For most of the conference season, the Hoyas have been able to sneak up on teams and win games as the underdog. On Tuesday night against St. John’s, Georgetown showed that it could take care of business when it was the heavy favorite, too.

The Hoyas overcame some periods of sluggish basketball and finally broke away from the pesky Red Storm to win 66-57 before a crowd of 7,864 at MCI Center. It was only the Hoyas’ second victory in their last 10 games against their old conference rival.

The game was a matchup of two teams picked to finish at the bottom of the Big East by the coaches in the preseason. After seven games, Georgetown has shown that it was seriously underestimated in November. The Hoyas improved to 5-2 in the conference and 13-5 overall.

“People made a big mistake in the preseason,” St. John’s Head Coach Norm Roberts said about Georgetown. “This team’s a lot more talented than people think.”

The Red Storm, despite being rocked by scandal last season and winning only one game – against the Hoyas – in the Big East all of last year, have surprised people this year as well.

Because of violations by former team members and coaches, St. John’s is banned from competing in the Big East tournament this March, but that has not stopped the players from playing very hard against the of rest of the conference under rookie coach Roberts. While they are only 1-5 in the conference and 7-9 overall, the one win came against then-No. 21 Pittsburgh, and three of their losses were by a combined total of 11 points.

What success the Red Storm have had this season is due in large part to the play of sophomore guard Daryll Hill, who was leading the Big East in scoring coming into the game with an average of nearly 21 points per contest. Hill managed to score 20 points Tuesday, but he shot only 8-for-20 from the field and turned the ball over nine times. Seven of his 20 points came in the final two minutes of the game, after Georgetown had opened up a 16-point lead to put the game virtually out of reach.

“We just wanted to be attentive to where he [Hill] was,” Georgetown Head Coach John Thompson III said. “We were fortunate he coughed the ball up a few times, which is not his nature.”

Junior forward Brandon Bowman led the strong defensive effort by the Hoyas with five steals. Freshman guard Jonathan Wallace swiped four of his own.

St. John’s turned the ball over 19 times in the game. In one key stretch at the end of the first half, the Red Storm turned the ball over on three straight possessions and the Hoyas, who had trailed for the first 14 minutes of the game, took advantage. They finished the first half on a 7-0 run and led 31-27 going into the locker room.

“You cannot have careless turnovers like we did,” Roberts said. “Georgetown’s an opportunistic team and we gave them opportunities.”

On offense, standout freshman forward Jeff Green was undoubtedly the key for Georgetown. The three-time Big East Freshman of the Week was relatively quiet in the previous two games as his classmate, center Roy Hibbert, stepped up and played his best games of the season against Syracuse and Notre Dame. But Hibbert found himself in foul trouble last night, and Green came forward to fill the void in the low post in a big way. He had 21 points and only missed a career-high by clanking two free throws off the rim in the final minute of the game. He also pulled down eight offensive rebounds for nine overall.

“I think he’s the best freshman in the league by far,” Roberts said.

Georgetown faces undefeated No. 8 Boston College at 7:30 p.m. Saturday night at Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, Mass.