Georgetown Passes St. John's on Brutal Big East Escalator

Filed under: Georgetown, Big East, St. John's

WASHINGTON -- There's never a time when the Big East's mantra (this league will eat you alive) does not apply. It fit the bill again Wednesday night, particularly in Providence, where the lowly Friars (1-6 in conference play as the day began) took down eighth-ranked Villanova (previously 17-2 overall and one of just two Big East teams with one loss).

It also fit for the two combatants at the blizzard-buffeted Verizon Center, Georgetown and St. John's, who both had four league losses entering the night. Thanks to a 77-52 domination, No. 21 Georgetown moved from 1/2 game behind St. John's to 1/2 game in front, although they both still have a distant view of the top of the standings, looking up at no fewer than seven teams.

But Georgetown, 15-5 overall, feels a lot better about its 4-4 conference mark than 11-8 St. John's feels about its 4-5 record. That's because the last time they met, three weeks ago in Madison Square Garden, St. John's won to improve to a surprising 3-0, and knocked Georgetown down to 1-2, on its way to 1-4. Revenge was sweet, as St. John's coach Steve Lavin suspected and the Hoyas players confirmed. But chipping away further at the bad start was sweeter.

"Winning three in a row is much better than losing three in a row -- but the same thing still applies,'' coach John Thompson III said. "There's still a lot of ball to be played. Every team can beat every team.

"We had a focus tonight; we had a doggedness about us tonight. We just have to maintain it for every game,'' he continued. "I've said this, I believe this, I live this, 4-4 vs. 1-4 vs. whatever, you have to get ready for the next game. This league is too tough, too daunting, too challenging, and if you get caught up in the big picture too much -- 'We gotta do this over the next four game-span' -- no, you've got to come to play and beat the team in front of you next. And if you do that enough times, at the end of the day you'll be fine.''

 

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