Georgetown Basketball

Individual Honors:

Greg Monroe, Georgetown.  21 points, 14 rebounds and six assists vs. Rutgers.  Anytime someone is listed as a center and decides to continue their hoops education at G-Town fans can imagine Ewing, Mourning, et al. looking down from Mt. Rushmore in judgement.  Surely they are nodding their heads in approval after the latest in line turned in an excellent all-around performance.  Remember that the Hoyas collapsed last season following one of their best starts in history.  With Monroe putting up numbers like these there won't be another collapse.

Jerome Dyson, Connecticut. 32 points, three rebounds and three assists vs. Texas.  UConn went up against the soon-to-be-dethroned Longhorns needing a win to keep their name in tournament discussion.  Mission accomplished.  While the Huskies have gotten more attention for their front-line play Dyson is the guy they look to when they need a big score or two.  He delivered and sent Longhorn nation into temporary panic.

Dominique Jones and Anatoly Bose, South Florida and Nicholls State.  Combined 92 points and 23 rebounds vs. Providence and Northwestern State.  Normally I don't recognize small-school players whose teams lose except when they put up 46 points.  Jones is a diamond in the South Florida rough while Bose should join Ronnie Price as the two Nicholls State alums plying their trade in the NBA.  I doubt many people watched these efforts but they should try to scan YouTube for highlights of this dynamic duo.

Team Honors:

Oklahoma State.  Much like UConn the Cowboys needed a big week after starting 1-2 in the Big 12.  A win against Colorado wasn't surprising but going into Little Manhattan and knocking off the scorching-hot Kansas State Wildcats was.  James Anderson dropped 30 to lead the way and put the Cowboys back into Dance consideration.

Oakland.  The Golden Grizzlies have gotten blown out against every Power Six conference opponent but must have taken something away from those experiences as they have won nine in a row and are undefeated in Summit Conference play.  They will be considered the heavy favorite in their conference tournament and have taken over consistent top-dog status from Oral Roberts. 

Random thoughts:

I watched the post-game press conference following Kentucky's domination of Arkansas.  Razorback point guard Courtney Fortson was asked how it felt to get dominated.  At every single post-game press conference some reporter asks one of these players how it feels to lose. 

First of all, kudos to the players and coaches who handle this question with dignity and don't drop a bunch of f-bombs, which is probably what they really feel.  Second, do any of you genius reporters honestly think you're going to discover some new emotion by asking this inane question?  Is somebody going to say "I feel awesome.  Nothing like a good butt-kicking to put a smile on my face."? 

No wonder Bob Knight hated dealing with the press.

With that off my chest, here's the latest Top 40:

Kentucky

Villanova

Kansas

Syracuse

Michigan State

Texas

West Virginia

Duke

Brigham Young

Purdue

Tennessee

Butler

Gonzaga

Kansas State

UAB

Temple

Georgetown

Texas A&M

Northern Iowa

New Mexico

Oklahoma State

Georgia Tech

Connecticut

Florida State

Ohio State

Cornell

St. Mary's

Northwestern

Wisconsin

Pittsburgh

Virginia Tech

Miami (Fla.)

Clemson

Ole Miss

Missouri

Wake Forest

Murray State

Vanderbilt

Old Dominion

Rhode Island

At approximately 9:00 p.m. on Jan. 20, Georgetown put the ghosts of last year's collapse to rest for good.

Tied 56-all with 6:36 remaining in the second half, in one of the most hostile road environments in the country, last year's Georgetown squad would have wilted down the stretch and lost this game by double digits.

Tied 56-all, less than seven minutes away from snapping the nation's second longest home winning streak (Pitt had won 31 straight games at home before Wednesday night), this year's squad went on a game-clinching 7-0 run, never allowed Pitt to get closer than within five points for the rest of the game, and walked out of the Oakland Zoo with their best win of the season.

And with that, Chris Wright and the Hoyas announced to the rest of the NCAA that there would be no late-season swoon for this year's Georgetown squad.

While the roster hasn't undergone a one-year overhaul as dramatic as the likes of UNC, Syracuse, or Marquette, the feeling around this year's Hoya team couldn't be more different than last season.

Last year, as commentator Tim Welch mentioned during the Pitt game, the Hoyas were unsure of themselves and of the Princeton offense, especially in late-game situations. Much to their detriment, they didn't have a late-game identity and didn't have a go-to scorer in crunch time.

This year they have three.

Junior guards Austin Freeman and Chris Wright and sophomore forward/center Greg Monroe have each demonstrated an ability to take over a game on any given night this year.  

Freeman and Wright have each dropped 30-plus points in a single game this year. Wright scored 34 against Harvard back on Dec. 23, and had a game-high 27 against Pitt; Freeman scored 33 against UConn two weeks ago, with a 28-point second half that ranks second all-time in single-half performances in Georgetown's record books.

In John Thompson III's first five years of being the coach of Georgetown, only Jeff Green had scored 30 or more points in a single game (30 against Notre Dame in the 2007 Big East Tournament semifinals).

Meanwhile, Monroe has willingly stepped into his role as a team leader as a sophomore, as he dropped an absurdly efficient 29 and 16 against Villanova this past Sunday (along with four blocks, three steals, two assists, and a partridge in a pear tree).  Perhaps he heard the whispers about him not having enough of a "motor" to be a top five pick in the NBA Draft.

As a testament to these three players, in JT III's first five years as Georgetown coach, only one player had ever averaged 15 points per game over the course of a season (Brandon Bowman in 2005-06).  

Right now, Freeman leads the team in scoring average with 15.7 ppg, followed by Wright's 15.0 ppg and Monroe's 14.8 ppg.

Is the Princeton offense still holding these Hoyas back?  (I couldn't be rolling my eyes any harder.)

But the true sign of this team's evolution on-and-off-court is ball movement.

For a team that (theoretically) ran the Princeton offense last year, the Hoyas would frequently stand around the three-point line and watch their offensive system break down firsthand.  Four guys would stand in place around the arc, pass back and forth to each other (and typically ignore Monroe), then one of those players would jack up an ill-advised three-pointer towards the end of the shot clock, which he'd usually miss.

This year the team is moving on every offensive possession.  Every player is moving, cutting, driving to the rim, rotating, and generally making life tough on defenses.  On top of all that they aren't jacking up threes when all else fails.  

What do they have to show for it?  Four wins over ranked teams (Butler, Washington, UConn, Pitt), a gritty early-season win over Temple before they were ranked, and a five-point road loss to the No. 4 team in the country.

But most importantly, these Hoyas have heart.  

They were down 15 at halftime to UConn before Freeman's second-half bonanza gave them a three-point win.  

They were down 15 to Villanova and they tied the game at 69 before losing by five points.

Pitt rolled out to an early 6-0 lead at home on Wednesday.  Wright responded, scoring eight of the Hoyas' first 15 points to give Georgetown a 15-10 lead.

No lead is insurmountable for this year's Georgetown team and these players aren't laying down for anybody.  

While "heart" is difficult to quantify for a team, it's visibly evident watching this year's Georgetown team that whatever wasn't clicking last year has finally clicked.

That could be a dangerous combination come March.

If the Hoyas can find any bench whatsoever (Georgetown ranks third from last in the country in bench scoring with 7.6 ppg), don't be surprised to see these Hoyas back making noise in the NCAA Tournament.  (Then again, as Mike DeCourcy notes, "bench scoring is an overrated statistic.")  

Rest in peace, 2008-09.  You won't be missed.

While the South Eastern Conference may be the power of College Football, few would disagree that the Big East is the Beast of College Basketball. 

Granted, they did not produce more Final Four or national champions then the ACC last decade; however, from top-to-bottom, the Big East has been the best college basketball conference in America the last few years. 

Proof of this can be seen when you look at the remainder of the Georgetown Hoyas schedule for January 2010. 

Over the course of two weeks, the Hoyas will play a total of four Top 20 teams; try to avenge the loss that sent the 2008-2009 season spiraling out of control, and look to win on two of the most challenging home courts for the program in recent memory.

The last time Georgetown visited Villanova, Chris Wright silenced the Wachovia Center crowd by scoring four points in the last 48 seconds including two free throws with 10 seconds remaining that sealed the deal. 

This year’s game is will give the Villanova senior class, led by guard Scottie Reynolds, a chance to do something they has not done since their freshman year: defeat Georgetown. 

In fact, the Hoyas have won the last five contests vs. the Wildcats, including three straight in Philadelphia. 

If Greg Monroe can play BIG and the Hoyas can control the tempo (and the boards), they should walk away with their sixth consecutive win in what has been a hotly contested rivalry of late. 

During the 2004-2005 season, a young Georgetown Hoya squad headed into the Peterson Event Center and handed a then ranked (#12 ESPN/USA Today and #15AP) Pittsburgh Panther team only its third setback in the schools last 46 home games. 

It was the first big win of young John Thompson III’s tenure and re-introduced Georgetown Basketball to the national media (and for some the Hoya fan base). 

The win was even more remarkable given the Panthers proficiency at the Event Center (at the time it was only the third loss Pittsburgh has suffered in their first 46 home games at their new arena, which opened in 2002). 

In fact, since the venue began hosting Panther home games in 2002, Pittsburgh has won over 110 games while dropping only 10 (95%+ winning percentage)! 

Heading into this week’s game, Pittsburgh has won 29 consecutive games including 14 in a row vs. Big East schools and five straight vs. ranked opponents. 

On Wednesday 01/20/2010 the Georgetown Hoyas play the second of a blistering five-game stretch on the court where the opponent is, dare I say, unbeatable. 

Although the Hoyas have dominated Rutgers since the Scarlet Knights first joined the Big East in 1991, this game could prove to be a trap game. 

If the Hoyas are coming off of back-to-back wins over Top 10 teams on the road; they could very easily trip up in this one.  If they return home following consecutive losses, the Scarlet Knights could be just what the doctor ordered.

February 24, 2002 was the last time Georgetown defeated Syracuse on the Orange home court.  Last year it seemed like the streak would continue rather easily.  With 8:12 to play, Syracuse guard Eric Devendorf hit a three that lifted the Orange to a 66-50 lead. 

However; the Hoyas would close out the second half on a 33-17 run and send the game into overtime.  Syracuse would eventually win 98-94 in the extra session. 

This season, the Hoyas get a chance to do something that has not been done during the John Thompson III era: defeat Syracuse in the Carrier Dome.    

Who can forget (certainly not a true Georgetown Hoya fan) Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday January 17, 2009 (A year ago to the day in fact) and Georgetown was in the midst of a 13-6 scoring run which cut an 11-point halftime deficit to four. 

Freshman big men Greg Monroe and Henry Sims were called for consecutive fouls; the former of which prompted John Thompson III to place the foul-plagued McDonald's All American on the bench.

The next few seconds would alter the course of the game, and for some superstitious Hoyas fans, the rest of the season. 

While sitting on the bench the Greg Monroe “allegedly” said something to the Zebras (in opposition to back-to-back blocking calls on Georgetown big men) that solicited a technical foul. 

A Blue Devil 13-3 scoring run ensued putting an otherwise competitive game out of reach.  This year the Hoyas get Duke at home and Greg Monroe will have much to prove.

The same can be said of junior guard Chris Wright (3 points on 1-6 shooting last year), who will need to win the head-to-head with fellow junior Nolan Smith. 

The X-factor will be how the Hoyas choose to defend Duke forward Kyle Singler.  In the end, I think the Hoyas should win a close one with the score hovering in the 70s.    

When the dust settles on Feb. 1, 2010, the Hoyas will have played a fortnight of basketball that included four ranked teams in the top 20 (three of which are conference road games versus two top ten teams) including Duke and an up-and-coming Rutgers program that will no doubt pose a stiff challenge.

The remainder of the month will provide the Hoyas with a true outlook of the 2009-2010 season.

Overachieve and the Hoyas will be sitting at 18-2 (8-1) with a top-five ranking.  Fall apart and you will have a 13-7 (4-5) Georgetown team with a lot more answers than questions.

I think the answer lies somewhere in between and they should win three of five including two in conference play and head into February 16-4 (6-3).  Let’s hope, for the sake of Hoyas Nation, that I am right!

Mention the 2008-09 season around a Georgetown fan, and you'll get a disgusted look, a gagging noise, and/or a punch in the face in return.

Georgetown fans can likely recite last season's highlights and lowlights from memory: started 10-1, including a road win over No. 2 UConn; finished 16-15, with a first-round loss to St. John's in the Big East Tournament and a first-round NIT loss to Baylor. John Thompson III's worst season in five years as the coach of Georgetown.

The most troubling/puzzling aspect of last season for all: How could a team with so much talent, that got off to such a hot start, collapse so quickly? And how could they consistently come up short in end-of-game situations?

After Saturday's 19-point comeback against No. 13 UConn, the bad karma from the 2008-09 season can be officially buried.  

In the final 20 minutes against UConn, this year's Hoyas proved that they will not lay down when the going gets tough. And with a roster brimming with talent, that could be a dangerous combination for the Hoyas come March.

The wheels started to fall off for last year's squad after upsetting UConn on the road, as they lost their next two to No. 3 Pitt (73-57) and on the road against No. 17 Notre Dame (73-67).  

But when the Hoyas followed those losses with wins over Providence (82-75) and No. 8 Syracuse (88-74) at home, the losses to Pitt/ND looked more like minor speed bumps than a troubling trend.

The team became completely unhinged at some point around the game against then-No. 2 Duke. Whether you believe it was because a player reportedly punched another player in the locker room at halftime, or because of a momentum-killing phantom technical foul against Greg Monroe four minutes into the second half...the fact is, the Hoyas were never the same after that game.

They only managed to win four games the rest of the season (compared to nine regular season losses and two postseason losses), with a number of those defeats coming within the final few possessions.  

A three-point loss to St. John's, a two-point loss to Cincinnati, a six-point loss to No. 11 Marquette, a five-point loss to Seton Hall...had the Hoyas won even one or two more of those games, they might not have been on the outside looking in when it came to be NCAA time last March.

For whatever reason, the '08-'09 Hoyas lacked any sort of killer instinct and end-game identity, and their weaknesses were handsomely rewarded with a terrible season.

Unfortunately for the new guys, the debacle of last season saddled this year's team with the extra pressure of trying to shake off the demons from last year.  

And up until Saturday, it was unclear whether or not they'd give into the pressure and implode again.

The Hoyas entered the game against UConn on the heels of a three-point loss on the road to Marquette, who won thanks to an unconscious 12-for-26 performance behind the three-point line.  

On Saturday, the pressure was on for the Hoyas, whether the players would admit it or not.  Win at home against a ranked team, and the Georgetown ship is righted once again, sailing towards an NCAA berth.  

Lose, or worse yet, get blown out...the Georgetown fanbase would officially be in panic mode.  

(And how's this for added incentive? 2010 recruit Roscoe Smith, who was largely considered John Thompson III's biggest recruiting target for next year's class, announced his choice of UConn over Georgetown and Duke on Friday night.)

The game started off well enough for the Hoyas...midway through the first half, they'd battled back to take an 19-18 lead on the Huskies.  

But that's when things turned south for the Hoyas...quickly. UConn went on a 22-2 run in the latter 10 minutes of the first half, threatening to blow the Hoyas out of their home court by halftime.  

Two quick baskets by Chris Wright at the end of the half broke the nearly 10-minute scoring drought for the Hoyas, but you would have been hard-pressed to find an optimistic Georgetown fan at halftime.

Enter Austin Freeman.

Freeman, whose previous career-high for Georgetown was a meager 21 points, dropped 28 in the second half (33 overall) to nearly outscore UConn all by his lonesome. (UConn scored 29 in the second half.)

More importantly, the Hoyas gashed the Huskies' 15-point halftime lead to single digits within the first four minutes of the second half, giving themselves and their fans some long overdue confidence.

(And ideally, they made young Roscoe question his commitment to UConn the day after he chose to go there.)

Towards the end of last year, Georgetown fans had started to resemble current Philadelphia 76er fans, always asking themselves, "How are we going to manage to 'eff this game up?" 

But in the second half of the Georgetown/UConn game, I noticed a familiar feeling in my stomach...one I hadn't consistently felt since the 2006-07/2007-08 Hoya teams.

It's the feeling of invincibility, where you're not sure why you know this, and you're not sure how it's going to happen...but you know that your team is going to end up on top when the final buzzer sounds.

In the second half, the Hoyas began to play Georgetown basketball for what felt like the first time since 2008.  

They adhered to the offense, forgoing a quick shot to set up an intelligent basketball play.  

(Contrarily, Chris Wright jacked up a rushed three-pointer at the top of the key in the first half, and III looked like Wright had just killed his mother.)

And by taking their time with their offense, they stopped allowing UConn to score on easy transition buckets.  

(Although it's this writer's opinion that their good defense led to their good offense in the second half, and not vice versa.)

But the most important development that came from this game was a sense of resiliency from the Hoyas.  

Instead of rolling over and dying when they were down 19, JTIII lit into the guys at halftime, and they responded beautifully.  

If the Hoyas can keep that sense of "no one can beat us, no matter the circumstances" up, they'll make the 2008-09 season a figment of the forgotten past by the end of this year.

In fact, while the slogan on the back of the student shirts this year reads, "Envy Our Past, Fear Your Future"... the slogan from JTIII's first season may be more fitting for this year's Hoya squad.

"Some Have Forgotten. We Will Remind Them."

After Saturday's 19-point comeback...it's safe to say that the rest of the Big East was reminded of the Georgetown teams of '06 and '07.

And the rest of those coaches went to bed knowing that there's officially one more contender for the top of the Big East this year: the Georgetown Hoyas.

UConn dominated the first half of this game. They controlled the tempo, they cleaned the glass, and they forced Georgetown into difficult shots and turnovers.

Switch UConn and Georgetown in the previous sentence, and the exact same was true for the second half.

This afternoon at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC, UConn jumped out to a 19-point first half lead on the strength of their transition game before the Hoyas, led by 28 second half points from Austin Freeman, came storming back in the second half.

This game had everything you could ask for. A fantastic atmosphere; two teams leaving every ounce of energy they had on the floor; explosive dunks; clutch shooting; a finish that would send those with a faulty heart to the ER.

But that's not what you should take out of this game.

As entertaining as today's tilt was to watch, we are still talking about an early season conference match-up. But when it was all said and done, two of the better teams in the Big East played a nailbiter that the home team won by three. Come March, this game will be nothing more than one of hundreds, if not thousands, of exciting games played this season.

The story of this game wasn't the exciting finish, which, admittedly, was as entertaining and suspenseful as any these eyes have seen.

No, what any college hoops fan should take from this game is that we got to see just how good UConn and Georgetown can be.

And at the same time, how far away both clubs are from being perfect.

The Huskies thoroughly outplayed Georgetown in the first half. They forced turnovers and scored in transition. They held Georgetown to 29.6 percent shooting from the field and 2-10 from three, with that majority of those shots being contested jumpers. They dominated the defensive glass and scored 10 second-chance points. Essentially, they utilized their athleticism advantage to the fullest.

"In the first half, our execution, I thought, was horrible. And that's the only way to put it," Georgetown head coach John Thompson said. "We were just out there running around. Our focus at both ends of the floor was lacking. And [our team] realized it. And they decided at halftime: 'We're not going to do that.'"

Oh, and the Huskies shot 50 percent from the field.

"We came out and played our best basketball of the year in the first half," UConn coach Jim Calhoun said after the game. "We imposed out will inside and outside."

What makes that quote all the more impressive is the lack of production the Huskies got from their back court. While they did combine for nine assists, Kemba Walker and Jerome Dyson finished they half with a total of seven points on just 3-of-7 shooting.

The second half was a completely different story.

Georgetown was the aggressor for the final 20 minutes. The Hoyas scored in transition, they started to hit the offense glass, and they start to knock down jumpers.

But the biggest reason for the turnaround?

Offensive execution.

You see, part of the reason that Georgetown struggled so much in the first half was their inept offense. They allowed the Huskies to dictate what they wanted to do offensively. In the second half, the Hoyas moved the ball and ran their system, and as a result got a quality shot on seemingly every possession. When they did miss, they came up with the offensive rebound more than 50 percent of the time (of the 19 rebounds on that end during the second half, the Hoyas grabbed 10 of them).

"It was clear what was happening in the first half," Thompson said. "We would have a bad offensive possession that turned into an easy basket for them. We talked about getting better offensive possessions and positioning to get more rebounds."

It is easy to look at the box score and see Freeman's 28 points and assume he took over in the second half. And while that statement is partially true, the Hoyas weren't running isolations for Freeman. Every shot he took was in the flow of the offense. Every shot he made came off of a set that the Hoyas run.

The Hoyas were smart enough to know that one of their guys got rolling, so instead of Chris Wright or Greg Monroe settling for a difficult shot, they would continue to move the ball until the next time Freeman came off a screen. And more often than not, Freeman rewarded his teammates for their patience.

The saying normally goes "the best offense is a good defense." If that's true, than the Hoyas were the exception that proved the rule today. As Thompson said, "Our offense made our defense better. We were getting better shots and we were able to set up our defense."

UConn is a team that has to take advantage of mistakes made by their opponent. There may not be a better team in the country at scoring in transition, and the way to get transition opportunities is to push the ball on long rebounds and turnovers.

In the second half Georgetown shot well and protected the ball, which prevented UConn from getting opportunities in transition. As a result, UConn was forced to try and score in the half court, which is far from what one would call a strength for this team.

So while you are going to remember this game for Freeman's second half, Stanley Robinson's putback dunk, or a final five minutes that left you on the edge of your seat, I'll remember this game as evidence of why the Hoyas and the Huskies have the talent to make the Elite 8.

And why they are just as likely to get knocked out in the first round.

If you like what you read here, check out the writer's blog Ballin' is a Habit. You can also find him on twitter @ballinisahabit.

Thoughts from Week 7

Individual Performances:

Elliot Williams, Memphis:  20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists vs. SE Missouri State.  When John Calipari took off for the blue pastures of Kentucky many looked at Josh Pastner’s Tigers as the beginning of the end of a dynasty.  Not so fast.  Pastner has recruited much better than could be imagined and Duke transfer Williams has spearheaded the charge. 

Chris Wright, Georgetown.  34 points, six rebounds and six steals vs. Harvard.  What should have been a closer game than people anticipated turned into a blowout thanks to a career night from Wright.  If the Hoyas can continue to get shooting performances from their guards that don’t resemble a show tune (“Clang, Clang, Clang….) they could threaten Syracuse and Villanova for Big East supremacy.

Greivis Vasquez, Maryland.  Average of 26.5 ppg, eight rebounds and eight assists in his last two games.  Vasquez can be an emotional guy but he’s no Ron Artest.  He is determined to win and is more than capable that carrying a team on narrow shoulders.

Team Performances:

Loyola Marymount.  They are now even at 7-7 following a road win over Sacramento State.  Last season they won three games and five games the year before that.  This year’s team has beaten Notre Dame at Notre Dame.  Max Good has brought them back from the depths of college hoops civilization to make them respectable.  I still think a postseason berth is a longshot (even in the CIT or CBI) but somewhere Hank Gathers is smiling.

Southern Cal.  Slowly the Pac-10 is coming back to life.  Thanks to transfer Mike Gerrity (who might actually stay considering this is his third school in four years) the Trojans have won three straight, including a score over ranked UNLV, and also beat Tennessee.  These guys won’t resemble their more successful football brethren any time soon but if Washington slides, hey, why not USC?

Oddity of the Week:

The three-pointer has been credited for changing the game, but after glancing at the top five teams in three-point percentage one has to wonder if it’s a sound strategy to rely on radar love.  In order, the top five are Columbia, Eastern Kentucky, Denver, Iowa State and Xavier.  Right now, I just have Denver making the Dance as the Sun Belt rep but that’s very flimsy since it’s before conference play has gotten into full swing.

And now, you are entering the Top 40 dimension:

1.       Kansas

2.       Texas

3.       Kentucky

4.       Purdue

5.       Syracuse

6.       West Virginia

7.       Duke

8.       North Carolina

9.       Tennessee

10.   Villanova

11.   Kansas State

12.   Connecticut

13.   Georgetown

14.   Michigan State

15.   Ohio State

16.   Georgia Tech

17.   Washington

18.   UAB

19.   Texas Tech

20.   Texas A&M

21.   Florida State

22.   Butler

23.   Oklahoma State

24.   Northwestern

25.   Brigham Young

26.   Temple

27.   New Mexico

28.   Minnesota

29.   Clemson

30.   UNLV

31.   Miami (Fla.)

32.   Gonzaga

33.   Northern Iowa

34.   Ole Miss

35.   Virginia Tech

36.   California

37.   Wisconsin

38.   Missouri State

39.   St. Mary's

40.   Illinois

As New Year's Eve and the first conference game against St. John's quickly approach, I see some very positive things that have emerged for the Georgetown Hoyas. In my opinion, we have really improved since the first game of the season.

The best thing so far is obviously our record at 9-1. The Hoyas have faced their share of cupcakes, decent mid-majors, and top conference programs. If you read my last entry, you saw how I feared Old Dominion and Harvard because of our big wins the week before. Of course, some of that fear was correct.

The only unblemished mark on our record is the loss against Old Dominion. Not what exactly what the team and fans wanted, but  it could be worse. Shall we recall last year's epic collapse? I am a firm believer that no such thing will happen this season.

Butler and Washington are our big wins, and ones to build on as we enter the grueling Big East schedule. The Hoyas beat both very convincingly, proving to the nation what they can do when they are hitting on all cylinders.

Maybe the best thing that has risen from non-conference play is another source of scoring. Guard Chris Wright and forward Austin Freeman have emerged in games to help out Greg Monroe on the offensive end.

Chris Wright's 34 point performance against Harvard led Georgetown to a much needed victory. This is the most points scored by a Hoya since Jeff Green's phenomenal performance against Notre Dame in the 2007 Big East Tournament.

Wright's performance overshadowed the good game from Freeman, who connected on 8 shots and had 21 points, a career high.

Greg Monroe showed what his length could do as well. The sophomore forward had sixteen points, a career high 16 rebounds, and five blocked shots to help secure the W.

This may be the best we've been playing all year, and the Hoyas picked a good time to start clicking.  Heading into conference play, it looks like we have some motivation and good games to build on. If we can start out conference play with wins against St. John's and DePaul, that will look really good as we begin to get into the meat of the schedule and teams such as Marquette and UConn.

Georgetown is heading in the right direction. This is easily a team that could go to the Elite 8, and possibly, the Final Four. Time will tell as conference play begins.

 Believe it or not, the week ahead is going to be huge for Georgetown. I know most of you are saying, "What? The next two games are Old Dominion and Harvard. Why does that mean anything for us?" Well, these two mid-majors are no push-overs.

Old Dominion's record doesn't tell much about them. Six wins (one in conference), four losses. Just an 'ole average mid-major that tries to hold it's own.

The Monarchs will definitely challenge the Colonial Athletic Conference for that automatic bid into the tournament. They have challenged and defeated some very good teams so far this season.

In my opinion, they were playing their best basketball around Thanksgiving time, where they edged out an eight point win against Marshall, along with barely getting beat by Mississippi State and Missouri, both of which were on the road. They also gave Dayton a good run last week, so it tells me they're not ready to quit bidding for an upset just yet.

 Former Michigan head coach Tommy Amaker has his Harvard Crimson playing great. We all have heard of the UConn game earlier this month and how Harvard gave the Huskies a run for their money.

The Crimson also took care of Boston College 74-67 on the road. Boston College could possibly be dancing come March as well. You can argue that neither BC or UConn came to play in the games, but it is obvious that Amaker's team comes to play game in, game out. At 7-2 on the season, Jeremy Lin is leading the Crimson to compete for an Ivy League Championship.

 If you can't tell that these two teams could easily upset the Hoyas, then I don't know what else to show you. We can't be living and playing on the big wins from last week against two top teams, Butler and Washington. It's a new week, so Monroe and company will need to be prepared for a couple of hard fought games.

If Greg Monroe performs well, you can assume Georgetown will do fine. I'm sure John Thompson III has been stressing to his team the importance of coming back to play this week and not looking ahead to some big conference games. He is a very good coach, so I expect the Hoyas to be ready to play.

 We need these two wins here to cap off non-conference play. If the Hoyas can go into conference play against St. John's with an unblemished record on New Year's Eve, that will make it all the more better as we try to fight throught the gruesome Big East schedule. I'd like to see us at 13-0 when we host UConn on the 9th of January.

 This week could indeed effect the rest of our season. Let's hope the Hoyas can come through. No meltdown this season.

If you like what you've read here, check out my blog Ballin' is a Habit , or follow me on on Twitter @ballinisahabit .

Let's jump back to Dec. 13, 2008.

On the strength of 21 points and seven boards from DaJuan Summers, Georgetown knocked off then No. 15 Memphis 79-70 in the Verizon Center to run their record to 7-1. Sixteen days later, after the Hoyas went into Hartford and knocked off then No. 2 UConn, Georgetown was sitting pretty. They were 10-1 and ranked 8th in the country with wins over UConn (a No. 1 seed in the tournament), Memphis (a No. 2 seed), and Maryland (a No. 10 seed).

It was difficult to find someone that wasn't smitten with the Hoyas as many considered them a real threat to unseat Louisville, UConn, and Pitt atop the Big East.

Fast forward three months, and a loss to St. John's in the Big East tournament seals Georgetown's fate as an NIT team.

Finishing a season losing 13-of-19 games will do that to you.

Why am I bringing this up now?

After winning two games against ranked teams this week, Georgetown is once again on the precipice of the Top 10. And once again, shop owners on M Street can hear the rumblings of a Hoya fan base expecting a run at another Big East title.

Its not unwarranted, as Georgetown is sitting pretty as one of just 12 teams (four in the Big East) still undefeated. But keep in mind, this Georgetown team is not much different than last year's group.

And wins over Butler and Washington are not quite the same as Syracuse beating UNC and Florida. Or Kentucky rolling through the Heels and the Huskies. Hell, one could even argue that Kansas State's wins over Dayton, Xavier, Washington State, and UNLV are more impressive.

Simply put, neither the Butler Bulldogs nor the Washington Huskies are playing anywhere near the potential that made them borderline Top 10 teams in the preseason. Butler has yet to get anything out of Matt Howard, who can't seem to stay out of foul trouble, and does not appear to have the size, length or athleticism up front to compete with the best teams in the country. Their win over Ohio State came with out Evan Turner in the line-up.

Washington simply isn't playing defense right now. No matter how well Isaiah Thomas and Quincy Pondexter are playing (which is debatable at times), the Huskies are not going to be a great team until they start getting stops and scoring in transition.

My point isn't to say the Hoyas did not impress me in these two wins.

They did.

They flew to New York and took down Butler in Madison Square Garden on Tuesday before flying out to Anaheim to beat Washington on Saturday. That is a lot of miles to travel in one week.

It was more than just the wins that caught my attention, however.

It was how they won.

On Tuesday, Greg Monroe dominated Butler inside, and while he was less efficient than the ideal (24 points and 15 boards on 9-20 from the floor and 6-10 from the line), it is a good sign that Monroe is capable of over powering a smaller team inside.

Then on Saturday, Monroe was playing a bigger, more athletic Washington team that has a tendency to gamble on defense, and Monroe was able to play facilitator in the Hoyas offense, finishing with 15 points, eight boards, and six assists.

Against Butler, Austin Freeman finally snapped out of his offensive funk, hitting 4-5 from three and scoring 18 points. Against Washington, Julian Vaughn scored a career-high 18 points while grabbing seven boards, proving that the Hoyas finally have some help in the paint for Monroe.

In fact, it now seems like the Hoyas have five guys on their team that are legitimate scoring threats.

Combine that with the stifling defense that the Hoyas played in both games, and it wouldn't be a stretch to think that Georgetown could be in the hunt for a Big East title come February.

But isn't that what we all thought on Dec. 30 last season?

As the Hoyas still have a major, and possibly fatal, flaw—their lack of depth—I caution any Georgetown fan currently contemplating purchasing Final Four tickets to wait.

Wait until Jan. 18.

On January 18, the Hoyas will be a third of the way through their Big East schedule, having hosted St. John's, UConn, and Seton Hall (who is also undefeated) as well as having traveled to DePaul, Marquette, and Villanova. Also thrown in that mix are home dates against solid mid-majors in Harvard and Old Dominion.

While that isn't quite the same as the gauntlet that was last season's Big East, it is a tough eight game stretch nonetheless. Go 7-1 or 8-0, and yes, I will be convinced that this is a team that can fight for a Big East title.

But go 4-4 or 3-5, which is a conceivable possibility, and this may be a team that has to fight to get into the NCAA Tournament.

And while I think that the former is a much more likely outcome than the latter, I caution Georgetown fans to take a wait-and-see approach before assuming that the Hoyas will be a title contender.

If Butler was the first real test for the 2009-2010 Georgetown Hoyas, then it stands to reason that there are still some unanswered questions. 

While the Hoyas dominated the smaller Bulldogs, they did so because Butler lacked what it needed to address super sophomore Greg Monroe—an inside presence. Butler also had a star player foul out after having a below sub-par performance and the Bulldogs were unable to hit many of the open three-point shots that were given to them by poor rotation on the part of the Hoyas. 

So on the eve of the Hoyas West Coast battle with the Washington Huskies, several questions remain. 

Will Julian Vaughn and Henry Sims be able to have an impact offensively in games verses major opponents?  Can a freshman step up and deliver for the Hoyas on the big stage?  Was Chris Wright’s game versus Butler an abnormality?  Can Austin Freeman continue to hit three-point shots like that in big games?  Will Jason Clark continue to step up his game?  Has Greg Monroe arrived or did his potential just visit?

While Butler provided the Hoyas a challenge in discipline, the Washington Huskies will provide Georgetown with a test in athleticism and potent scoring. Very rarely does a team posses a duo of 20-point scores like this year’s Huskies.

Senior forward Quincy Pondexter is a legitimate NBA talent (albeit a likely late first round/early second round pick) and the Huskies backcourt is as athletic and nearly as talented as the one the Hoyas faced the last three years in Big East action versus Marquette. 

For that reason, smart decision making will be necessary as the Hoyas look to prove that their backcourt trio (juniors Chris Wright and Austin Freeman along with sophomore Jason Clark) is ready for the national scene. Remember, both Wright and Freeman were McDonald’s All American’s and all three were WCAC and Washington Post Boy’s Basketball Player of the Year award recipients.

In the end, this game will again depend on whether or not sophomore sensation Greg Monroe is up to the task of domination. The Huskies do not have a dominant inside presence to battle the big guy if he is playing with the same desire he possessed in the Butler game. 

If he can deliver another 20 point, 10 rebound performance and Chris Wright can find his outside jump shot, the Georgetown Hoyas should pass their first exam week with flying colors (win or lose, the Hoyas cannot overlook a Harvard team that has already defeated Boston College or an Old Dominion team that defeated the Hoyas several years ago). 

If not, then they will head into Big East play with questions conference play may not answer kindly.