It’s February 22, and in some respects it is déjà vu all over again for the Hoyas.

On this date last year, Georgetown was 21-5 overall and 11-2 in Big East play. The Hoyas were ranked No. 12 and were two days away from knocking off No. 10 Pittsburgh 61-53 at Verizon Center.

Today, No. 12 Georgetown stands at 21-4 overall and 11-3 in conference play. They take on Cincinnati (13-12, 8-5) at Verizon Center tomorrow.

It may sound like the Hoyas are primed for another Final Four run, but despite the nearly-identical records, there are several reasons to believe that last year’s team was significantly better at this stage of the season.

After back-to-back losses to Villanova and Pittsburgh in early January, last year’s Hoyas took their game to another level. They won 11 conference games in a row, and they weren’t just beating teams – they were destroying them. Georgetown’s average margin of victory during the win streak was 13.5 points. The run included a 76-58 victory over then-No.11 Marquette, a 71-53 trouncing of then-No. 23 West Virginia and a particularly impressive 73-65 road win at Louisville.

This year’s squad, on the other hand, seems to be playing its worst basketball of the season. The Hoyas’ last truly impressive performance – with the exception of the laugher at lowly St. John’s – came over a month ago, when Georgetown defeated Notre Dame 84-65 at home. Since then, the Hoyas have barely survived against unranked Syracuse, West Virginia and Villanova. Instead of winning by eight at Louisville, the Hoyas lost by eight at Freedom Hall, and they fell at Syracuse by seven after trailing by 16 points at halftime.

Even their recent double-digit wins have been ugly. The Hoyas shot just 43 percent from the field against Seton Hall, 39 percent against South Florida and 40 percent at Providence on Monday. In their last six games, the Hoyas were shooting a combined 41.3 percent from the floor. Their most accurate shooting performance of late came at Louisville when they hit 44 percent of their field goal attempts.

The recent poor shooting performances are especially surprising because Georgetown has been one of the best shooting teams in the country during the last few seasons, routinely connecting on over 50 percent of its field-goal attempts. After the Notre Dame win on Jan. 19, Georgetown was third in the country in field-goal percentage (51.2 percent on the season). Entering Monday’s game against Providence, the Hoyas had dropped to 11th with 48.9 percent.

Junior guard Jessie Sapp, sophomore forward DaJuan Summers and freshman guard Austin Freeman have all struggled to find their stroke lately. Sapp has made 36.5 percent of his field goal attempts over the last six games, Summers has made 36.6 percent and Freeman has connected on 32.3 percent.

The numbers suggest that Summers in particular should take fewer shots, while senior center Roy Hibbert should take more. Out of the seven players who have at least 70 field goal attempts this season, Summers has the worst field goal percentage (41.5 percent). He also averages the most shots per game (8.8) out of any player on the team. Hibbert, on the other hand, shoots a team-best 60.3 percent from the field but only averages 8.6 field goal attempts per contest.

So is Georgetown doomed for an early exit from the NCAA tournament?

Not at all. It has been said that defense wins championships, and the Hoyas’ defense has put them in position to claim the Big East title. Despite their struggles on the offensive end, the Hoyas have played outstanding defense all season long. Georgetown has held its opponents to a 35.7 percent field goal percentage overall, the best field goal defense percentage in the country.

Against Cincinnati tomorrow, the Hoyas will focus on shutting down number five, sophomore guard Deonta Vaughn, a lethal scorer who averages 17.4 points per game. Senior forward John Williamson (10.5 ppg) is the only other player who averages in double figures for the Bearcats, who have played surprisingly well in conference play considering their unimpressive overall record.

With just four regular-season games remaining for Georgetown, it looks like a four-way race for the league title. Georgetown, Louisville, Connecticut and Notre Dame all have three conference losses. Connecticut has the easiest schedule, while Louisville has the most challenging slate of games ahead of them. Two key contests will go a long way toward deciding the league champion: Notre Dame at Louisville next Thursday and Louisville at Georgetown on March 8.

If the Hoyas go 4-0 to finish the regular season, they will win the league because they hold the tiebreaker against Connecticut and Notre Dame.

Tomorrow, the Hoyas will try to avoid an upset that could put the Big East regular season title out of reach. Tip-off is set for noon at Verizon Center.

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