On Thursday, sophomore forward Otto Porter Jr. continued to rack up post-season awards as he was named a First Team All-American by The National Association of Basketball Coaches. The last Hoya to be named to the First All-American was Allen Iverson during 1995-1996 season.

Michigan’s Trey Burke, Creighton’s Doug McDermott, Indiana’s Victor Oladipo, and Gonzaga’s Kelly Olynyk round out the First Team All-America Team.

Porter is also a finalist for the Naismith Trophy and Wooden Award.  You can vote for him for the Naismith Award here.

He has also been awarded the Big East Player of the Year and was the only unanimous selection to the All-Big East First Team.

Porter emerged as one of the most versatile players in college basketball this year. The sophomore forward led Georgetown in scoring (16.2 points per game), rebounding (7.5 rebounds per game), and steals (1.8 steal per game). He was second on the team in blocks and steals as well. Porter was even better in Big East play posting 18.1 points per game and 7.3 rebounds per game.

He was amazingly consistent, scoring in double figures in every game he played in but three. The versatile forward scored over 20 points in 8 games.  Porter also recorded seven double-doubles.

On February 23, he had his most memorable game of the year in the last Big East game against Syracuse in the Carrier Dome.   He totaled a career-high of 33 points to go along with 8 rebounds and 5 steals. It remains unknown if Porter will declare for the NBA Draft. In every mock draft, he is projected to be taken early in first round and is likely to be a top-five pick.

Photo: Abigail Greene/Georgetown Voice

It is difficult to beat a team three times in one season.  Georgetown found that out on Friday night.  The No. 5 Hoyas (25-6, 14-4 Big East) fell to the No. 19 Orange of Syracuse (26-8, 11-7 Big East) 58-55 in overtime of the Big East Tournament.  It was the third time Georgetown faced Syracuse this year, with the Hoyas winning the two other match-ups.

“Obviously we will learn from this experience,” junior guard Markel Starks said. “Obviously it hurts right now.  At the same time, we just didn’t execute when we really needed to.”

It was only right that the final game of one of the fiercest rivalries in college basketball had to go to an extra period.

“Yes, It’s fitting it went into overtime,” Georgetown Head Coach John Thompson III said. “It is a shame they are heading down to Tobacco Road for a few dollars more.  This is rivalry that has meant a lot to our program and their program.”

The Blue and Gray fought back from a 12-point deficit in the second half to tie the game with seven seconds remaining in regulation. Sophomore forward Otto Porter Jr. sent the contest to overtime with two clutch free throws that tied the game at 51-51.

In overtime, Brandon Triche’s lay-up on the first possession gave Syracuse a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

A few plays later Starks fouled out.  Without him in the game, the Hoya offense stalled and mustered only one field goal in overtime.

Nonetheless, with the Orange up by 3, the Hoyas had a chance to tie the game twice with under a minute remaining.  First, Syracuse swarmed Porter Jr. outside the three-point line and forced him to make a bad pass and turn the ball over.

With 3 seconds remaining, Syracuse’s C.J. Fair missed two free throws giving the Hoyas one last chance to tie.  Sophomore guard Jabril Trawick heaved a shot from half-court at the buzzer but it banged off the backboard.

“I thought it was going in,” Thompson said.

“Definitely,” Porter agreed.

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Could there be a more perfect match-up?

Well, maybe if it were the finals, but that would be too perfect.

Could the stakes be any higher?

A shot at the Big East Tournament Championship.  A shot at a number-one seed in the NCAA Tournament (for the Hoyas).  Bragging rights at last Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden.  A chance for Georgetown to sweep the series against Syracuse this year.  Most importantly, a chance to end the Syracuse-Georgetown rivalry on top.

A more than 30-year Big East rivalry will officially end tonight at Madison Square.  No. 5 Georgetown (25-5, 14-4 Big East) will battle No. 19 Syracuse (25-8, 11-7 Big East) in the Big East semi-finals to decide who goes to the Big East Championship game.  Georgetown is 7-6 against Syracuse all-time in the Big East Tournament.

“It would be a great game,” sophomore Otto Porter Jr. said after Georgetown’s victory over Cincinnati. “I’m pretty sure they would a rematch against us.”

Those are wise words from the National Player of the Year Candidate. Syracuse most certainly would like a rematch since the Hoyas have embarrassed the Orange so far this year. First, on February 23, Georgetown visited a Carrier Dome full of 35,000 people rooting against them and left with a 57-46 triumph.  Two weeks later the Hoyas thumped the Orange 61-39 at the Verizon Center. It was Syracuse’s worst loss to Georgetown since 1985 and Syracuse’s lowest point total since 1962.

What has changed since Georgetown walloped Syracuse six days ago? The Orange have shown signs that they are getting out of their slump.  On Wednesday, Syracuse defeated Seton Hall 62-59 and then beat Pittsburgh 62-59 last night.  Over the past two games, senior forward James Southerland has looked liked the scorer everyone expected him to be.  He posted 20 points in both games and shot a sizzling 7-of-10 last night against Pittsburgh.  Against Seton Halll, sophomore guard Michael Carter-Williams set a Big East Tournament record with 14 assists.

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Memories of last year’s Big East Quarterfinal started to creep into the heads of Hoya fans early in the second half.  Georgetown (25-5, 14-4 Big East) trailed Cincinnati (22-11, 9-9 Big East) 33-31 at the start of the half after losing a 16-point lead. Head Coach John Thompson III even admitted he was nervous.

“Yes, [when you lose that lead] you’re worried,” Thompson said. “On the first four possessions of the second half we looked extremely flat.

The Hoyas didn’t panic, though.  They clamped down defensively and advanced to the semi-finals of the Big East Tournament with a 62-43 victory over Cincinnati.  The semi-finals will be a rematch with arch-rival Syracuse.

“For the most part, this group doesn’t get rattled,” Thompson said. “They went to a match-up which threw us off.  It didn’t take too many possessions for us to get settled into what we were trying to do.”

Sophomore forward Otto Porter Jr. led all scorers with 18 points and went 11-of-11 from the free throw line.  The Wooden Award candidate also recorded 6 rebounds and 2 assists.  Junior guard Markel Starks shot 6-of-10 from the field and finished with 14 points, 3 assists, and 2 steals.

Georgetown’s bench was crucial once again for the victory.  Freshman guard D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera added 13 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists.

“Otto is getting a lot of attention and he should,” Thompson said. “But we have a very good team.  During the same stretch, Otto played well, Markel, and Nate played very well.”

After struggling with his shot for much of the year, Smith-Rivera seems to have found his stroke.  He knocked down 5 of his 11 shots in the game.

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At the end of the Syracuse game, Head Coach John Thompson III said, “We are getting better.  We are a very young team.  We have used a business-like approach this year.”  Coming off one of the most memorable wins in Georgetown basketball history, that “business-like approach” will certainly be tested tonight when No. 7 Georgetown (21-4, 11-3 Big East) takes on Connecticut (19-7, 9-5 Big East) in Storrs, Conn.

By beating Syracuse and snapping the nation’s longest active home winning streak, the Hoyas now have moved into the top ten in the national rankings and into consideration for a one-seed in the NCAA tournament.  Georgetown became one of only four schools to be ranked in the top ten in each of the past seven seasons.  The Blue and Gray are also now alone atop the Big East rankings.

Sophomore forward Otto Porter Jr. has received buzz as the potential Big East Player of the Year and National Player of the Year.  His 33 points against Syracuse was the most points any Georgetown player has ever scored in the Syracuse-Georgetown rivalry.

The Huskies are not doing too shabbily either.  They have won 4 of their past 5 games including a 66-58 win over then-No. 6 Syracuse.  Last Thursday, Connecticut took down Cincinnati (19-9, 7-8 Big East) 73-66 in overtime.

Perhaps the only player in the Big East that arguably had a more impressive seven days than Porter Jr. last week was Connecticut guard Shabazz Napier.  Against Cincinnati and DePaul, Napier posted 27 points and 28 points respectively.

There is another similarity between Napier and Porter Jr.  Napier is known to affect each aspect of the game.  Although only 6’1,’’ Napier is 2nd on the team in rebounds, averaging 4.2 rebounds per game.  He also leads the Huskies in assists and steals with 4.6 assists per game and 2 steals per game.

Napier certainly is not Connecticut’s only scoring threat as four players average double figures in points.  The most dangerous of those scorers is sophomore guard Ryan Boatwright who averages 15.2 points per game.  Boatwright, like Napier, is not simply a scorer.  He has recorded 4.3 assists per game and 3 rebounds per game this year.

Georgetown will look to extend its winning streak to 10 games tonight.  Will Georgetown’s ascent continue?  The game will be broadcast on ESPN at 7 pm.  Follow along with @GUVoiceSports.

File Photo: Abigail Greene/Georgetown Voice (Feb. 20, 2013)

Before Saturday afternoon, Otto Porter Jr. was not a serious contender for National Player of the Year.  Things may have changed.  On Saturday, No. 11 Georgetown (21-4, 11-3 Big East) pulled out an improbable 57-46 win against No. 8 Syracuse (22-5, 10-4 Big East) in the noisy Carrier Dome on the back of Porter Jr.’s career-high 33 points.  With the victory and Marquette’s Saturday night loss, the Hoyas have seized sole possession of first place in the Big East.  Georgetown has now won 9 games in a row and 11 of its last 12 games.

“It was special.  You saw the show that I saw,” Head Coach John Thompson III said about Porter Jr.’s game. “To play that game up here against that opponent, special players do it.”

The win broke Syracuse’s 38-game home win streak, the longest in the nation, as the game was the final Big East match-up in Syracuse between Syracuse and Georgetown.  Porter Jr. shined in front of a Carrier Dome packed with 35,012 Syracuse fans and a smattering of Georgetown fans.

“It’s a good win in a very difficult place to play, against very, very good team,” Thompson said. “Any time you can come up here and win it means a lot. This game, this rivalry means a lot.”

With 4:52 left in the game, sophomore guard Jabril Trawick swung a pass across court to an open Porter Jr. who drilled the three pointer and was fouled.  Porter Jr.’s free throw that followed made the score 45-37 Georgetown and swung the momentum back in Georgetown’s favor.  The 4-point play halted a threatening Syracuse run that had cut Georgetown’s advantage to 4 points.

“I don’t know how that went in, but it did,” Porter Jr. said. “I was speechless.”

As has become expected of him, the sophomore forward had a full game, contributing in all facets.  Porter Jr. recorded 8 rebounds (including 4 offensive rebounds), 5 steals, and 2 assists.  The sophomore forward made 12-of-19 shots on the night and 5-of-10 from three-point range.

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On Monday night, one of the hottest teams in college basketball, no. 15 Georgetown (18-4, 8-3 Big East), grinded out a 63-55 win over no. 18 Marquette (17-6, 8-3 Big East).  The Hoyas have now won six straight games and eight of their last nine, putting them at second place in the Big East.

As has been the case during this streak, sophomore forward Otto Porter Jr. and junior guard Markel Starks led the way for Georgetown.  Porter Jr. finished with 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists.  It is the fifth time Porter Jr. has scored over 20 points this season.  Starks had 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists.

Junior forward Nate Lubick also reached double figures with 10 points and a team-high of four assists.  Lubick did most of his damage from the free throw line where he had eight free throws.  Sophomore Mikael Hopkins had a career-high and game-high of 9 rebounds and also added 6 points and 3 blocks.

“God bless him.  [Hopkins] has to do it again on Saturday,” Georgetown Head Coach John Thompson III said. “He did a good job in that regard, but he is supposed to do a good job in that regard.”

The Hoyas held Marquette’s leading scorer Vander Blue to just 7 points and powerful forward Davante Gardner to 2 points.  Georgetown also caused 19 Marquette turnovers including 11 in the first half.

“Mikael [Hopkins], Nate [Lubick], and Moses [Ayegba] did a good job of not letting their big men get the ball down low,” Thompson said.

Marquette grabbed an early 11-6 lead five minutes into the game.  The Golden Eagles scored easy baskets in the post including 6 points from center Chris Otule.  The Hoyas quickly responded, though, with 2 three pointers from Starks that started a 10-2 Georgetown run.  The Blue and Gray claimed a 14-11 advantage that they would not lose for the rest of the game.

“I think our big guys got in a rhythm of what they were trying to do,” Thompson said. “We didn’t necessarily make a tactical change.  Our big guys just did a better job of guarding [Otule].”

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Following a week off, the No. 20/21 Hoyas will now enter perhaps their most difficult week of the season beginning with an away match-up with Rutgers today.  In the upcoming week, Georgetown also hosts No. 24 Marquette and visits No. 17 Cincinnati.  For starters, the Blue and Gray cannot overlook the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers.  When Georgetown traveled to New Brunswick last year, the No. 12 Hoyas trailed the majority of the game and needed 6 points from freshman star Otto Porter in the final 1:36 to win 52-50.  In the 2009-10 season, Rutgers upset No. 8 Georgetown at the Verizon Center.

Rutgers is currently stuck in a five-game losing streak, which is primarily a result of the strength of their opponents.  Three of Rutgers’s five losses have been to ranked opponents and four of those five came against the top half of the Big East.  On January 5, Rutgers upset then No. 24 Pittsburgh 67-62.  Two weeks later, the Scarlet Knights nearly defeated then No. 20 Notre Dame in South Bend 69-66.

Georgetown will look to continue its streak of shutting down the top Big East scorers when the Hoyas take on Rutgers guard Eli Carter.  Carter is tenth in the Big East in scoring averaging 15.1 points per game.  He has not been shooting very well of late.  Even though Carter totaled 13 points against Louisville, he went 5-of-14 from the field.

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Two of the Big East’s hottest teams will come face-to-face this afternoon at the Verizon Center.  St. John’s (14-7, 6-3 Big East) has not lost since the Hoyas beat them at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 12. Georgetown (15-4, 5-3 Big East) has won five of its last six games, including three straight.

The Johnnies are undefeated in five games with their most impressive win coming over Notre Dame on Jan. 15.  Their other four wins were against teams in the bottom half the Big East.  On Wednesday, St. John’s squeaked out a win against DePaul 79-74 in overtime.

“They are playing as well as anyone in our league right now,” Head Coach John Thompson III said.  “They are playing smaller which makes them more dangerous offensively.”

Besides forward Jakarr Sampson, who is 6-8, the Red Storm does not start another player who is over 6-5.  When the Hoyas played the Johnnies on Jan. 12, St. John’s started 6-9 freshman center Chris Obekpa and 6-6 sophomore forward Amir Garrett.  Unfortunately for the Hoyas, they do not have a dominant inside scorer.

“They have stepped up,” Thompson III said.  “They are playing much differently and much better than the first time we played them.”

St. John’s did have all starters finish in double figures against DePaul.  The Johnnies, however, are still primarily a two-man attack.  Sampson averages 14.2 points per game and 6.6 rebounds per game.  Sophomore guard D’Angelo Harrison continues to be one of the top scorers in the Big East.  He averages 19.7 points per game, 4.6 rebounds per game, and 2.1 assists per game. Read the rest of this entry »

While Hoya fans are probably still hung up on Georgetown’s most impressive win of the season over Louisville, the Blue and Gray (14-4, 4-3 Big East) will look to keep rolling against Seton Hall (13-7, 2-5 Big East) on Wednesday night in a potential trap game.  The Louisville win capped off a week in which the Hoyas also handily trounced then no. 24 Notre Dame 63-47 in South Bend.

On Saturday, the Blue and Gray pulled off a 53-51 upset of then no. 5 Louisville on the back of 17-point performances from junior guard Markel Starks and sophomore forward Otto Porter Jr.  Starks climbed out of his recent slump as he shot 43.8% and reached double-digits for the first time in three games.  With 12 rebounds in the contest, Porter Jr. posted his fourth double-double of the season and has averaged 19.2 points per game since sophomore forward Greg Whittington was ruled ineligible to play. Without Whittington in the line-up, the Hoyas are now 4-1.

Although Georgetown survived to defeat the Cardinals, the Hoya offense has remained a concern. Sophomore forward Aaron Bowen’s acrobatic shot was Georgetown’s only field goal in the final 4:17 minutes of the game.  The Blue and Gray essentially relied on the two-man offense of Starks and Porter Jr.

Key to Georgetown’s victory was a gritty defensive effort.  The Cardinals failed to score a field goal in the final four minutes of the game.  Senior guard and national player of the year candidate Peyton Siva was held scoreless and forward Chane Behanan only scored seven points.

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