Georgetown vs. Notre Dame: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly From The Hoyas' Blowout Win On Senior Night

Georgetown and Notre Dame met at Verizon Center on Monday night as the two battled for position in the Big East. With their 59-41 win Monday, the Hoyas are in the driver's seat for a double bye in the Big East Tournament. Coach John Thompson III couldn't care less, though, saying he is just concerned about beating Marquette. "We are concentrating on beating Marquette, and then after that, beating the next team we face. I'm not concerned with the double bye."

The Good:

• Georgetown's Defense: Notre Dame has been held under 55 points three times all season, and had yet to be held to under 50 -- their lowest total this season was 50 points in a 50-48 win over UConn. Georgetown held them to just 41 tonight. The Hoyas shut down the Fighting Irish from the perimeter, as they shot just 17.6% (3-for-17) from behind the arc. The Hoyas contained the Irish's top two scorers -- Jerian Grant and Eric Atkins -- and held them to a combined 17 points. Jason Clark was asked what he thought the key to their great defense was and responded "A tough loss, an embarrassing loss," a reference to the Seton Hall game.
  
• Georgetown's Seniors: Henry Sims played one of his most complete games as a Hoya. He finished with 12 points, 6 rebounds and a team-high 5 assists. Sims also had the defensive play of the game, as he had a huge block on Jerian Grant with 4:45 left in the game. Jason Clark finished with 13 points and 6 rebounds. Clark set the tone for the Hoyas early on as he got the team going with two hustle plays to track down rebounds. He also hit a three-pointer for the game's first points.
  
• F Greg Whittington, Georgetown: Whittington actually managed to upstage the seniors on senior night. The reserve was known as a scorer coming out of high school, but had only scored double-digit points once this season. That total doubled after Monday night. The freshman had a career-high 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including 3-of-3 from behind the arc. Although Coach Thompson wasn't giving out only praise for the freshman, as he pointed out that he only had one rebound.
• Mike Brey's Opening Statement: Calling it a gem doesn't even begin to do it justice. Brey walked into the media room and simply said "Well, let's get this over with so I can get back to South Bend." Bravo, Mike Brey, Bravo. He then took a few questions, but looked like he wanted out as quick as possible.

The Bad:

• Notre Dame's Two Leading Scorers: Jerian Grant and Eric Atkins average 12.7 points apiece on the season. Atkins finished with 9 points, while Grant finished with 8 points. Neither shot the ball well, as they combined to go just 6-for-22. Coach Thompson praised his team's perimeter defense all night, and shutting down those two were the key to their defensive effort. Georgetown made it so Notre Dame got few, if any, open looks from the perimeter all night. Their rotation on defense was impressive tonight, as they closed down quickly on shooters.
• F Hollis Thompson, Georgetown: If you had to pick out something "bad" for Georgetown tonight, it would be the junior forward. He shot just 2-of-7, and finished with 5 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 turnovers. He had a couple tough shots that just didn't fall tonight and really didn't play poorly.

The Ugly:

• F Jack Cooley, Notre Dame: Cooley couldn't win tonight. Before the game, Georgetown fans were letting him have it with the student section chanting "You aren't Harangody" in reference to ex-Irish big man -- and near look-a-like -- Luke Harangody. The game didn't get better for Cooley as he finished with 2 points and zero rebounds. Cooley averages 12.3 points and a team-leading 9.3 rebounds, and was completely neutralized by Henry Sims tonight. Coach Brey wasn't sure what the problem was either: "For him to play 25 minutes and not get a rebound is staggering. That's the one thing he can do."

And-One:

• Georgetown's defense was stifling tonight. It was one of the best defensive performances I've seen all season from a local team. If the Hoyas can continue to play defense like that they have a real shot to not only win the Big East Tournament, but fare pretty well in the NCAA Tournament. Now, if only they could hit 3's with a little more consistency, they could be real scary. The fact that this team was supposed to be "rebuilding" is incredible. It's a real testament to the leadership of the seniors and the job Coach John Thompson III has done this season.