The Georgetown men’s basketball game against Louisville may have been considered an opening act to the following UNC/Duke match-up, but Roy Hibbert and Jeff Green did their best to make sure the nation took notice of their play with a big 73-65 win during ESPN’s Rivalry Week.
In a nationally televised game, Georgetown’s offense looked as smooth and efficient as it has all season. The Hoyas took care of the ball and were selective in their shots, making over 56 percent.
“They never take bad shots,” Louisville coach Rick Pitino said of the Georgetown offense. “Pressure can get to them a little bit, but you have to shoot a good percentage to get it on consistently.”
Now winners of six in a row, Georgetown wasted no time in showing their dominance. After taking a 4-3 lead, Georgetown never looked back.
Green and Hibbert were stellar, combining for 36 points and 18 rebounds.
“His presence at both ends [of the court] was felt,” Coach John Thompson III said of his star center. “I didn’t want David Padgett to get into a comfort zone and start to go off. I think Roy’s size contained him.”
Still, Georgetown had to withstand an early barrage of Louisville three-pointers before establishing a solid seven-point halftime lead that would not fluctuate in the second half.
While Green was outstanding, it was Hibbert’s strength and size that made the biggest difference. His defensive presence forced Louisville into numerous bad shots and his dominance on the boards gave Georgetown a +10 rebounding margin. Hibbert racked up his 4th double-double and tied his season high in rebounds with 11.
Georgetown is now 17-5 (7-2 BE), and tied with Marquette for second in the conference standings. The Hoyas are also only one-and-a-half games behind conference-leading Pittsburgh.
The victory sets the stage for a critical game against Marquette at the Verizon Center on Saturday. While Georgetown is one of the nation’s rising teams, and Green and Hibbert are playing their best basketball of the season, Georgetown lacks a win against a highly ranked team like Marquette for their postseason resumé.
Last night’s game may have fallen in the shadow of UNC/Duke, but all eyes will be on Saturday’s game between two of the top three teams in the Big East.
