Monday night’s win over No. 18 Marquette (17-6, 8-3 Big East) marked the sixth consecutive victory for No. 15 Georgetown (18-4, 8-3 Big East), as they edged their way to a final score of 63-55. With the win, Georgetown avenged a 49-48 loss at Marquette on Jan. 5 earlier this year.
“We have grown a lot from [that game] to now,” sophomore forward Otto Porter Jr. said. “I think we have made a lot of adjustments, just learning from our mistakes. As a team we evolve each game.”
Porter Jr. and junior guard Markel Starks continued to lead the way in scoring for Georgetown. Porter Jr. finished with 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists, giving him a total of five games this season in which he scored more than 20 points. The sophomore forward shot 5-of-13 from the field, below his season average, but he made up for it by making all of his 7 free throw attempts.
“[Porter Jr.] is one of the best players in the country,” Head Coach John Thompson III said. “He is someone who takes pride in and excels in every aspect of the game. He is the guy who puts us in the best position to win.”
Starks finished the game with 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. He has scored in double digits in each of the past five games and averaged 16.2 points per game in that span. Junior forward Nate Lubick joined Porter Jr. and Starks in double figures with 10 points and led the team in assists with 4. Lubick would be most dangerous at the free throw line, though, where he managed to sink 8 of his 13 attempts.
Sophomore forward Mikael Hopkins had a career- and game-high 9 rebounds, while contributing 6 points and 3 blocks. Hopkins has been stepping up in his role at the post as of late, with an average of just over 9 points per game and a field goal percentage of at least .500 in his last three.
“If you want to talk about him, the one thing I would talk about is the defensive job and trying to make it hard for [Davante] Gardner,” said Thompson.
Marquette did break Georgetown’s eight-game streak of holding opponents under 40 percent shooting from the field as the Golden Eagles reached 43.5 percent. Even so, Georgetown’s stingy defense remained effective. The Hoyas’ harried guarding of Marquette’s top scorer, junior guard Vander Blue, kept him at only 7 points on the game and stifled Gardner at 2 points. Constant pressure on defense and pushing for steals, Georgetown tallied 19 Marquette turnovers, with 11 of those coming in the first half.
“I always want to give them credit,” Marquette Head Coach Buzz Williams said. “Some of our turnovers were unforced. I think they are really good defensively. If you look at that, their numbers justify that.”
With a road game in Cincinnati tomorrow night at 9 p.m., the Hoyas will look to further extend the longest winning streak in the Big East.
“I think we have to go back in the gym and tighten up a few things. Our defense overall–we have to tighten up a little bit,” Thompson said. “I don’t think it was poor today, but it wasn’t at the level over this stretch here.”
On Monday, Cincinnati dropped out of the national rankings after two straight losses. Bearcat guard Sean Kilpatrick is a Big East player of the year candidate who averages 18.2 points per game—good for fourth in the conference. Cincinnati ranks eighth in the nation in rebounds per game with 41.1, which will provide a stiff challenge for Georgetown’s post men. The Bearcats have three players with over 5 rebounds per game.
Georgetown is currently tied with both Marquette and Syracuse for first in the Big East. After their faceoff with Cincinnati and a home matchup with DePaul, the Hoyas will finally get an opportunity to take on Syracuse away on Feb. 23. With both teams likely to win their upcoming games, this battle at the Carrier Dome could solidify the top spot in the Big East. The Hoyas will need continued contributions from players other than Porter Jr. if they want to finish at the top this season and the upcoming games will be an exceptional test with March looming in the near future.
