Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Hoyas Look for Revenge in Second-Round Matchup With USF

As the final buzzer sounded in February at Verizon Center, South Florida sophomore guard Dominique Jones could be seen flexing his muscles towards the crowd, saying, “This is my city.”

On Wednesday South Florida (20-11) and No. 22 Georgetown (20-9) will find out which team New York City belongs to when the two sides face off in a second-round matchup in the Big East tournament at noon at Madison Square Garden.

When the Bulls and Hoyas faced off in February, Jones owned the night, dropping 29 points on 8-of-17 shooting while adding eight rebounds and four assists.

“I think he does a very good job of taking what you give him,” Georgetown Head Coach John Thompson III said. “He does a very good job for someone who scores as many points as he does of not forcing anything.”

In an opening-round game Jones, a first-team all-Big East selection, had 20 points, nine rebounds, four steals and three assists in a 58-49 win over DePaul. The Bulls, who shot 49 percent from the floor at Verizon Center, shot at a 42.9 percent clip in New York.

Sophomore center Greg Monroe was virtually unstoppable the last time the teams met, dropping 21 points on a very efficient 9-of-14 shooting with eight rebounds. For all of his offensive production, the sophomore contributed to much of the Hoyas woes with four of their 14 turnovers, while going 3-of-7 from the free-throw line.

The Hoyas struggled all night from the charity stripe in February, going 11-of-22 in a game in which they saw an 11-point second-half lead crumble into an eight-point win for the visitors.

South Florida was without sophomore center Augustus Gilchrest due to injury. The 6-foot-10, 235-pound Gilchrest, who played 25 minutes against DePaul, has averaged just over nine points per game in the eight games since his return and along with junior Jarrid Famous, he will be tasked with containing Monroe.

“We have to get steals [and] deflections [against Georgetown],” Jones said on Tuesday. “We have to get out in transition. You know, and that’s something we’re going to try to do tomorrow for sure.”

Junior guard Austin Freeman had 21 points in the game last month, but his backcourt mate Chris Wright struggled from the field, going 3-of-10 from the floor and 0-of-6 from three-point range en route to an eight-point performance.

Last season the Hoyas fell on the first day of the tournament to St. John’s, and Monroe is looking forward to a prolonged stay in New York this year.

“Speaking for myself and probably most of my teammates I am very excited,” Monroe said. “Definitely for the Big East . I’ve been there and I know it was only one game. This time I am trying to make a bigger splash than we did last year.”

The Bulls are confident that they can win five games in five days, a point Head Coach Stan Heath stressed Tuesday afternoon.

“We need to keep winning,” he said. “My senior was in the locker room, Chris Howard, he said, ‘Make sure you bring five suits.’ So I did.”

Tipoff is scheduled for noon at Madison Square Garden.

*Follow us on [Twitter](https://www.twitter.com/thehoyasports) and at [The Hoya Paranoia](https://blogs.thehoya.com/paranoia).*

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