back to single digits early in the second half, Monroe forced Kyle Singler (15 points) to cough up the ball on consecutive possessions, dunking it home himself on the first ensuing fast break and then feeding Julian Vaughn for a slam the next time down the court.
Not only was the President on hand, but Houston Rockets star Tracy McGrady also was present to help launch an initiative by Duke and Georgetown students and alumni to raise funds for schools in the Darfur region. The two teams coaching staffs also wore sneakers as part of Coaches vs. Cancers weekend.
The President stayed for nearly the entire game, leaving to standing ovation one minute, 15 seconds before the Hoyas did the same.
