Georgetown 'Scary good' in win
It's hard to imagine Georgetown coach John Thompson III, whose words are usually measured and hype-free, using the phrase "scary good" when talking about his team.
But the fifth-ranked Hoyas are so versatile this season that few will argue with him. Not only are they capable of a deliberate game focused on big center Roy Hibbert, they've got some young talent that can change gears and run the opponent off the floor.
That's what happened Sunday in an 87-55 victory over visiting Jacksonville.
Freshmen Austin Freeman and Chris Wright and sophomores Jeremiah Rivers and DaJuan Summers helped put the game away in the first half with the kind of upbeat attack few would associate with the Princeton offense.
"One day in the locker room, Coach said to us that he thinks we have a chance to be 'scary good,' and I think that's what he means," said Summers, who scored 14 points. "No matter how teams want to play us, we're going to be able to be effective, whether that's slowing the ball down and pounding it into Roy or being quick in transition. It's going to give teams a tough decision on how to play us."
Freeman and Wright combined to make 12 of 16 shots against an overmatched team. Freeman finished with a season-high 15 points and Wright had a season-high 14 for the Hoyas, who shot a season-best 59 percent and made 11 3-pointers to improve to 7-0 for the first time since the 2003-04 season.
"More so than any team since I've been here, we have depth and quality at the guard spot," Thompson said. "We're going to try to take advantage of that depth, and so we're going to try to push it a little bit."
The Dolphins (3-6), who have lost six straight since opening the season 3-0, trailed 39-21 at halftime and never had much of a chance to pull the kind of upset registered by Atlantic Sun brethren Gardner-Webb (over Kentucky) and Mercer (over Southern California) earlier this season. Jacksonville's tallest starter was 6-feet-7, shorter than three of Georgetown's starters.
"Give them credit -- making 11 3s is quite an accomplishment," Jacksonville coach Cliff Warren said. "If they can do that throughout the year, they'll be back in the Final Four."
Ben Smith and Andre McMillan both scored 9 points to lead the Dolphins, who were playing the fourth of six consecutive road games. The stretch has included losses at No. 9 Michigan State and two-time defending national champion Florida.
Villanova 101, Temple 93: Scottie Reynolds scored 27 points, and Villanova made it a record 13 straight victories against its Big 5 intra-city rival by beating Temple in Philadelphia.
Antonio Pena and Shane Clark both scored 17 points for the Wildcats (7-1).
Mark Tyndale scored 24 points and Dionte Christmas added 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Owls (4-5), the last Big 5 team to beat Villanova back on Dec. 4, 2004.
Wash. St. 72, Portland St. 60: Aron Baynes was 9-for-9 from the field and scored 23 points as No. 8 host Washington State beat stubborn Portland State to remain undefeated.
The Cougars (9-0) are off to their best start since the 1991-92 team opened 12-0.
Deonte Huff led Portland State (6-4) with 18 points. Jeremiah Dominguez added 15 points for the Vikings, who made nine 3-pointers to stay close.
Washington State had outscored opponents by 112 points in the second half coming into the game, but the Cougars couldn't mount any major runs against Portland State of the Big Sky Conference.