Georgetown downs Missouri in the season's best game yet

It happened on the last day in November, which means there are still a ton of games left to be played.

But come season's end, there is no doubt in my mind that Georgetown's 111-102 overtime win over Missouri will be one of the 2010-2011 season's best games.

The Hoyas come out of the gates on fire, as Austin Freeman and Chris Wright couldn't seem to miss while the vaunted Missouri pressure couldn't force a turnover. At one point, the Hoyas were up 35-17, just 11 minutes into the game.

But the Tigers didn't fold. With their full court press rendered relatively ineffective by the terrific back court of the Hoyas, Mizzou adjusted, dropping back into a matchup zone that flustered Georgetown. Aided by the emergence of 2010 JuCo player of the year Ricardo Ratliffe as a reliable post threat and the white-hot shooting of Marcus Denmon on the perimeter, the Tigers were able to trim the halftime deficit to just seven points at 54-47.


Believe it or not, the second half is when things really began to heat up.

Missouri, playing in front of what was essentially a home crowd at the "neutral site" of the Sprint Center in Kansas City, kept making runs at Georgetown, but Freeman, Wright, and Jason Clark continued to keep the Tigers at bay. Finally, with 8:25 left on the clock, Denmon hit a three in transition that gave Missouri a 77-75 lead, their first of the game.

The Tigers would eventually pull ahead 91-87, but three missed free throws late in the game allowed Georgetown to remain in striking distance. And Wright made the Tigers pay, drilling a three with 0.3 seconds left on the clock to force overtime.

In the extra period, it was Clark, the least heralded of the Hoya's vaunted back court, that made the difference. He hit three straight threes to build a 107-100 lead, and Missouri was all out of answers.

It was entertaining, to say the absolute least.

We also learned a thing or two about both teams.

For Georgetown, we already knew about their back court. Freeman, Wright, and Clark combined to score 78 points, hitting countless clutch buckets and combining to go 12-26 from deep. But tonight also reinforced the notion that the Hoyas front court is better than some of us have given them credit for. Julian Vaughn spent much of the game in foul trouble -- he only played nine minutes -- and while Nate Lubick and Henry Sims only combined for four offensive rebounds, it was their effort on the glass to keep balls alive that allowed the Hoyas to hold onto their lead for as long as they did.

The Hoyas also impressed with their resiliency. They didn't fold when they got down five points on the road to a top ten opponent after blowing an 18 point lead. Freeman looked every bit the Big East preseason player of the year, as his two driving buckets -- one of them an and-one -- tied the game with under four minutes to play. Hoya fans have been burned by great early season performances leading to disappointing March finishes, but -- and I say this hesitantly -- this team feels different.

For Missouri, we found out just how balanced this team truly is. Missouri's best player, Kim English, struggled tonight.* He finished with 11 points on 5-12 shooting, but he had four turnovers and made some poor decisions down the stretch, including ill-advised jump shots. He was also the guy that saved a ball under his own basket on the final possession that afforded Wright the opportunity to step into a wide open three.

*(For what its worth, I think English is hurt. Early in the game, he drove to the basket and was fouled hard. When he came down, you could see him grimacing and holding his right hand. His thumb had a couple of pieces of tape on it.)

Marcus Denmon stepped up, scoring 27 points and keeping the Tigers close in the first half. Ricardo Ratliffe finished with 22 points and gives Mizzou a legitimate interior presence. Mike Dixon may have been the most impressive, as the majority of his 17 points came in the second half, and seemingly every big play down the stretch involved the sophomore point guard.

But Mizzou also showed some flaws. In addition to English's mistakes, they missed three of their last four free throws that could have iced the game.

No doubt, this is a brutal loss for Missouri, but it is one they can rebound from. Its early in the season, and Georgetown appears to be a team that was severely underrated in the preseason.

Don't be surprised when both of these teams are around late in March.