President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden were in the crowd for a game that was nationally televised by CBS. More than 20,000 fans were in attendance, mostly in Georgetown University gray and entirely in a fury. None of that fazed Georgetown Hoyas, as the team turned in its most complete performance of the season in an 89-77 win over the seventh-ranked Duke Blue Devils.
The game wasn’t nearly as close as the final score indicated, as Georgetown shot 71.7 percent, the team’s highest single-game shooting percentage in 30 years.
“Our team, with each game, is getting a heightened sense and a better understanding that we don’t have to take a bad shot,” said Georgetown coach John Thompson III. “With the offensive players we have, the guys know where their shots are coming from and they’re doing an outstanding job, night-in and night-out, of trying to help each other get shots.”
But it wasn’t just their shooting performance—Duke was never able to match Georgetown’s intensity and was overwhelmed by the onslaught.
“We could never match their emotion,” said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. “The place was electric. Their team was electric and they played that way for 40 minutes. When a team plays that way, they’re very difficult to beat even if you are playing great.”
Georgetown was led by their trio of All-Americans, as sophomore center Greg Monroe and junior guard Chris Wright led the team with 21 points each while junior guard Austin Freeman added 20 points.
Sparked by two Wright layups, Georgetown began the game on a 9-3 run through the first five minutes. Duke fought back to tie the game at 9-9 and, after the teams traded baskets, took a 17-16 lead with 9:52 remaining in the first half.
Georgetown then went on a 21-5 run over the next four minutes to take a commanding 15-point lead. The team was able to maintain a double-digit lead for much of the rest of the half and took a 46-33 lead into halftime.
Duke started the second half on a 12-6 run to cut the lead to seven at 52-45, but that would be the closest they would come. Georgetown methodically stretched their lead over the rest of the half with the lead reaching 23 points with 4:29 remaining. Duke scored seven points in the last minute to bring the final score closer.
Key Players: Georgetown’s three stars, Monroe, Wright and Freeman, scored a combined 62 points on 23 of 29 shooting from the floor.
Duke junior forward Kyle Singler was his team’s most consistent player with 18 points and six rebounds.
Key Stretch: With Georgetown’s lead down to eight points, Duke had an opportunity to cut the lead to five. However, freshman guard Andre Dawkins missed a three-point jumper. On the next Georgetown possession, freshman guard Hollis Thompson made a three-pointer and their lead was never again cut to single-digits.
Next Up: Georgetown hosts South Florida on February 3, while Duke welcomes 22nd-ranked Georgia Tech on February 4.
