Welcome back, Big Three.

For the better part of three weeks, Georgetown’s Big Three of Austin Freeman, Greg Monroe and Chris Wright had struggled to click, rarely running at all cylinders.

On a night where Austin Freeman would drop 29, Chris Wright would be quiet with four points. Greg Monroe dominated Rutgers, and Freeman and Wright spent the second half in silence. Last week, with Austin Freeman in the hospital, the Hoyas literally didn’t have the Big Three, as they stumbled at West Virginia.

After a month that has been filled with tough losses, sickness and the stunning news that Austin Freeman had been diagnosed with diabetes, Georgetown’s three biggest stars stepped up and dominated in their regular season finale. Combining for 59 points, the Big Three led the Hoyas to a 74-47 win over Cincinnati, ensuring the a first-round bye in the Big East tournament.

Freeman, who had been listed as day-to-day, was honored before the game for joining the 1,000 point club. In his first game back since the news of his diagnosis, the junior received a standing ovation from the crowd as his name was announced and never looked back.

A layup on the Hoyas second possession opened up the scoring for both the Hoyas and Freeman. A few minutes later, Freeman, who entered the game shooting 51.4 percent from three-point range in Big East play, drained a three to give the Hoyas an early four-point lead.

“I’m fine,” Freeman said. “It was just good to be out there again and to play with my teammates and just be doing what I do. It was a lot of fun to be out there.”

Multiple times throughout the game chants of “Austin Freeman” greeted the junior as he tore up the Bearcat defense for 24 points on 8-of-15 shooting and 4-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc.

“I was happy to have their support out there,” Freeman said of the home crowd. “It got me going out there. I want to thank them a lot too.”

Then there was Monroe, who dominated the glass all game with 15 rebounds, and added 19 points for the Hoyas. In the first half, before the Hoyas’ shots started falling, Monroe made sure to give his teammates multiple opportunities, while taking away any second-chance points for the Bearcats on the other end. Against the 12th-ranked rebounding team in the nation, Monroe hounded the Bearcat frontcourt, adding five boards on the offensive glass.

“I have to look at the tape but I think [Monroe] had more rebounds than 15,” Thompson said.

In the half court offense, Monroe showed why he was a preseason first team all-Big East pick. The sophomore, often times running the offense from the high-post, dished two assists and was deadly efficient from the field, shooting 8-of-12. Often using his left, Monroe made it look easy, taking his defender off of the dribble on a drive or simply posting him up.

“They allow [Monroe] to play up top more now that [DaJuan] Summers is gone, which is his strength because he’s a good passer,” Cincinnati sophomore forward Yancy Gates said of Monroe’s game this year.

Finally, there was Chris Wright. Having less of a load to carry than he did with Freeman out, Wright was able to do what he does best – run the Hoyas’ offense.

When the Bearcats picked up the defensive pressure, Wright broke it with ease. The junior guard had four assists to one turnover on the day.

“What we wanted to do was focus on, once we beat their pressure, of getting into our offense quickly, getting into our early sets when we beat the pressure,” Thompson said. “At the end of the day, I thought Chris [Wright] did a very good job of, once again, against a team that is pressuring you and dogging you the entire time, of managing the game.”

He managed the game well from the point, but Wright was still able to pick his spots en route to 16 points on 7-of-15 shooting. A mix of tough finishing, such as an acrobatic and-one in transition off of an assist from freshman Vee Sanford, and smart, crisp shooting, like a pullup midrange jumper in the first half were the recipe for Wright.

After weeks of illness the Hoyas are relatively healthy now and they have a few days off before opening Big East tournament play on Wednesday, something Monroe says he and his teammates are looking forward too.

“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.”

Monroe may be excited for the Big East tournament, but the Hoyas should all be excited at the return of the Big Three.”