The No. 7 Georgetown men’s basketball team (23-4, 13-3 Big East) took on Rutgers (13-14, 4-12 Big East) at home Saturday night, bringing in their eleventh win in a row. The first half revealed a close contest as Rutgers did not let the Hoyas pull away with a significant lead, but foul trouble in the second half for the Scarlet Knights would be their undoing. After only leading by 1 point coming into the second half, 16 made free throw attempts would allow the Hoyas to secure a final score of 64-51 over Rutgers.

The stand out performance belonged to none other than sophomore forward Otto Porter Jr., who posted 28 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 steals for the Hoyas. No other Georgetown player would break the double-figure mark in scoring but both junior guard Markel Starks and freshman guard D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera brought in 9 apiece while junior center Moses Ayegba pulled down 7 rebounds. Ayegba was a strong presence down low in the second half as he helped Georgetown out-rebound Rutgers 35 to 27 in the game.

“Well, I know who I’m voting for for BIG EAST Player of the Year,” said Rutgers Head Coach Mike Rice of Porter in his opening statement.

This matchup was physical throughout as it ended with a total of 51 combined personal fouls for the two teams. Porter alone was sent to the line to take 18 attempts, of which he made 15 and gave Georgetown an offensive boost that was reflected in the final score. With the Rutgers defenders prone to fouling, Porter noticeably took the ball inside more frequently instead of relying on long jumpers.

“That’s the way tonight played out. They were very physical. There were a lot of fouls made during that game at both ends. In the second half, both of us were in the 1-and-1 with 15 minutes left. It’s one of those games that puts pressure on the officials, because when there’s a foul called every possession down the court, then they start looking at the scoreboard,” said Head Coach John Thompson III.

The Hoyas effectively emulated their signature stingy defense as Rutgers struggled mightily to get the ball inside for the better part of the game. Their 54 field goal attempts were a direct effect of tough defense from Georgetown. The Hoyas managed to keep the Scarlet Knights out on the perimeter for the most part while not committing an exorbitant number of fouls. Rutgers only took 15 free throws and, luckily for the Hoyas, only made 6 of those.

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After a thrilling 79-78 double overtime win against Connecticut (19-8, 9-6 Big East), No. 7 Georgetown will look to extend its 10-game winning streak this tonight at Verizon Center when they take on Rutgers (13-13, 4-11 Big East) at 9 p.m. The Hoyas will look to complete the season sweep against the Scarlet Knights, whom they defeated earlier this season 69-63 in Piscataway on February 9.

In that game, the Hoyas were very efficient on the offensive end, shooting 57 percent from the field, including 46 percent from three-point land. Sophomore forward Otto Porter Jr. had a big game for the Hoyas, notching a double-double with 19 points and 14 rebounds. Junior guard Markel Starks led the Hoyas in scoring with 20 points, on 8-of-12 shooting form the field. Sophomore center Mikael Hopkins and freshman guard D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera also scored in double figures for Georgetown, with 14 and 13 points respectively. Junior forward Nate Lubick was mired in foul trouble for the whole game and did not have much of an impact, scoring no points in only 15 minutes of play before fouling out.

For the Scarlet Knights, sophomore guard Eli Carter exploded for 23 points for the Scarlet Knights in the contest, almost double his season average. Despite Rutgers only shooting 38 percent from the field, Carter managed to keep them in the game as he carried the bulk of the scoring load. No other Rutgers players scored in double figures as the Hoyas managed to contain sophomore guard Myles Mack, Rutgers’ second-leading scorer, to only 9 points.

Rutgers has struggled mightily recently, having lost 9 of their last 10, including their most recent loss to Providence last Saturday 76-72. Barring an anemic performance by Georgetown, there is no reason to believe the Hoyas will be riding high on a 11-game winning streak into their matchup in Philadelphia against Villanova (18-11, 9-7 Big East) on March 6. The game will be broadcast live on ESPNU.

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

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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Photos: Abby Greene

Photos: Richard J. de La Paz and Nick Baker

The Georgetown Hoyas (16-3, 6-2 Big East) came away with a 52-50 victory against Rutgers (11-9, 3-4 Big East) this afternoon in thrilling fashion. Freshman Otto Porter scored the team’s final six points to clinch the game against a feisty Scarlet Knight group. Henry Sims contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Jason Clark scored 11 for the Hoyas, who took 36 free throws on the day.

Check out Tim Shine’s recap over on the Voice website.

Otto to the Rescue

The end of today’s game belonged to the freshman. First, sophomore Nate Lubick found him with a long pass for a breakaway layup to bring the Hoyas within two points. On the next possession, Porter found himself in the paint and put up an unguarded shot to tie the game. After a defensive stop, the Missouri native made it to the free throw lane where he drained both free throws to win the game.

On his freshman’s play, coach John Thompson III put it in the same simple manner he has all season:

“He is composed,” Thompson said. “Otto doesn’t get rattled, he just plays the game.”

Porter, in his own quiet and humble nature, said he simply took what the defense gave him on his jumper to give Georgetown the lead. As for his clutch free throws, Porter also shook it off as simply doing his job.

“I was just thinking, just hit the free throws,” he said. “It just came, I practiced my free throws and I was able to hit them.”

More on the freshman and some enjoyable quotes after the jump…

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Georgetown-centric sports blog Casual Hoya is reporting that assistant basketball coach David Cox is leaving for Rutgers.

Cox has been an assistant under John Thompson III for the past two seasons and has been instrumental in the recent recruiting classes, most notably gaining Moses Abraham for the incoming class.  Cox served seven years as an assistant coach for the highly regarded D.C. Assault AAU team.

Rutgers’ team, with its impressive record of not making the NCAA tournament since 1991 or winning a tournament game since 1983, recently came under the helm of Mike Rice, who left Robert Morris after back-to-back NCAA appearances.

It is suspected that the current video coordinator Darryl Prue, who has held the role for one season and previously worked at Georgetown in 2004-2005 and 2006-2007, will be named to the spot.  Prue is a D.C. native and has many ties in the area, which could lead to him potentially filling the hole left in the recruiting area for Georgetown.

GUHoyas.com, the official athletics department website, has yet to indicate whether or not Prue will actually get the position, as Cox and Prue are both listed in the roles they served in the 2009-2010 season.

We gave you your guide to rooting against Rutgers three weeks ago before the Hoyas beat the Scarlet Knights here in D.C., but Sunday marks the second half of the home-and-home up in New Jersey.

In case you’ve forgotten why you should hate Rutgers, take a look back and make sure there’s no love lost between Georgetown and Rutgers on Valentine’s Day. Not much has changed since January: you should still hate the Scarlet Knights for making the Hoyas waste energy before a crucial matchup with Syracuse, Rutgers is now only the second-worst team in the Big East but still just as painful to watch, and Piscataway is even worse after getting buried in snow.

Also, the cast of Jersey Shore has abandoned the Garden State for South Beach, so there is even less reason to make the trip north.

Photos by Lynn Kirshbaum

This year, Vox is taking a page from Deadspin and New York’s books and giving you a guide for rooting against each of the Hoyas’ Big East opponents. In preparation for Saturday’s game against Rutgers, here are three reasons to hate the Scarlet Knights:

Exertion

“I don’t think it’s a relief at all. This is the Big East, anything can happen. All the teams are good. I don’t look at them by their record. I see their players and their coaching. They have really good players, and I don’t think it’s a rest at all. It’s going to be a tough game for us.”

That would be Jason Clark, talking about Rutgers. It’s good the Hoyas aren’t looking past any opponent, but to get that psyched up about the Scarlet Knights? On Wednesday night, the Hoyas played a hard-fought game in Pittsburgh, and they have to travel up to Syracuse on Monday, for what should be Georgetown’s biggest game yet this season. All Rutgers stands to do is make the players wake up early on a Saturday when they should be enjoying some rest at home before playing their most hated rival. Hate the Scarlet Knights for making the Hoyas waste their time and energy.

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