Notre Dame rolls to 78-64 win over No. 11 Georgetown

Luke Harangody can rest up and rest easy.

Notre Dame is back at .500 in the Big East, winning like a team bound for the NCAA Tournament and doing it all without its injured big man.

Ben Hansbrough scored 21 points, Tim Abromaitis had 19, and visiting Notre Dame has thrust itself back into the NCAA Tournament picture with a 78-64 win over No. 11 Georgetown on Saturday, its second straight win over a Top 25 team.

The Fighting Irish (19-10, 8-8) have looked like a Big East contender the last two games without Harangody, who missed his fourth straight game with a bone bruise on his right knee.

"We miss that inside presence and we have to find different ways to score," Abromaitis said.

The Irish knocked off No. 12 Pittsburgh by 15 on Wednesday and controlled this one from the tip to win its first road game over a ranked team in more than two years.

"We put on a clinic sometimes with how to play, how to pass the basketball," Hansbrough said. "We guarded, we defended and we did what it took to win."

Hansbrough scored the first 10 points of the second half to break open this win after Carleton Scott nearly had a career game in the first 20 minutes. Tory Jackson and Tyrone Nash combined for 17 points.

Scott had 17 points, 9 rebounds and set the tone with aggressive, hustling play that the Hoyas (19-8, 9-7) just didn't have with any consistency. The Irish had a 29-20 edge on the boards and boxed out on almost every shot.

Greg Monroe scored 15 points, and Hollis Thompson and Jason Clark each scored 12 for the Hoyas. Georgetown leading scorer Austin Freeman (17.5 points) was limited to 5 points in only 23 minutes thanks to a bout of stomach flu.