Hoyas get second shot at Bearcats in finale
The loss of Chris Wright to a broken hand was the dominant topic when Georgetown hosted Cincinnati 10 days ago. But the Hoyas know the senior guard’s injury wasn’t the only thing that went wrong in their 58-46 loss to the Bearcats, a result Georgetown hopes to avenge in its final game before the postseason.
“We weren’t ready to play,” junior guard Jason Clark said. “Coach even said he didn’t recognize the team that was out there, and I didn’t recognize it either.”
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The defeat at Verizon Center on Feb. 23 was the second of three losses in four games that dropped the Hoyas (21-8, 10-7 Big East) out of a top-four spot in the Big East standings — where they were set for a double bye in the Big East tournament — and into a tie for sixth place with three teams, including the Bearcats (23-7, 10-7).
The Cincinnati defense, which is fifth in the nation in points allowed (58.5 a game) and third in the Big East in both steals (8.1) and opposition turnovers (15.0), gave Georgetown an absolute fit in that first meeting, limiting the Hoyas to 25 percent shooting from the field — the worst performance of coach John Thompson III’s seven-year tenure — and forcing them into six turnovers in the first seven-and-a-half minutes of the second half.
| UP NEXT |
| No. 17 Georgetown at Cincinnati |
| When » Saturday, 2 p.m. |
| Where » Fifth Third Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio |
| TV » MASN |
To change its fortunes, Georgetown needs more from its backcourt in Wright’s stead, and senior forward Julian Vaughn (8.6 points, 6.3 rebounds a game) must break out of a two-game slump in which he’s missed 11 of 12 shots and scored only six points. Both Cincinnati, led by junior forward Yancy Gates (11.2 ppg, 6.9 rpg), and Syracuse collapsed hard on Vaughn in the paint, making it difficult for him to shoot or pass the ball back out to the perimeter.
Should the Hoyas win on Saturday, they could finish as high as sixth in the Big East and will be certain of a top-eight finish that preserves a single bye into the second round of next week’s knockout battle at Madison Square Garden. A loss, however, likely will relegate them to the bottom half of the standings, forcing them to get to New York on Tuesday for a first-round game in what would be the start of a five-game journey, if necessary, to reach the tournament title game.
“We have to win now,” Hoyas senior guard Austin Freeman said heading into Georgetown’s final week of the regular season. “So that’s what we’re going to take into practice. We’re going in trying to win.”
