Georgetown in position for automatic berth to Big East quarterfinals
Georgetown (21-6, 10-5 Big East), sitting in third place in the Big East with three games remaining, is on course to earn a double-bye in the conference tournament for the first time since the format was introduced two years ago.
But would the Hoyas rather face a five-game road to the conference title?
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| Up next |
| No. 11 Georgetown vs. Cincinnati |
| When » Wednesday, 9 p.m. |
| Where » Verizon Center |
| TV » MASN |
Even though automatic advancement to the quarterfinals is seemingly an advantage, coaches voted unanimously last spring to scrap the double-bye format in favor of a straight 16-team, single-elimination tournament. Of course, the Big East university presidents overruled them, preferring not to modify a format that had been introduced so recently. Changes also could be just around the corner with TCU joining the league in July 2012.
There’s no clear evidence as to whether the double-bye helps or hurts. Five of the eight teams that have finished in the Big East’s top four the last two seasons have been knocked out in their first Big East tournament game, which doesn’t help the building of an NCAA tournament resume.
Then again, neither does playing game after game to claim the Big East title only to have nothing left in the tank for March Madness, which happened to Georgetown last year. The Hoyas, fresh off a four-game run to the Big East title game, were run out of the gym by Ohio in the opening round of the NCAA tournament five days later.
Wright way emerges
Open looks on the perimeter continue to elude Austin Freeman, who has missed 23 of his 27 3-point attempts in the last five games. Against South Florida, Freeman had his second consecutive 0-for-4 performance from long range and finished with a season-low four points.
Fortunately, Chris Wright has picked up the slack. He’s hit 12 of 21 shots from beyond the arc over the last three games, a stretch in which he’s averaged 21.7 points, including a season-high 26 against the Bulls.
Either Wright or Freeman has led the Hoyas in scoring in 19 of Georgetown’s 27 games.
“It’s good to have players that know how and when to help each other, to pick each other up and to cover for each other,” Hoyas coach John Thompson III said.
Georgetown hosts Cincinnati (21-6, 8-6) on Wednesday. The Bearcats have emerged from recent struggles to win three of their last four games. Cincinnati opened the season 15-0 and spent three weeks ranked in the national Top 25 before dropping three of its first four games in Big East play.
