Georgetown Is Back as Beast of East

Georgetown came into Saturday’s game against Seton Hall undefeated, but the Hoya players weren’t sure how good they were.

Now they know.

Overcoming a few nerves in one of their biggest games in years, the No. 19-ranked Hoyas defeated the No. 11 Pirates, 78-66, at the MCI Center in Washington.

Georgetown, 13-0 overall and 2-0 in the Big East, is off to its best start since 1989-90, when it opened with 14 victories in a row. Stanford (13-0), Michigan State (12-0), Baylor (12-0) and Boston College (10-0) are the other unbeaten teams in Division I.

Lee Scruggs’ 13 points led six Georgetown players in double figures, while Seton Hall’s leading scorer, Darius Lane, was held without a field goal until the final 30 seconds. The Hoyas overcame 23 turnovers--including six in the first half by point guard Kevin Braswell--to put the game away with a 17-4 run midway through the second half.

“I was a little hyper at first,” said Braswell, who had with 11 points, 12 assists and seven turnovers. “This was our first really big game, first real contest to let us know we’re good, and I got out of control in the first half. Coach [Craig Esherick] came in [the locker room] and said, ‘Kevin you’ve got to calm down.’ ”

Seton Hall (10-3, 1-1) had a winning streak end at four as Lane, averaging 20.8 points coming into the game, missed his first 14 shots and finished with five points. Lane had not scored fewer than 13 points this season.

“They’re as good as anybody we’ve faced,” Seton Hall Coach Tommy Amaker said. “People maybe were reserving judgment until seeing them against us today, and I thought they proved that and more.”

Georgetown, which won an NCAA championship and reached the final four two other times in the 1980s under Esherick’s predecessor John Thompson, has made the NCAA tournament since 1997.

No. 13 North Carolina 70, No. 4 Wake Forest 69--Four days after going scoreless in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener, Brandon Haywood had 24 points--including the game-winning layup with 3.3 seconds left at Chapel Hill, N.C.--as the Tar Heels (11-2, 2-0) won their eighth in a row.

Wake Forest (12-1, 1-1) came into the game with a 17-game winning streak, second to Michigan State’s 23, but shot a season-low 37%. The Demon Deacons are 1-15 at the Smith Center.

No. 6 Tennessee 96, Auburn 88--Isiah Victor scored 12 of his career-high 34 points in two overtime periods for the Volunteers (14-1) at Auburn, Ala., in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams. Tennessee has not played at home since Dec. 7--a span of seven games.

Auburn (10-4) used a four-guard offense and had six players score in double figures, led by sophomore Jamison Brewer’s career-high 21.

No. 7 Kansas 94, Texas Tech 82--The Jayhawks (12-1) used a 17-2 run in the second half at Lubbock, Texas, to take control of the Big 12 opener for both teams.

Drew Gooden was one of four double-figure scorers for Kansas, getting 23 points. Jamal Brown also had 23 points for Texas Tech (6-6).

No. 8 Virginia 88, North Carolina State 81--Chris Williams scored all of his 17 points while playing with four fouls in the second half for the Cavaliers (11-1, 1-1) in the ACC game at Charlottesville, Va.

North Carolina (8-4, 0-1) had four players foul out and struggled against Virginia’s full-court trap, committing 12 turnovers in the second half.

No. 9 Illinois 83, Ohio State 68--Frank Williams scored 21 points as Illini (12-3, 2-0) broke out of a shooting slump to beat the Buckeyes (10-4, 1-1) at Champaign, Ill.

Illinois, which came in shooting 44% and was ranked last in the Big Ten in three-point accuracy, made 55% of its shots--including nine of 19 from beyond the arc.

No. 10 Connecticut 82, St. John’s 80--The Red Storm (7-6, 1-1) missed three shots in the final minute of overtime at Storrs, Conn., to help the Huskies (12-2, 1-1) to avoid their first 0-2 Big East start in a decade.

Souleymane Wane accounted for game’s final points. He was fouled with 1:38 left and made the first of two free throws. He rebounded the missed free throw and was fouled. Again, he made one of two.

Johnnie Selvie led Connecticut with 26 points. Willie Shaw had 25 points for St. John’s.

Minnesota 54, No. 12 Wisconsin 49--At Minneapolis, the Badgers (10-2, 1-1 in the Big Ten) lost for the first time under interim Coach Brad Soderberg since he took over for the retired Dick Bennett on Nov. 30.

Shane Schilling (12 points) and Michael Bauer (11) both had three three-point baskets for Minnesota (13-2, 1-1).

No. 14 Syracuse 71, Pittsburgh 66--The Orangemen (13-1, 2-0) overcame a 15-point deficit in the second half at Pittsburgh by holding the Panthers (9-4, 1-1) scoreless over an eight-minute stretch.

Preston Shumpert had 20 points for Syracuse, which won for the eighth consecutive time at Pittsburgh. The Panthers got 23 points from Ricardo Greer.

No. 23 Iowa State 100, No. 15 Oklahoma 80--Kantrail Horton scored a career-high 27 points and Jamaal Tinsley made five of seven three-point shots for the Cyclones (13-1) in the Big 12 opener for both teams at Ames, Iowa.

Iowa State won its 29th consecutive home game and scored 100 points in a conference game for the first time since a 108-68 victory over Colorado on Feb. 18, 1995.

Oklahoma (11-2) shot 64% in the first half but went more than five minutes without a basket to start the second half. Hollis Price had 25 points for the Sooners.

No. 17 Maryland 93, Georgia Tech 80--Juan Dixon scored a season-high 28 points at College Park, Md., as the Terrapins (11-3, 2-0 in the ACC) won their 10th consecutive game.

Maryland took control with an 18-0 run in a five-minute span of the first half. Terence Morris had his first double-double of the season with 19 points and 13 rebounds.

Alvin Jones had 15 points, 14 rebounds and eight blocks for Georgia Tech (8-5, 0-2).

No. 18 Alabama 82, Louisiana State 73--Rod Grizzard scored 19 of his game-high 23 points in the second half for the Crimson Tide (12-1) in the SEC opener for both teams at Baton Rouge, La. The Tigers (9-2) had their home win streak end at 14.

After the game, Grizzard and a teammate went over to the LSU student section and exchanged taunts. LSU’s Brian Beshara confronted the Alabama players, and coaches from both teams exchanged words. Alabama assistant coach Tom Kelsey tried to get to LSU Coach John Brady but was restrained by arena security.

No. 21 Notre Dame 87, Rutgers 80--Troy Murphy scored a career-high 37 points, including eight in the final 4:12, for the Irish (9-3, 1-1 in the Big East) at South Bend, Ind.

Notre Dame shot 60.8% in getting the highest point total of the season against Rutgers, which had allowed an average of 59.1.

Jeff Greer led Rutgers (8-5, 0-2) with 26 points.

No. 22 Mississippi 81, Vanderbilt 68--In the SEC opener for both teams at Nashville, the Tigers improved to 13-1 for the first time in 75 years. The Commodores (10-3) lost a conference home opener for the first time in nine years.

Mississippi’s Justin Reed led all scorers with 19 points.

No. 24 Texas 78, Oklahoma State 71--The Longhorns (11-2) ran their home win streak to 21 in the Big 12 opener for both teams. Oklahoma State (8-3) has won at Austin, Texas, since 1974 and the Longhorns are the only South Division team the Cowboys haven’t beaten on the road since the inception of the Big 12 four seasons ago.

Maurice Evans led Texas with 18 points.

No. 25 Cincinnati 76, Charlotte 66--Kenny Satterfield and Steve Logan scored 18 points apiece for the Bearcats (10-3) in the Conference USA opener for both teams at Cincinnati.

Charlotte (8-5) cut a 20-point deficit to six with less than six minutes left but could get no closer.

OTHER GAMES

DeMarcus Minor made four free throws in the final 37 seconds, extending his Big 12 record to 46 in a row, to lift Baylor (12-0) to a 61-56 victory over Colorado (10-4) in the Big 12 opener for both teams at Waco, Texas. Baylor has its best record since the 1911-12 team won all 13 of its games. . . . Kareem Rush scored 30 points and made made two clinching free throws for Missouri (10-3) in a 68-66 victory over Nebraska (7-7) in the Big 12 opener for both teams at Columbia, Mo. Rush, who leads the Big 12 with a 21.6-point average, had had 22 of Missouri’s first 33 points. . . . Luke Recker scored 20 points, including two free throws for Iowa (12-2, 1-0 in the Big Ten) that sealed an 86-85 victory over Penn State (9-3, 0-2) at State College, Pa. Penn State’s Joe Crispin scored 12 of his 35 points in the final 3:32.

Freshman Emanuel Dildy’s three-point basket in overtime put New Mexico State (5-9) front for good in a 79-68 victory over New Mexico (10-2) at Albuquerque that moved Lou Henson into the top 10 among NCAA Division I coaches in career victories (731).

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Winner’s Circle

New Mexico State Coach Lou Henson moved into the top 10 in NCAA Division I career wins Saturday:

1. Dean Smith 879

2. Adolph Rupp 876

3. Jim Phelan* 812

4. Henry Iba 767

5. Bobby Knight 764

6. Ed Diddle 759

7. Jerry Tarkanian* 746

7. Phog Allen 746

8. Lefty Driesell* 744

9. Lou Henson* 731

9. Norm Stewart 731

*--Active