Georgetown looked like a contender against USF, but how long will it last?

Pregame, it was billed as a rematch.

Postgame, it looks more like revenge.

But whatever you want to call Georgetown's 69-49 man-handling of South Florida in the second round of the Big East tournament, what is clear is that the Hoyas played some of their best basketball of the season today.

"Our team is healthy right now", Georgetown coach John Thompson III said after the game. "I think that the guys are extremely focused right now. And so mentally and physically and emotionally I like where we are right now."

He should.

Chris Wright had 16 points, 6 boards, and 4 assists without a turnover against USF.
(photo credit: UPI)

This was Hoyas basketball to a T. Defensively, they didn't let South Florida feel comfortable the entire game. The Bulls only turned the ball over 12 times, but they shot just 29% for the game. Dominique Jones was the only player to get into any kind of rhythm on the offensive end, and even he required 18 shots and 14 free throws to get his 21 points.

Offensively, they did just about everything JT III could ask for, from balanced scoring, the knocking down their perimeter shots, to getting easy baskets in transition.

Greg Monroe had 16 points and 8 boards. Chris Wright went for 16, 5 boards, and 4 assists. Jason Clark had 16 and his four threes.

If there was one knock on their performance, it was the 18 offensive rebounds they gave up to the Bulls. But Georgetown struggles to rebound the ball and South Florida has one of the better front lines in the conference. Giving up just 7 second chance points to the Bulls is, in the long run, a pretty good performance.

But the question that every Georgetown fan should be asking themselves is how long it will last.

On a few different occasions, this Georgetown team has looked like they were ready to reach their potential. They romped Duke in front of Barack Obama, but proceeded to lose to this very same South Florida team a few nights later. After beating Villanova at home, the Hoyas lost four of their next six games, dropping them into the 8th seed in the Big East.

Consistency is not a virtue this Hoya team has enjoyed much of this year.

Perhaps this time is different. As we all know, Austin Freeman is being treated for his diabetes. For the first time maybe all season, he is healthy. Don't underestimate what Freeman brings to the table for Georgetown. Clearly, he is the leading scorer for the Hoyas, but perhaps more important is his floor game. He is as good as anyone the Hoyas have had under JT III at running the offensive correctly; knowing when is the correct time to shoot and when to pass.

Which is huge, given that the Hoyas will be playing Syracuse tomorrow for the third time this season.

For those that don't know, Georgetown-Syracuse is probably the fiercest rivalry in the Big East. There is a genuine dislike between the two fan bases. And as of today, the Orange have all of the bragging rights.

Syracuse has won both matchups this season. In the first game, the Orange over came an early 14-0 deficit and eventually beat the Hoyas 17. In the second matchup, the Orange dominated the Hoyas for 30 minutes, before a furious Georgetown rally came up two points short.

So what do the Hoyas need to do to win tomorrow?

"We have to make shots and guard our guys," Thompson said.

Or, in other words, play better basketball.

Maybe they are now.