That's more like it

Caught the SU-Georgetown game about 20 hours after it was played without knowing the final score. Very, very satisfying. The best part was Syracuse was playing well even before they started blowing Georgetown out. The first half was the best basketball I've seen the Orange play all year. They were leading practically the entire way despite starting off quite cold from the field.

The best part was our intensity. Mostly, I'm thinking of Terrance Roberts here, who McDonough and Co. kept talking up because of his knee injury. Maybe it was senior day, but he wanted to do whatever he could to win the ball game.

The Orange really have Georgetown and JT3's number. Their offense just doesn't work when the Syracuse zone is clicking. Remember the Georgetown game in the Big East tournament last year? I wrote in this space that, in the first half, any average fan who turned on the game would be rooting for Georgetown because of the way they were passing the ball around. It was that pretty, and the Orange were getting dominated. But in the end, the zone was too much. Georgetown went the last five minutes without a field goal just as Gerry was heating up.

It was the same story Monday, except Syracuse played well in the first half. Certainly, Rautins and Nichols got hot from outside the stripe. But they've both been shooting like that. The reason the game got out of hand was Georgetown's inability to score.

I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that Syracuse keeps beating them even though they're good, but I like Georgetown these days. I love the basketball they play. And I agree with Boeheim that they're underrated right now. Unlike most Big East teams, I'll be rooting for them in the NCAAs. I hope Syracuse gets to play them.