NEW YORK – When sophomore center Greg Monroe first came to Georgetown he was well aware of the Hilltop’s history of great big men, and he said it was a big factor in coming to play for the Hoyas.
“It played a lot in [the decision to come to Georgetown],” Monroe said of the other Georgetown greats. “The history here as far as big men is great. There’s no secret about that. I just come in and try to do what I can.”
On Friday night Monroe looked ready to join the pantheon of Hoya bigs, dropping 23 points, grabbing 13 rebounds and dishing a point guard-like seven assists to lead Georgetown (23-9) to an 80-57 rout of Marquette (22-11) in the [semifinals of the Big East tournament](https://www.thehoya.com/albums/big-east-hoyas-vs-marquette). The Hoyas will play in their third championship game in four years and 13th overall on Saturday night against West Virginia at 9 p.m.
For the Hoyas, their revenge tour continues. For the fourth game in a row they will have a chance to beat a team that defeated them in the regular season, a fact that the players acknowledged as motivation after the game.
From the opening tip on Friday, it was clear the Hoyas were going to dominate the paint against the smaller Golden Eagles. On Georgetown’s second possession, Monroe found junior forward Julian Vaughn, who had eight points and seven rebounds, in the paint for a quick two. Three of Georgetown’s next four field goals would come from Monroe in the paint as the Hoyas opened up a 15-4 lead with 15:44 to play in the first half.
“I think we just got on a roll,” Thompson said. “I think Greg and Julian and Austin got down in the post.”
The Hoyas held a 46-22 advantage in the paint and outrebounded the Golden Eagles 44-24.
“They absolutely annihilated us inside,” Marquette Head Coach Buzz Williams said. “We got beat by 20 on the boards. It’s hard to beat a team when you score 50, 60 percent of your points in the paint. I thought they were great.”
Marquette responded to the early Georgetown push, however, with a barrage of threes from senior forward Lazar Hayward (15 points) and senior guard Maurice Acker (16 points) to turn the 11-point deficit into a 29-29 tie with 5:48 left in the half after a Hayward three.
A 33-30 halftime advantage quickly ballooned into an 11-point lead thanks to eight quick points from sophomore guard Jason Clark, who finished the day with 15 points, four rebounds and three assists. It was Clark’s third straight game with 15 points or more.
As was the case in the first half, the Golden Eagles responded, going on a 10-0 run to cut the lead to 48-47 with 13:34 to play.
Junior guard Chris Wright, who is averaging 19 points per game in the Big East tournament, scored eight of the Hoyas’ next 10 points. On one occasion, he missed a shot in the paint but outhustled a slew of defenders to get his own rebound and put it back. Wright finished the day with 15 points, four rebounds and two assists.
“It was just the flow of the game,” Wright said. “We had some guys that were rolling early . I just think it was time for me to make a play. And I just read the defense and made the correct plays. I wasn’t trying to be selfish or anything … There [were] just openings, and we were capitalizing on it.”
With seven minutes to go, and with Spike Lee, who cheered for Hoya great Patrick Ewing as a Knick, watching in a Georgetown sweatshirt, the semifinal matchup became the Greg Monroe show.
He started it off with a quick two in the paint. The next time down junior guard Austin Freeman, who had 12 points and eight rebounds, found Monroe wide open in the right corner. Standing at 6-foot-10, Monroe calmly nailed the three to give the Hoyas a 67-52 advantage.
Vaughn blocked an Acker shot on the ensuing possession and Monroe grabbed the loose ball and led the charge in transition before finding Freeman for an layup and the foul.
“I would say that when he first got here, we were amazed at what he could do,” Wright said of Monroe. “Especially the way he passes. He sees the court very well. I mean it’s nothing new. We all know Greg is a phenomenal player.”
A very unselfish player, as evidenced by his 14 assists in the past two games, Monroe said occasionally his teammates will urge him to take the forefront in a game.
“Sometimes, Chris [Wright] in the timeout or a huddle will say, `Okay it’s time for you to take over’ or `It’s time for you to start dominating,'” Monroe said.
With an 18-point lead with five minutes to play the Hoyas never looked back, cruising to the finish line and the championship game of the Big East tournament.
The Hoyas shot 53.6 percent from the field and 50 percent from beyond the arc while holding the Golden Eagles to just 37 percent from the floor and 30 percent from three-point range. The Hoyas have shot 52.3 percent from the field in the Big East tournament.
While Monroe may be staking his claim among the best big men Georgetown has had to offer, he is quick to temper any talk of it.
“I’m honored to follow people that were so good here,” Monroe said. “But I don’t compare myself to them. I just come out and try to do things for my team. The things they accomplished and did and went on to do great things at a high level. Me just being here two years, I can’t put myself in the same category as those players.”
On Saturday night against West Virginia, Monroe will get a chance to do what many of those before him were able to do: win a Big East tournament title.
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