Georgetown, West Virginia battle for right to play in Big East Tournament championship game

Friday, March 14, 2008
7 PM - Madison Square Garden

#1 Georgetown vs. #5 West Virginia

It was a quite a day for both Georgetown and West Virginia yesterday in the Big East quarterfinals. The Hoyas kicked off the second round action by bombarding Villanova with 17 3-pointers, tying a Big East tournament record. Powered by Jonathan Wallace, Jessie Sapp, and DaJuan Summers, Georgetown blitzed Villanova 82-63 to advance to the Big East semifinals for the second year in a row. The Georgetown trio combined to score 62 points, matching Villanova’s total for the game, hitting 14 of the Hoyas’ 17 3’s. Georgetown improved to 13-0 all-time in the Big East as a No.1 seed, with first-team All-Big East center Roy Hibbert failing to register a point for the first time since 2005, and fouling out of the game.

As stellar as Georgetown’s long range shooting was, West Virginia forward Joe Alexander was just as stellar, all by his lonesome. Alexander was red hot in the 78-72 win over UConn, scoring a career-high 34 points. His full repertoire was on display on Thursday, pulling the ball on the deck and taking it to the basket, spot up jumpers, and rebounds. There wasn’t much Alexander didn’t do for WVU, scoring over 30 points for the second straight time against UConn. The Mountaineers aren’t a particularly big squad as a unit, but they played above rim against the Huskies, controlling the glass 42-26. It was the second win in as many days for the Mountaineers, who defeated Providence the previous day, 58-53.

Now, the two teams will clash for a spot in the Big East championship game on Saturday night.

West Virginia has won four straight, while Georgetown has run off five in a row. Over the past five games, Alexander has averaged 30 points per contest. In the Big East tournament, Alexander is averaging 28 ppg. The Hoyas flexed their muscles against Villanova, showing that they are deep and resilient, and the Hoyas can be successful when Hibbert struggles. Georgetown boasts the Sixth Man of the Year in the Big East, Patrick Ewing Jr., who performed some late game heroics in Georgetown’s 55-54 win in Morgantown back in January. Ewing blocked a shot from West Virginia’s De’Sean Butler as the buzzer sounded, securing the win for the Hoyas.

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Jessie Sapp led Georgetown with 15 points in January’s win over the Mountaineers, and Roy Hibbert posted 12 points and 10 boards. Darris Nichols had 16 points for WVU, who were without Alexander in the starting lineup. Alexander finished with seven points, coming off the bench for the second game in a row as a result of a groin injury.

The winner advances to the Big East championship game on Saturday night at 9 p.m.

by Frank Minniti
BigEast-fans.com Director of Content

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