Record snow fell on Washington D.C., with more than two feet on the ground before game time. Despite the crazy weather, the show had to go on for Georgetown and Villanova. More the 10,000 people braved the blizzard snow conditions to watch Georgetown handily knock off #2 ranked Villanova by a score of 103-90, bringing to an end Villanova’s 11-game win streak.
Pressure Is On For Reynolds and Nova
Georgetown was led by Austin Freeman and Jason Clark whom scored 25 and 24 points respectively. Scottie Reynolds and Corey Fisher led the way in a losing effort, each dropping in 24 points for Villanova.
The game was a big bounce back victory for the Hoyas. Earlier in the week, Georgetown was beaten at home by perennial Big East cellar dweller South Florida. The Hoyas were outhustled and outplayed in almost every facet of that game. The Hoyas needed a big performance against Villanova and their backcourt didn’t disappoint.
Georgetown’s offense was unstoppable, shooting 56.3% overall and 52.6% from the beyond the arc. In contrast, the Villanova offense was miserable in the first half, tallying more turnovers (16) than field goals (12) as they struggled to control the ball and make their shots. The Hoyas capitalized on the inept play, forging a lead of 23 points in the first half and never looked back.
Villanova attempted to claw their way back but got no closer than 10 points. As Villanova put on the defensive pressure, they consistently sent the Hoyas to the foul line to beat them. The usually poor free throw shooting Hoyas, with a season average of 69.4%, dropped 39-50 shots from the stripe to close out Villanova for the victory.
The loss by Villanova sends a ripple effect down the Big East Conference standings. Villanova was considered the class of the conference, but has not really played the meat of their schedule or any fierce opponents. Villanova is now 1-2 against current Top 25 ranked teams, has just three victories against quality opponents and now face Top 25 rated teams in four of their final eight games to close out the regular season.
After this handy defeat to the Hoyas and two squeaker victories over Marquette, catcalls of “overrated” are definitely going to rain down on this Villanova squad. How they respond to this will be on full display when Villanova travels to Morgantown for a nationally televised matchup against #6 ranked West Virginia. A victory will silence the critics, but another solid beating like the one delivered today may send this Villanova squad reeling.
This year’s Villanova squad has not showed a defensive spark that helped deliver last year’s Final Four appearance. The presence provided by last year’s departing seniors Dante Cunningham and Dwayne Anderson has yet to be replaced by Antonio Pena and reserves Isaiah Armwood and Maurice Sutton. Villanova will need to see the players step up over the final stretch or it will see a free fall down the ranking and the Big East standings.
Kentucky became number 1 in the pools this week and promptly showed why they did not deserve to be there. South Carolina (12-8,3-3 in the SEC) handed the Wildcats(19-1,4-1) a 68-62 loss last night. The Gamecocks outplayed and out rebounded the recently crowned number 1 team in the nation. Their stay will be short and they should fall more than a couple of spots…
South Carolina was lead by Devan Downey, who poured in 30 points and kept the Kentucky defense off balance all night long. Kentucky was lead by Demarcus cousins who had 27 points to go along with their 12 rebounds. Kentucky seemed to have the number one let down and must learn to be more focused down the stretch when they are on the road. Kentucky’s resume’ of victories is less than impressive which makes this loss not that much of a surprise to me.
Kentucky has one real signature win to their credit. They had a road victory in Connecticut. They also do have a another victory over North Carolina but that is less credible now considering the recent play of the Tar Heels. They were overrated 19-0 and if you look at their schedule , you will know what I mean. I want to see how they respond to the rest of the season when their schedule gets tougher and the rigors of travel come into play.
So, who should be number 1 now. My vote would go to the Syracuse Orangemen. Syracuse is coming off their fresh demolition of Georgetown 74-57 on Monday night. The Orange(20-1,7-1) have been impressive all season long. They have victories over Cal by 22,NC by 16,at Florida by 12 and at West Virginia by 1. They have more impressive victories than the other two teams ahead of them, Kansas and Villanova. Kansas (19-1) sports victories over Temple and Baylor with their loss coming at a under manned Tennessee squad.Nova (18-1,7-0) has victories over Dayton and Georgetown and loss at Temple.
It is hard to determine exactly who is the best team in the nation right know, but it looks to me to be Syracuse. They have had the most impressive victories so far this year and the teams ahead of them can’t measure up to their victory resume’ thus far. I would bump them up from number four and put them to the top of the pools. I am not a big fan of the pools, but it does give sports fans something to debate about. The real season begins in March, there is nothing better than the tournament. Can’t wait for MARCH MADNESS.
Georgetown has historically owned the Syracuse Orangemen when they’ve been at the top of their game, delivering upsets that the Syracuse alumni will never forget. Syracuse has been rated in the Top 5 in four previous games with the Hoyas. The Orangemen’s record in those games is 0-4. John Thompson III invaded the Carrier Dome looking to carry on the legend of his father.
Andy Rautins Leads The Orangemen To Victory
The game kicked off looking like the Hoyas were once again going to deflate Syracuse’s season. Two turnovers and three missed jumpers in the first 3 minutes of the game left Syracuse trailing 14-0, not knowing what hit them. Jim Boeheim rallied his troops for the next 37 minutes for a 31 point turnaround that turned an imminent Syracuse blowout loss into a blowout victory against a highly regarded Hoyas basketball squad.
Boeheim earned his 819th career victory, moving into 6th on the all-time wins list, passing the currently idled Jim Calhoun of Connecticut. The victory was also the team’s 20th, extending Boeheim’s NCAA record of 32 20-plus win seasons in 34 years.
The way the Orangemen won the game was not as Boeheim had charted out. “We recovered from the worst start I can remember,” Boeheim said. “Our defense picked up and our offense got going. To go into halftime ahead was really unbelievable. To dominate a top-10 team after giving them 14 points is quite an effort. That’s as good as we can play. Everybody was looking for each other.”
Very true words.
What makes this Syracuse team intriguing this year is how they are putting away teams with major scoring runs driven by their defense. The offense maintains the run and doesn’t give it back going into scoring lulls. Its the type of basketball you usually don’t see at the college level. Where most teams are driven by a superstar with an NBA future, Syracuse doesn’t feature any one star that is looking beyond his college basketball days.
The comeback against Georgetown was fueled by the stunting 2-3 zone defense that Boeheim and Syracuse have become famous for. But it was their lack of selfishness on offense which was the difference maker. Their seven players rotation shared the ball, with no player on the Syracuse squad taking 10 shots or more from the field.
This selfless display comes on the heels of Syracuse’s definitive victory over Marquette on Saturday. In that game, Syracuse’s second leading scorer Andy Rautins played 36 minutes, taking only 2 shots and scoring no points. A refreshing change by a team leader within a sport where shameless self-promotion is the norm.
After the game, Rautins shrugged off questions from the media about his 0-for-2 performance, focusing instead on his teammates. Rautins noted how well the forwards took advantage of the mismatches down, “If you can’t score in one aspect, you find other ways to win.”
With that type of attitude living in the locker room, the rest of college basketball better take notice. The Orangemen are the most dangerous team in the NCAA.
