The Hoyas had a break from top-10 opponents Saturday afternoon, and they took advantage.

Paced by a balanced scoring attack, No. 12 Georgetown (15-3, 6-2 Big East) cruised past Rutgers (9-10, 0-7) to an 88-63 win at Verizon Center.

Coming off of a loss at No. 4 Villanova and win at No. 9 Pittsburgh, Georgetown will now prepare for No. 5 Syracuse and No. 7 Duke.

Sophomore Greg Monroe led all scorers with 21 points and added 14 rebounds for his third-straight double double.

“I thought [Monroe] did a very good job of pursuing the ball and pursuing rebounds. That got him going,” Head Coach John Thompson III said. “A double-double from him is not something we should get excited about. We’ve come to expect that from him.”

onroe started fast, scoring 10 points in the game’s first 4:10. Doing most of his work in the paint, the big man finished 10-of-12 from the field, including one three-pointer.

“I was basically taking high percentage shots,” Monroe said.

The rest of the starters were ready when Monroe, who was four assists shy of a triple double, kicked the ball out. Junior guards Chris Wright and Austin Freeman chipped in 16 and 14, respectively, and junior forward Julian Vaughn scored 12.

Sophomore guard Jason Clark just missed double figures with nine points, but held Rutger’s leading scorer Mike Rosario to 6-of-18 shooting.

“I thought we were focused for the most part. We came out with a cohesiveness and an energy that was good for us. That’s something we stressed and something we want to maintain,” Thompson said.

Wright scored 12 in the first half as the Hoyas connected on 60 percent of their shots in the opening frame. The point guard finished with six assists as Georgetown assisted on 21 of its 34 field goals in the game.

“We have capable players that can shoot, it’s just a matter of getting time and space,” Wright said. “As long as we stay unselfish and continue to penetrate gaps and get open shots, I think we’ll be fine.”

For the game, Georgetown hit 63 percent of its shots and was 9-of-16 from beyond the arc.

Leading by three at the 14:38 mark in the first half, the Hoyas scored 12 straight points to take a 29-14 advantage. Rutgers would cut the lead to eight, but Georgetown took a 46-29 lead into halftime behind two layups from Monroe and a Freeman three-pointer.

The Hoyas had a 14-0 run spanning through halftime and opened up a 33-point lead with 7:04 to play in the game.

Georgetown’s bench got into the action in the second half. The reserves more than doubled their season average with 16 points off the bench.

“I am comfortable with them,” Thompson said of his bench. “It’s not like when they go in there I’m holding my breath.”

Freshman Hollis Thompson had a Big East career-high with eight points, breaking a shooting slump over the last two games. Sophomore center Henry Sims (five points) and freshman guard Vee Sanford (two points) got into the scoring column for the first time in Big East play.

Rutgers falls to 0-7 in the league, the only team without a Big East win this season. Junior forward Jonathan Mitchell, who struggled to defend the taller Monroe, scored 21 points to lead the Scarlet Knights.

“I told the guys, I can’t fault your effort. I can’t fault you missing shots. We got to get into the gym and get better at that,” Rutgers Head Coach Fred Hill said.

The road gets much tougher for the Hoyas on Monday when they travel to Syracuse. The Orange (18-1, 5-1) are second in the Big East, and the Hoyas have not won at the Carrier Dome since 2003. The contest will be Georgetown’s fifth Big East game in 12 days.

Tip-off at the Carrier Dome is set for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN.

*[Postgame Press Conference](https://blogs.thehoya.com/paranoia/rutgers-georgetown-postgame-press-conference/)*

*[Sights and Sounds](https://blogs.thehoya.com/paranoia/sights-and-sounds-rutgers-at-georgetown/)*

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

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