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1 p.m. ET: No. 8 Duke And No. 7 Georgetown Clash In Nation’s Capital
Washington, DC (Sports Network) - Greg Monroe and Chris Wright scored 21 points apiece, as seventh-ranked Georgetown routed No. 8 Duke, 89-77, behind an astounding 71.7-percent shooting performance at the Verizon Center.
Austin Freeman poured in 20 points for the Hoyas (16-4), who were flirting with the program's field-goal percentage record of 74 percent set in 1984.
With both President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden sitting courtside, Georgetown shot out of the gates by making 17-of-22 shots (77.3 percent) in the first half. The Hoyas were still above 77 percent inside the final five minutes, trouncing Duke by 23, before some sloppy play late made the final score seem more respectable.
“It was exciting, the crowd was pumped up, Obama was there...we all came up with more energy than usual. Not that we don’t normally play with energy, but this game was something that we really wanted to get and you can see it; we were all over the place defensively and offensively,” said Monroe.
Nolan Smith paced Duke with 19 points, while Kyle Singler scored 18 and Jon Scheyer 17.
The Blue Devils (17-4) by comparison shot 37.1 percent and have just one true road win (1-4) on the season. The 89 points for Georgetown were the most Duke has allowed this season.
“We could never match their emotion. The place was electric, their team was electric, and they played that way for forty minutes. We haven’t had a team shoot 72 percent against us, since I don’t know when,” said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski.
The game was close early, as a Freeman three-pointer gave the Hoyas a 19-17 edge just past the midway point. However, the make triggered the beginning of Georgetown’s romp, as a quick 18-3 burst ensued for a 34-20 difference three minutes later.
With the clock winding under five minutes left in the half, a pair of Singler free throws cut the deficit below double digits. Hollis Thompson came back with a three on the other end before a Monroe dunk closed out the frame as a harbinger of things to come with the lead at 13, 46-33.
Duke was as close as seven twice in the opening minutes of the second half, but a nearly six-minute stretch without a field goal led to a 67-51 score with nine minutes to go.
Georgetown continued to get high percentage buckets, and Wright’s layup with five minutes remaining had the Hoya lead at 21; the hosts were able to play out the rest of the win with relative ease.
Georgetown tied the all-time series at seven games apiece...The Hoyas are 10-1 at home this season and were coming off a 73-56 loss at Syracuse on Monday...Duke entered play winners in four of its last five games...Both Monroe and Freeman had five assists...Jason Clark added nine points and Julian Vaughn eight for the Hoyas...Singler added six rebounds and four assists for Duke.
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