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For Hoyas, eight is enough to provide a good sign

Remember when people seemed to want to bury Georgetown because of its 1-4 start in Big East play, ignoring for a moment an impressive schedule strength and solid victories over Old Dominion, Missouri, Utah State and Memphis?

Yeah, that was only a month ago. Since then, the Hoyas have rattled off eight straight victories, including Sunday's 69-60 defeat of Marquette at Verizon Center.

The truth: Georgetown is the same veteran-laden, backcourt-dependent team it always was. Yes, the Hoyas (20-5, 9-4 Big East) are playing better defense. But it's not as if Georgetown allowed a ton of points in those four losses (69-61-65-72). Nor did the Hoyas get completely shredded from a field goal percentage defense perspective (38.5-41.7-40.4-44.9).

The 72 points and 44.9 percent shooting were the handiwork of Pittsburgh, which is in control of the conference. There's no shame there.

But here comes the kicker. In all of its three-plus decades in the Big East --- covering a pair of John Thompsons as coaches as a fair number of stars --- Georgetown owns just four eight-game winning streaks in the conference.

Perhaps "just" isn't the correct modifier. Nonetheless, eight-game winning streaks in the Big East don't happen all the time for the Hoyas.

But when they do? There's a pretty good history there.

Year	Streak	Final	Big East Tourney	NCAA
2007	11	30-7 (13-3)	Won	Final Four
1984	9	35-3 (14-2)	Won	Won
1989	8	29-5 (13-3)	Won	Elite Eight
2011	8	---	---	---

The Hoyas also happened to be the top seed the Big East tournament in 1984, 1989 and 2007 as well, though it would take a series of stumbles by Pittsburgh to allow that to happen this winter.

Nonetheless, Georgetown's history is excellent when it can craft a long winning streak in Big East play. Consider that --- along with the streak itself --- that this year could end in a much different way than the previous one did for the Hoyas.

Georgetown lacrosse schedule posted

As the great @hokieguru pointed out on Twitter this evening, Georgetown's lacrosse schedule is posted.

And here it is, straight for the Hoyas' website:

Feb. 20: at Jacksonville, noon
Feb. 26: at Maryland, 1

March 5: at St. John's, 1
March 8: at Harvard, 4
March 12: vs. Syracuse at M&T Bank Stadium, 11 a.m.
March 19: Providence, 1
March 26: at Duke, 1 

April 1: Navy, 7
April 5: at Mount St. Mary's, 7
April 10: at Notre Dame, noon
April 16: Loyola, 7
April 23: Yale, 1
April 30: at Rutgers, 7

May 7: Villanova, 7

There's a Friday night game against Navy, two more home night games and a season-opening trip to Florida.

It's also home-heavy toward the end, with three of the last four games scheduled for the Multi-Sport Field.

Flexible Hoyas go inside-out for latest victory

It was only four days earlier Georgetown utilized a long-range path to victory to upend a team all but certain to remain a factor deep into the season.

The opposite approach worked just as well Saturday at Verizon Center.

The short-term upshot of the No. 16 Hoyas' 68-51 defeat of Utah State was a quality victory over a team favored to reach a third straight NCAA tournament.

The longer term? Georgetown could emerge as a basketball chameleon, a team capable of winning in virtually any sort of game and adapting as required.

"I think we have a versatile team," coach John Thompson III said.

It was good enough to keep up with Missouri's frantic pace on Tuesday, connecting 15 times from 3-point range in a 111-102 overtime victory on what was nominally a neutral court but in reality was as imposing an environment as the Hoyas will contend with.

There would not be nearly so much running against patient Utah State, a well-coached outfit known for wise decisions and superb defense.

Those are the Aggies who flicker across television screens late at night in the dead of winter in conference play. Georgetown (8-0) caught a still-developing version, much to coach Stew Morrill's dismay.

"We aren't the smartest team in the world right now," Morrill said. "We have our best player sitting on the bench. Hare-brained fouls and hare-brained passes and out strength has always been that we are a pretty smart basketball team. We aren't there yet but I think we'll get there."

Perhaps part of the problem is Utah State (5-2) so often is the smarter team, it simply looks a little fuzzy when it plays an opponent with a penchant for good choices. The Hoyas, who have thrived from the perimeter early in the season, acknowledged the Aggies had no interest in a shredding from the outside and pounded it inside.

That meant free throws --- and foul trouble for Utah State, namely star forward Tai Wesley. At afternoon's end, Georgetown's beachhead in the paint helped secure an impressively comfortable victory.

"I think we have the pieces that we can take what the defense gives us," Thompson said. "I thought we did a good job of throwing it in, getting into the paint, got their bigs in foul trouble, which was a key part of the game."

Not to mention a key development for the season. Any temptation to label the Hoyas as reliant on jump shooting should be gone. They shot 2-for-9 in their 3-point attempts and still collected a 17-point victory.

As much as the first seven games --- the three-game sweep in the Charleston Classic, the overtime defeat of Missouri --- proved, this did just as much for a team that could crack the top 10 after matching the best start in Thompson's seven-year tenure.

"We have guys that can really aggressive and can attack the basket, and today was a little different," guard Chris Wright (21 points) said. "They were really playing us around the 3-point line, so we had to penetrate and get in gaps. I think there's multiple ways we can be effective on the offensive end, and as long as our defense is solid, I think we'll be all right."

Georgetown plus-minus: Utah State

Five quick observations on Georgetown's 68-51 defeat of Utah State before getting to the plus-minus chart ...

1. Georgetown is deeper than years past. Or, perhaps more precisely, John Thompson III believes his team is deeper. Sure, he can say so, but playing 10 guys at least three minutes in the first half more sufficiently demonstrates it. Only one Hoya picked up even three fouls --- though Julian Vaughn had two quick ones --- but it doesn't seem to matter much for these guys. So long as Chris Wright and Austin Freeman are on the floor, at least.

2. Chris Wright is in a good place. Eight games in, and the Hoyas' senior guard has 18 points or eight assists in all of them. Numbers don't tell everything, of course, but they're a good starting place to dissect things. He's seeing the floor better than ever, and it shows up in his assists total (6.75 per game) --- even if he didn't pass quite as much against Utah State. That's because ...

3. Austin Freeman is mortal after all. When a team sells out to guard the perimeter, the senior isn't going to be quite the same weapon he is when given space. That's nothing new, but perhaps worth the reminder after back-to-back 30-point days. He scored nine points, the first time this season he was held to single-digits.

That actually leads to something oddly encouraging for Georgetown. Freeman either didn't play or was held to less than 10 points in four of the Hoyas' final eight games last year. Georgetown was 1-3 in those games. If the Hoyas can beat a superb Utah State team with Freeman neutralized, it bodes well for the future.

4. A blueprint to beat Utah State now exists. That's all well and good, since the Aggies will make it tough for anyone to dissect them in quite the same way again. But come NCAA tournament time --- and you can be sure the Aggies will be around for those festivities --- some unfortunate No. 5 or No. 6 seed is going to rely on the film from what Georgetown did to attack Utah State.

That said, it might be a while before the Aggies stumble into nearly so much foul trouble. They won't see too many teams as deep and athletic as Georgetown, and only a few that are remotely as talented. But no game will teach Utah State --- or its future opponents --- what to work on than this one.

5. Come March, this is going to look like a fine day for Georgetown. Those who know college hoops are fully aware of how good it looks right now. But once Utah State has its 25 or so victories and Tai Wesley (eight points, five rebounds against the Hoyas) has enjoyed a season that will have him in contention for conference player of the year, Georgetown's performance will look even better.

Onto the plus-minus:

Player	1H	2H	Total (+/- per Min)
1-Thompson	+1	+8	+9 (0.53)
4-Wright	+6	+17	+23 (0.77)
5-Starks	-3	-3	-6 (-0.67)
11-Sanford	+1	0	+1 (0.11)
12-Dougherty	DNP	0	0 (0.00)
14-Sims	+7	+1	+8 (0.32)
15-Freeman	+3	+16	+19 (0.61)
20-Benimon	+8	+3	+11 (0.79)
21-Clark	+4	+12	+16 (0.52)
22-Vaughn	-3	+12	+9 (0.60)
25-Caprio	DNP	0	0 (0.00)
34-Lubick	-4	-1	-5 (-0.29)

For as good as Henry Sims looked --- and he's probably made the biggest leap of any of Georgetown's holdovers --- the Hoyas were actually more efficient when Julian Vaughn was on the court. The pair were never on the floor together, though it's worth pointing out nearly all of Vaughn's positive numbers in the second half stemmed from Georgetown's spurt out of the break.

One other nifty number: Georgetown's starters were a combined plus-65 in the second half, while its reserves combined for zero. Despite the depth, it's safe to assume the Hoyas will be keeping their starting guards, in particular, on the floor as much as possible in games that even slightly in doubt.

Georgetown finalizes basketball schedule

The Georgetown schedule is out.

No reason for much analysis, since there's not many surprises here.

Utah State coming to Verizon Center to face Georgetown on Dec. 4

This might not sound like a great add to the local college hoops calendar, but it is.

Utah State will visit Georgetown on Dec. 4 according to the Deseret News and the Salt Lake Tribune.

The Tribune hedges that it will be the weekend of Dec. 4, but with the BB&T Classic the next day, the only other option would be to play this at McDonough Gymnasium. The Washington Wizards (Dec. 3) and Washington Capitals (Dec. 4) have home games that weekend, meaning this game is likely to be an early afternoon tip.

Meanwhile, Casual Hoya has uncovered another date: A Dec. 18 visit from Loyola.

So that leaves only one missing opponent:

Nov. 12: at Old Dominion
Nov. 18-19, 21: Charleston Classic (Charlotte, East Carolina, George Mason, N.C. State, Wofford and two teams TBA)
Nov. 27: UNC Asheville, TBA
Nov. 30: vs. Missouri in Kansas City, Mo., 9 (ESPNU)

Dec. 4: Utah State, TBA
Dec. 9: at Temple, TBA
Dec. 12: Appalachian State, noon
Dec. 18: Loyola, TBA
Dec. 23: at Memphis, TBA

TBA: One more nonconference game

TBA: Cincinnati
TBA: DePaul
TBA: Louisville
TBA: Marquette
TBA: Pittsburgh
TBA: Providence
TBA: St. John's
TBA: Syracuse
TBA: West Virginia

TBA: at Cincinnati
TBA: at Connecticut
TBA: at Notre Dame
TBA: at Rutgers
TBA: at St. John's
TBA: at Seton Hall
TBA: at South Florida
TBA: at Syracuse
TBA: at Villanova

Old Dominion schedule release fills in Georgetown, George Mason schedules

Old Dominion released its basketball schedule in the last 24 hours.

That means some dates are filled in for a couple D.C. teams.

Georgetown, which lost at home to the Monarchs last year, will open Nov. 12 in Norfolk. And George Mason has a home-and-home with its CAA rival, going on the road Jan. 8 before getting Old Dominion at home Feb. 5.

(EDIT: The George Mason hoops blog notes that Northeastern also released its schedule. The Patriots' home-and-home with the Huskies is included below)

GEORGETOWN

Nov. 12: at Old Dominion
Nov. 18-19, 21: Charleston Classic (Charlotte, East Carolina, George Mason, N.C. State, Wofford and two teams TBA)
Nov. 27: UNC Asheville, TBA
Nov. 30: vs. Missouri in Kansas City, Mo., 9 (ESPNU)

Dec. 9: at Temple, TBA
Dec. 12: Appalachian State, noon
Dec. 23: at Memphis, TBA

TBA: Three more nonconference games

TBA: Cincinnati
TBA: DePaul
TBA: Louisville
TBA: Marquette
TBA: Pittsburgh
TBA: Providence
TBA: St. John's
TBA: Syracuse
TBA: West Virginia

TBA: at Cincinnati
TBA: at Connecticut
TBA: at Notre Dame
TBA: at Rutgers
TBA: at St. John's
TBA: at Seton Hall
TBA: at South Florida
TBA: at Syracuse
TBA: at Villanova

GEORGE MASON

Nov. 13: Harvard
Nov. 18-19, 21: at Charleston Classic (with Charlotte, East Carolina, Georgetown, N.C. State, Wofford and two teams TBA)
Nov. 24: Radford
Nov. 27: Florida Atlantic

Dec. 1: George Washington
Dec. 4: UNC Wilmington
Dec. 8: Loyola
Dec. 11: at Liberty
Dec. 22: at Duquesne
Dec. 29: at Dayton

Jan. 8: at Old Dominion
Jan. 12: at Northeastern

Feb. 5: Old Dominion, 7
Feb. 9: at UNC Wilmington
Feb. 19: at Bracket Buster

Feb. 23: Northeastern

TBA: Delaware
TBA: Drexel
TBA: Georgia State
TBA: Hofstra
TBA: James Madison
TBA: Towson
TBA: at Delaware
TBA: at Georgia State
TBA: at Hofstra
TBA: at James Madison
TBA: at Virginia Commonwealth
TBA: at William and Mary

Schedule snippet: Georgetown to face UNC Asheville

A new basketball schedule tidbit today: Georgetown will play host to UNC Asheville on Nov. 27.

UNC Asheville, which announced its schedule today, did not list a game time. But since the Washington Wizards will play Orlando at Verizon Center at 7 that night, it's a safe bet the Hoyas' game will tip at noon or 1.

It will be the first meeting between the teams. The Bulldogs are coming off a 15-16 season. They finished fourth in the Big South last year and lost in the conference semifinals.

That brings the Hoyas' schedule to this point:

Nov. 18-19, 21: Charleston Classic (Charlotte, East Carolina, George Mason, N.C. State, Wofford and two teams TBA)
Nov. 27: UNC Asheville, TBA
Nov. 30: vs. Missouri in Kansas City, Mo., 9 (ESPNU)

Dec. 9: at Temple, TBA
Dec. 12: Appalachian State, noon
Dec. 23: at Memphis, TBA

TBA: Four more nonconference games

TBA: Cincinnati
TBA: DePaul
TBA: Louisville
TBA: Marquette
TBA: Pittsburgh
TBA: Providence
TBA: St. John's
TBA: Syracuse
TBA: West Virginia

TBA: at Cincinnati
TBA: at Connecticut
TBA: at Notre Dame
TBA: at Rutgers
TBA: at St. John's
TBA: at Seton Hall
TBA: at South Florida
TBA: at Syracuse
TBA: at Villanova

Today's basketball scheduling slice: Georgetown-App State set for Dec. 12

On such a miserable day, it's safe to say any basketball scheduling news is welcome.

Today's tidbit: Appalachian State will visit Georgetown at noon on Dec. 12.

It'll be the first meeting between the schools. The Mountaineers are entering their first season under coach Jason Capel, a former starter at North Carolina and the brother of Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel.

(As a brief aside, Appalachian State opens with Tulsa. Just get Tennessee and Coastal Carolina in a second game and you can have a Buzz Peterson Invitational).

Anyway, based on (a) other published reports and released throughout the summer and (b) an assumption Georgetown will play 30 games (its maximum with a three-game exempt event), here's how the Hoyas' schedule is shaping up now:

Nov. 18-19, 21: Charleston Classic (Charlotte, East Carolina, George Mason, N.C. State, Wofford and two teams TBA)
Nov. 30: vs. Missouri in Kansas City, Mo., 9 (ESPNU)

Dec. 9: at Temple, TBA
Dec. 12: Appalachian State, noon
Dec. 23: at Memphis, TBA

TBA: Five more nonconference games

TBA: Cincinnati
TBA: DePaul
TBA: Louisville
TBA: Marquette
TBA: Pittsburgh
TBA: Providence
TBA: St. John's
TBA: Syracuse
TBA: West Virginia

TBA: at Cincinnati
TBA: at Connecticut
TBA: at Notre Dame
TBA: at Rutgers
TBA: at St. John's
TBA: at Seton Hall
TBA: at South Florida
TBA: at Syracuse
TBA: at Villanova

Basketball scheduling bits from Georgetown, George Mason

Hoops in July? That's never a bad idea ...

* Georgetown's latest date with Memphis will be on the road Dec. 23. The Tigers released their schedule today.

You might recall the Hoyas' visit to Memphis during the 2007-08 season didn't go so well --- an 85-71 loss to the eventual national runners-up that wasn't even that close. The next year, Georgetown took a 79-70 overtime decision at Verizon Center at a time (a) no one figured the Hoyas would spiral into the NIT and (b) Memphis was still figuring out Tyreke Evans was their best option at point guard.

Overall, Georgetown leads the series 7-2.

* Meanwhile, George Mason's 12-game nonconference schedule (plus the date of its CAA opener) were announced today.

Nov. 13: Harvard
Nov. 18-21: at Charleston Classic (Georgetown, Charlotte, Wofford, N.C. State and East Carolina plus two more teams invited)
Nov. 24: Radford
Nov. 27: Florida Atlantic

Dec. 1: George Washington
Dec. 4: CAA opener
Dec. 8: Loyola
Dec. 11: at Liberty
Dec. 22: at Duquesne
Dec. 29: at Dayton

Feb. 19: at BracketBuster