Austin Freeman made a triumphant return Saturday afternoon, but he played as if he had never left.
The junior guard didn’t miss a beat after sitting out the last game and being diagnosed with diabetes earlier in the week, leading Georgetown (20-9, 10-8 Big East) to a 74-47 victory over Cincinnati (16-14, 7-11 Big East).
The win guaranteed the Hoyas a first-round bye in next week’s Big East tournament.
After losing four of their previous five games, Georgetown needed to avoid entering the postseason in a downward spiral. They got the win and then some, looking like a different team with their leading scorer back in the lineup.
“It’s much different,” Georgetown head coach John Thompson III said of having Freeman back. “The last two games one of the key parts of what we do was not feeling well and the last game he was not there at all. So to go into today prepared, knowing he’s going to be there, makes a big difference.”
Freeman led all scorers with 24 points in 30 minutes. He could have played longer, but he wasn’t needed, receiving a standing ovation as he left the game with four minutes to go and the Hoyas up by 29 points.
“I’m fine,” Freeman said. “It was just good to be out there again playing with my teammates and just doing what I do. It was just a lot of fun to be out there.”
In the first half it looked like Freeman might not have as happy a return. The Hoyas had trouble putting the ball in the basket, and the Bearcats trailed by only three at the break.
Freshman guard Lance Stephenson was the player keeping Cincinnati close in the early going. He finished with 23 points on 11-of-17 shooting.
But in what has become a common occurrence for Georgetown this season, the Hoyas stepped up their game in the second half.
“The second half we got totally outplayed,” Cincinnati head coach Mick Cronin said. “Their players just came out and put the ball in the basket. We struggled to make lay-ups, struggled to make free throws, struggled to make open shots.”
The Hoyas dominated the Bearcats, outscoring them 30-6 in one eleven minute stretch. Georgetown controlled the boards, forced 12 turnovers, and shot better than 50 percent from the field after the break.
“I think that second half may have been our best half of the year,” Thompson said.
Freeman didn’t do it all by himself—he was one of four Hoyas to score in double figures. Sophomore center Greg Monroe had 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting, but he might have been even more effective grabbing the ball off the basket than he was putting it in.
“I have to watch the tape; I thought [Monroe] had more than 15 rebounds,” Thompson said. “I felt like he got every rebound. He got the ones we needed, there’s no doubt about that.”
The win ensured that the Hoyas will begin the Big East tournament on Wednesday. With Louisville’s win over Syracuse and Notre Dame’s overtime victory against Marquette, Georgetown will be the eighth seed, playing the winner of South Florida and DePaul.
“Until the game was over I did not know what our situation was,” Thompson said. “The year’s broken into three parts. You’ve got the regular season which just ended, so now we’re going to pick our head up and see where we are and see when we play and who we play. The second part is the Big East tournament, and then the third part is the NCAA. So we just finished one of three phases.”
Georgetown is happy to be entering phase two of the season with Freeman healthy and back. It’s no secret how important Freeman has been to the Hoyas this season, and they’ll need him if they hope to make a deep run in the postseason.
“It’s just going to be between Austin and our medical staff, just how do you feel,” Thompson said of Freeman’s availability. “What the doctors have said to me and said to Austin is resume your normal life. He’s in shape. It’s not like he’s physically rundown. Now that his levels are within normal parameters for him, as long as we can keep him there he can do he can do any and everything.”
It’s been a turbulent week for Georgetown, starting off with two losses and Freeman’s illness and eventual diagnosis. But in front of 17,054 supporters in the Verizon Center, Freeman showed that through it all he is still the steady hand that steers the Hoyas.
“He took it all in stride,” Monroe said of his teammate. “Once he got in practice he was back to making every shot. I’m proud of him, but today wasn’t a surprise to me at all.”
