Georgetown goes toe-to-toe with #1, but falls in OT

By:  Shane McCarthy

There is no question that Georgetown is a very good team. They proved that the last two nights. The Hoyas obviously deserve to be ranked, and will be labeled with a number next Monday. And now that they rose to the occasion on two nationally televised games against two marquee opponents, everyone will be on the Hoyas bandwagon.

Georgetown was clearly better than #11 UCLA on Monday night. You could see that on both ends of the floor. Their patience combined with aggressiveness on the offensive-end kept UCLA frustrated, while their length and discipline on the defensive-end ultimately won them the game.

But on Tuesday night you could tell that Indiana was the better team on the court. Georgetown didn’t play any different than Monday night and they certainly didn’t play poorly, but you could tell why Indiana is the #1 ranked team. The Hoosiers were very sound defensively, locking down the interior and jamming up cutting lanes, forcing the Hoyas to take 26 3-point attempts. They took 14 the night before. Indiana was also crisp on the offensive-end. Georgetown’s defensive prowess was on display, but whenever the Hoosiers became desperate for a bucket, they cycled the ball to perfection to find a backdoor cut or a wide-open three.

Even though Georgetown hung around all game and held the lead for various parts of the contest, you could just tell that it wasn’t going to last. But it actually almost did, and that’s a compliment. Because this team is young and is quickly learning to play top-notch basketball. "This team can grow up; we can grow up a lot," coach John Thompson III said. "We had a lot of guys out there in situations that they've never been in before. We can get a lot better. A lot better."

Otto Porter gives the Hoyas an identity. In the previous two games he missed against Duquesne and Liberty, Georgetown looked very average. And let’s be honest, with the looming games they had coming up, it’s hard to focus what’s on the plate in front of you. But with Porter on the court, this team has an edge to them. An edge that makes everyone have a bounce in their step and that makes them a contender.

And in the end, the Hoyas took the #1 team to overtime on a neutral court on November 20^th. We are four months away from March. The Big East and the nation have been warned.

Twitter:  @shane_t_mac