Postgame audio - Coach John Thompson III, Austin Freeman, Chris Wright & Greg Monroe:
A fantastic Big East Tournament championship game was decided by a superlative shot.
West Virginia's Da'Sean Butler drove to his left from the arc with the score tied and the clock down to single digits. Butler got past Georgetown big man Greg Monroe, but was cut off by the Hoyas' Austin Freeman in the center of the paint on his way to the basket. Butler went up with a shot that traveled beyond Monroe's reach, off to the right of Butler's shoulders and was forced through Freeman's arms, banging off the back iron and down the netting with :04.2 to play.
"I had a little hesitation, went around [Monroe] and Freeman stepped up, and had a little hop step and scooped the layup off the glass and it fell" was how Butler broke down his last basket.
Chris Wright pushed the ball down the court for Georgetown, got in the lane and never had any doubt in his mind that he wasn't going to get to the iron and send the game to overtime. Wright's curling scoop came up short of the mark, ticking off the right iron as the buzzer sounded as Wright fell on his back on the baseline in disappointment.
Butler's game-winner was the Mountaineers' only field goal in the final 7:30 of the second half, as the Hoyas rallied from 50-41 deficit to pull even on two occasions - an Austin Freeman three point shot set up by Wright's penetration with 54 seconds showing made it 56-56 and after Wright made the mistake of fouling Joe Mazzulla after West Virginia's 20th and final offensive rebound with 0:27.6 on the clock and Mazzulla canned both his free throws, Wright spun left in the paint and went glass with 17 seconds to play to even the score at 58.
Wright nearly came up with a steal as the Mountaineers brought the ball up, tipping a pass before West Virginia was able to call time out with nine seconds left, setting up the heroics of the 2010 Dave Gavitt Trophy winner for Most Outstanding Player.
Butler finished with 20 points on 7-19 shooting, surpassing 2,000 points for his career.
Wright nearly matched Butler step for step, scoring 20 and handing out seven assists.
Saturday, March 13th
(3) Richmond vs. (2) Xavier - 3:30 pm ET - CBS College Sports Atlantic 10 Tournament
(8) Georgetown vs. (3) West Virginia - 9:00 pm ET - ESPN Big East Tournament
Georgetown (23-9) raced to the Big East Tournament championship game, using a 30-8 second half run to dispatch Marquette, 80-57.
At the Big 10 Tournament, Northwestern (20-13) pulled within one of Purdue in the final 45 seconds, but the Boilermakers held on for the 69-61 win.
Richmond (25-7) moved into the Atlantic 10 semis with a 77-72 win over UMass.
Here's a very well-crafted story on Douglas Davis from the Princeton Athletic Department.
Several Denver players earned Sun Belt Conference Academic Awards.
Tiger recruit T.J. Bray lost his grandfather on Friday, then proceeded to go out and score 30 points as Catholic Memorial beat top-ranked Wisconsin Lutheran in a Division 2 sectional semifinal. Bray was also profiled on Preps on the Net as part of a series highlighting five candidates for Wisconsin's Mr. Basketball award.
Another future Princeton player, Tom Noonan, was named Penn Charter Team MVP.
Postgame audio - Coach John Thompson III, Austin Freeman, Chris Wright & Greg Monroe:
Locker room audio - Coach John Thompson III:
Marquette 62 Georgetown 59.
Syracuse 73 Georgetown 56.
South Florida 72 Georgetown 64
Syracuse 75 Georgetown 71.
If you thought the trio of Austin Freeman, Chris Wright and Greg Monroe had put these four regular season conference losses behind them, you should have seen their faces light up when asked if playing these schools again in the Big East Tournament was providing Georgetown with extra motivation to get back at those teams.
Ten different versions of "yes!" overlapping one another followed from the Hoyas' big three, leaning into their microphones on the podium for emphasis.
Now Georgetown gets a chance to complete its 2010 Revenge Tour on Saturday night in the BET finals against either Notre Dame or West Virginia, two more teams who toppled the Hoyas when they played earlier this season.
"A good friend of mine, after yesterday's game, said 'there's nothing better than Friday night in New York City other than Saturday night in New York City,'" Hoya head man John Thompson III said.
"We're going to show up in New York City on Saturday night."
To secure that date on date night, Georgetown third appearance in the Big East Tournament finals since 2007, the Hoyas turned a 48-47 lead with 13:34 left in regulation into a 78-55 edge by the final two minutes.
Georgetown's last two buckets of this incredible stretch came on feeds by big man Greg Monroe. First Monroe found Jason Clark on a lob cut, then bounced a backdoor pass to Chris Wright to cap off a 23 point, 13 rebound seven assist line.
Northwestern (20-12) surged past Indiana 73-58 to hit 20 wins for the first time in program history. The Wildcats forced 13 turnovers in the second half and Michael Thompson made three straight three point shots to rally his team.
A 12 point lead with 16 minutes to play wasn't a large enough lead for Oregon State (14-7), as Washington went on a 23-4 run to secure the 59-52 win in the Pac-10 Tournament.
Richmond opens their A-10 Tournament run against UMass. The Spiders are in an unfamiliar position as they head to Boardwalk Hall.
Princeton recruit Ben Hazel was named First Team All-WCAC.
Future Tiger Chris Clement is Co-District 16-5A MVP.
The Princeton Packet writes about the Tigers' push for the postseason.
Postgame audio - Coach John Thompson III, Jason Clark, Chris Wright & Jason Clark:
Locker room audio - Coach John Thompson III:
The risk paid off.
Using a smaller lineup for the last 15 minutes of the second half, Georgetown shot 69.2% from the floor after intermission and knocked top seed Syracuse out of the Big East Tournament in a 91-84 Hoya victory.
"It's a risk, because [Syracuse] is big and they're long, but I thought that was our best offensive group. I thought that if we hustled and scrapped that we could get stops," said Georgetown coach John Thompson III after the game. "That zone is so good you have to have a very good offensive group out there where all five guys can hit shots and make decisions and make plays. We went small for a very, very long period of time but we were able to continually score."
Andy Rautins' catch and shoot three point shot sent Syracuse up 57-48 with 13:43 left in the game, but freshman forward Hollis Thompson answered with a much-needed three from the left corner, found off the dribble by Jason Clark. This began a 25-6 Hoya push with starting big man Julian Vaughn on the bench in lieu of Thompson and at times fellow freshman Vee Sanford.
Despite the Orangemen shooting over 60% from the field, Georgetown was able to stay within striking distance to this point. "We kept scoring, stating the obvious," Thompson remarked with a chuckle.
Postgame audio - Coach John Thompson III, Jason Clark, Chris Wright & Greg Monroe:
Dominique Jones is going to get his.
The high-scoring South Florida guard, who is averaging 21.3 points per game this season, went for 29 when the Bulls upset Georgetown at the Verizon Center in early February.
In the mind of Hoyas head coach John Thompson III, it wasn't Jones that hurt his team five weeks ago as much as the ancillary USF players did.
Jones scored 29. His teammates combined for 43. The Hoyas lost by eight.
Facing the Bulls a second time to start the second day of the Big East Tournament, Georgetown clamped down on the rest of the South Florida roster and defended Jones as best they could.
Jones got his - 21 points on 6-18 shooting, but he also had six turnovers.
This time the rest of the lineup only added up to 28, 10-37 from the floor (27.0%).
"We wanted him to make tough, difficult shots, which he did. Which he's been doing all year," Thompson said.
Here's your lineup for the week ahead. I'll update this schedule daily.
Monday, March 8th
(6) Denver vs. (2) North Texas - 9:30 pm ET - ESPN360 Sun Belt Tournament
Tuesday, March 9th
Penn vs. Princeton - 8:00 pm ET
Wednesday, March 10th
(9) South Florida / (16) DePaul winner vs. (8) Georgetown - 12:00 pm ET - ESPN Big East Tournament
Thursday, March 11th
(10) Indiana vs. (7) Northwestern - 5:00 pm ET - ESPN2 Big 10 Tournament
(6) Oregon State vs. (3) Washington - 9:00 pm ET - FSN Pac-10 Tournament
Friday, March 12th
(6) Charlotte / (11) UMass winner vs. (3) Richmond - 9:00 pm ET Atlantic 10 Tournament
Denver (19-12) began the second half on a 26-7 run, surprising #3 seed Middle Tennessee 73-58 to advance to the Sun Belt Tournament semis. The Pioneers shot 12-17 from the floor in the final 20 minutes.
A supplemental piece in the Crimson looks at the struggles of Princeton's and Harvard's leading scorers on Saturday.
Richmond's Kevin Anderson was named Atlantic 10 Player of the Year.
The New York Times' blog The Quad compliments yesterday's article on Chris Mooney with a post about what Mooney learned playing pickup ball on his recruiting visit to Princeton.
Georgetown's Greg Monroe was named All-Big East First Team. Austin Freeman made All-Big East Second Team.
Princeton recruit T.J. Bray is profiled by the Wisconsin Sports Network. Here's more detail on the most recent game for Bray, who had 13 of his 26 points in the third quarter of Catholic Memorial's win over East Troy.
Georgetown (20-9) got 24 points from Austin Freeman and finished Big East play with an impressive 74-47 win over Cincinnati. HoyaHoops has postgame audio. The Hoyas' first conference tournament game will be Wednesday afternoon at 12:00 pm ET versus either South Florida or DePaul.
Indiana scored the first seven points of overtime and defeated Northwestern (19-12), 88-80. John Shurna scored 31 in the loss as the Wildcats struggle to find a consistent third scoring option.
Richmond (24-7) fared better in an extra frame, getting by Charlotte 89-84. Kevin Anderson hit from 25 feet out to force OT. The Spiders set a school record for regular season victories.
Richmond head coach Chris Mooney is profiled in the New York Times.
Oregon State (14-16) fell 82-70 to Washington. The two teams will meet again Thursday in the Pac-10 Tournament.
Denver (18-12) advanced to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament quarterfinals with a 71-64 win over Florida International.
Princeton recruit T.J. Bray had 26 in Catholic Memorial's 66-42 win over East Troy.
Future Tiger Ben Hazel and Good Counsel lost to O'Connell in the WCAC quarterfinals.
Around the Ivy League: Cornell (27-4 / 13-1) completed their championship campaign with a 79-59 win at Yale (12-19 / 6-8). Columbia (11-17 / 5-9) closed the year with a 65-56 win over Brown (11-20 / 5-9). Jack Eggleston had a career-best 25 as Penn (6-21 / 5-8) denied Dartmouth (5-23 / 1-13), 78-68.
Today's Game:Harvard (21-6 / 10-3) vs. Princeton (18-8 / 9-3) Location: Jadwin Gym - Princeton, NJ Time: 6:00 pm ET Radio: 103.3 fm WPRB TV: N/A Internet: goprincetontigers.com Series History: Princeton leads 124-38. Last meeting:Princeton 56 Harvard 53 - 2/5/10.
Harvard
Princeton
11-2
Home Record
8-3
10-4
Away Record
10-5
0-0
Neutral Record
0-0
97
RPI
143
97
Sagarin
143
108
Pomeroy
116
74.9
Points / Game
59.7
66.0
Points Allowed / Game
52.2
.485
FG%
.440
.769
FT%
.725
.357
3PT FG%
.366
33.1
Rebounds / Game
30.4
9.3
Off. Rebounds / Game
8.8
+2.6
Rebounding Margin
+1.7
15.7
Assists / Game
11.8
15.5
Turnovers / Game
13.3
4.7
Blocks / Game
3.0
Lin: 16.9
Points
Davis: 12.6
Casey: 5.3
Rebounds
Mavraides: 4.5
Lin: 4.6
Assists
Schroeder: 3.1
Lin: 2.6
Steals
Schroeder: 1.7
Wright: 1.5
Blocks
Maddox: 0.8
Magnarelli: .600
FG% (Min: 10 FGM)
Finley: .608
Webster: .864
FT% (Min: 10 FTM)
Saunders: .933
Casey: .424
3PT FG% (Min: 10 3PTM)
Saunders: .471
Georgetown vs. Cincinnati - 12:00 pm ET - ESPN360
Northwestern vs. Indiana - 12:00 pm ET - Big Ten Network
Richmond vs. Charlotte - 2:00 pm ET
Washington vs. Oregon State - 8:00 pm ET - FSN NW
Florida International vs. Denver - 9:45 pm ET - Sun Belt Tournament
Cornell vs. Yale - 7:00 pm ET
Dartmouth vs. Penn - 7:00 pm ET
Columbia vs. Brown - 7:00 pm ET
Around the Ivy League: Cornell (26-4 / 12-1) made 20 of their 30 three point shots to clinch the conference for a third straight season with a 95-76 win at Brown (11-19 / 5-8). Harvard (21-6 / 10-3) rallied for a 67-66 decision over Penn (5-21 / 4-8). It is the Crimson's first season sweep of the Quakers since 1942. Alex Zampier scored 15 points as Yale (12-18 / 6-7) stopped Columbia (10-17 / 4-9), 65-48.
Oregon State welcomes Washington State to Corvallis.
Beavers head coach Craig Robinson did a Q&A with The Oregonian about his contract extension.
Georgetown's Austin Freeman has been diagnosed with diabetes.
There's a video interview with Will Venable on mlb.com.
Fellow Padre Chris Young is eager for today's start.
Princeton recruit T.J. Bray is four points away from becoming Catholic Memorial's all-time leading scorer. The Crusaders beat Fort Atkinson 96-35 in the Division 2 regional quarterfinals.
Bray, Ben Hazel and Daniel Edwards all show up in the Hoop Scoop rankings of the nation's top 750 seniors.
Princeton moves up to fourth place in the latest Schuylkill 16.
princetonbasketball.com was founded on April 28th, 1998 in an attempt to provide fans of the Princeton Tigers and Ivy League basketball with the best on-line source for up-to-date news and information. We have since expanded to launch a companion site, Georgetown Basketball News.
As these sites have continued to grow we have increased our coverage to include additional teams with Princeton connections - the Richmond Spiders, Denver Pioneers, Oregon State Beavers, Fairfield Stags and Mercer County Community College Vikings - plus former Tigers playing professional baseball and basketball all over the world. This site is not directly affiliated with the Friends of Princeton Basketball, Princeton University or the Princeton athletic department.
Sun. 11/10 vs. Florida A&M
Sat. 11/16 at Butler
Wed. 11/20 vs. Lafayette
Sat. 11/23 at Rice
Tue. 11/26 vs. George Mason
Sat. 11/30 at Bucknell
Sat. 12/7 vs. FDU
Wed. 12/11 at Rutgers
Sat. 12/14 at Penn State
Fri. 12/20 vs. Portland*
Sat. 12/21 vs. Pacific*
Tue. 12/31 vs. Kent State
Sat. 1/4 at Liberty
Sat. 1/11 at Penn
Sun. 1/26 vs. Kean
Fri. 1/31 at Harvard
Sat. 2/1 at Dartmouth
Fri. 2/7 vs. Columbia
Sat. 2/8 vs. Cornell
Fri. 2/14 at Brown
Sat. 2/15 at Yale
Fri. 2/21 vs. Dartmouth
Sat. 2/22 vs. Harvard
Fri. 2/28 vs. Yale
Sat. 3/1 vs. Brown
Fri. 3/7 at Cornell
Sat. 3/8 at Columbia
Tue. 3/11 vs. Penn
2,503 - B. Bradley, 1962-65
1,625 - I. Hummer, 2009-13
1,550 - D. Davis, 2008-12
1,546 - K. Mueller, 1987-91
1,451 - P. Campbell, 1959-62
1,441 - C. Robinson, 1979-83
1,428 - B. Earl, 1995-99
1,365 - B. Scrabis, 1985-89
1,321 - G. Petrie, 1967-70
1,292 - H. Haabestad, 1952-55
1,277 - G. Lewullis, 1995-99
1,239 - B. Taylor, 1970-72
1,207 - S. Goodrich 1994-98
1,133 - F. Sowinski, 1975-78
1,130 - R. Hielscher, 1991-95
1,122 - C. Thomforde, 1966-69
1,099 - T. Manakas, 1970-73
1,090 - J. Wallace, 2001-05
1,088 - C. Belz, 1956-59
1,079 - B. Hauptfuhrer, 1973-76
1,076 - B. Roma, 1976-79
1,071 - C. Mooney, 1990-94
1,064 - A. Hyland, Jr., 1960-63
1,062 - L. Brangan, 1957-60
1,057 - A. Hill, 1973-76
1,054 - D. Mavraides, 2007-11
1,044 - S. Johnson, 1993-1997
1,031 - J. Hummer, 1967-70
1,010 - W. Venable, 2001-05
