Georgetown 65, South Florida 40

Not entirely sure what to make of it, but the Hoyas certainly needed it. A laugher. A rout. Whatever you want to call it, it's something Georgetown hasn't had in far too long. They knew they were bigger and stronger up front than the outmanned Bulls were, and they exploited that fact, working the ball inside and making sure Greg Monroe was the game's dominant factor.

South Florida's coach believed his team had an off night, and that may be so. But when Georgetown is playing well, running its disciplined offense and unrelenting defense, teams generally do have off nights.

So what's it to be here, fellas? Is it possible that, with eight minutes left in regulation at Syracuse, a light went on and this team started playing with passion and fire and intensity again? Is it possible that they'll actually be a difficult team for Marquette to play on Saturday, for Louisville to play on Monday, and for Villanova to play a week from Saturday?

That would make things fun -- even interesting. Regular readers of this site know we're not about to get our hopes up, but that doesn't mean we won't watch. Marquette is a team that the Hoya team of early January would have beaten. They are loaded on the perimeter, soft inside, and if you can keep them on the perimeter, they've shown that they won't hit all of their jump shots.

Pomeroy has the Hoyas beating Marquette 73-69, a 67 percent certainty of a Georgetown victory. Of course, Pomeroy had the Hoyas 7-1 over their last eight games, and instead they are 2-6. (Just missed on that one, Kenny....)

One more thing. Nikita Mescheriakov is 0-for his last seven three-point attempts since taking over Jessie Sapp's spot in the starting lineup. Now, I understand that Sapp is in the doghouse, and that it apparently has something to do with something he said and shouldn't have said to our beloved coach in the locker room recently. Given that, and the fact that Sapp went about eight weeks without hitting a field goal earlier this year, I can completely see not starting him. But John -- if Mescheriakov can't hit threes...isn't that kind of like playing with four guys?

Just a thought.

Oh. Elsewhere. Right.

We're so over Providence. Yeah, you're reading that right. Up by one at the half, lost by 18. See ya, Friars.

And West Virginia takes care of business against Notre Dame, which puts the Hoyas in a three-way tie for 10th place (hey, we take what we can get), which is intriguing until you remember what the schedule looks like over the next 10 days.

But you never know, Wright? I mean, right? No wait. Maybe I do mean Wright.

Come on, Hoyas. Prove me wrong again. The good way this time.

West Virginia 75, Georgetown 58

A couple of times a year, the Hoyas play a game that just pisses me off. Two years ago, sadly, that game was a Final Four game against Ohio State. Last year, it was the game at Syracuse. Games in which it felt as if the team didn't play the way it always plays -- coherent, disciplined and determined.

Last night's loss to West Virginia was such a game, and truly I don't have much to say about it.

People talk about a lack of depth on this team, and they mean that it doesn't get much from its bench. But (a) that's improving and (b) maybe there are depth problems within the first five.

WVU locked down on Greg Monroe, double-teaming him and basing their defense on denying him the ball. Dajuan Summers couldn't get anything going, scoring-wise, and...that was it. Nobody else knew what to do with those guys out of the offense. Austin Freeman made a couple of first-half plays, but for the most part they got out of sync and stayed out. By the time there were eight minutes left in the second half, all they were doing was jacking up bad threes that they couldn't hit, and that tight, disciplined offense for which the JTIII teams have become known was already on the bus (hopefully) for Sunday's game at Seton Hall.

It wasn't a "bad loss" in that it didn't come at the hands of one of the bottom seven teams in the conference. (To this point, the only top-nine loss to a bottom-seven remains Notre Dame's Jan. 3 loss at St. John's.) But it was a game the Hoyas should have won, at home against an unranked team, and when it comes time to seed this year's conference tournament, it could be a game that haunts them.