Georgetown vs Syracuse: Score, Highlights and Takeaways

Now that’s what a rivalry game should be like.

The No. 2 ranked Syracuse Orangemen are incredibly tough to beat at home. They were undefeated going into Wednesday night’s Big East conference game against No. 11 Georgetown.

They are still perfect at home after their thrilling 64-61 overtime win in a game that pitted two of the top three teams in the Big East standings.

Highlights:

The star for Syracuse was hands down forward Kris Joseph.

The senior was 6-of-10 from three-point range in route to 29 points and five rebounds. He was the guy to hit the eventual game-winning three-pointer with 22 seconds remaining. The play was set up beautifully by the penetration of star point guard Scoop Jardin, who finished with eight assists.

Fab Melo had the block of the game with under 30 seconds to ensure Syracuse would get the last shot in regulation.

The worst play of the game was the final one for Georgetown. After a botched substitution that left Hollis Thompson on the bench, Jason Clark dribbled away the clock only to lose the ball out of bounds. It was brutal to watch. Sports Illustrated’s Seth Davis was just as confused as everyone else:

4 Things to Take Away From 64-61 Syracuse:

1. Jim Boeheim Has a Lot of Wins in His Career

Syracuse's head coach Jim Boeheim keeps moving up the NCAA Division I wins ladder. With the Orange's win over the Hoyas Wednesday night, Boeheim moved to third on the all-time list with his 880th career victory.  He passed legendary UNC playcaller Dean Smith and now only trails Mike Krzyzewski and Bobby Knight.  Coach K grabbed his 920th win tonight and Knight has 902.

Boeheim has been the leader at Syracuse since 1976.  This year has certainly been memorable for both positive and very negative reasons.  The bespeckled coach has reached another milestone and his team is ranked No. 2 in the country with just one loss.  

However, he lost long-time assistant coach, Bernie Fine, due to allegations of child molestation and also nearly lost his job for his support of Fine.

Congratulations to Coach Boeheim.

2.’Cuse Found a Closer

‘Cuse’s inability to get off a good shot at the end of regulation made ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt wonder if this would be the achillies heel of the team:

Everybody was standing around and it resulted in a horrific Dion Waiters three-point shot that didn’t have a prayer.

Those doubts were all but extinguished about 10 minutes later. It was clear the play was for Joseph and he showed no fear in drilling the shot that ultimately won his team the game.

In the Big East and NCAA tournament there are going to be plenty of games where it comes down to the final possession and this shot was a big moment for Joseph and for the entire team.

3. Georgetown is Still in Great Shape

They aren’t supposed to beat the No. 2 ranked team in the nation on the road and were basket-for-basket with them until the very end.

The Hoyas dominated on the glass by a 48-to-30 margin that had 'Cuse coach Jim Boeheim fuming after the game. 

They are still in a prime position to land a top-four seed in both the NCAA and Big East tournament and should be able to re-group rather easily against St. John’s at home on Sunday. CBS Sports analyst Jon Rothstein still has high hope for them this season:

4. Fab Melo is an Emerging Star

While his stats don’t jump off the page (11 points, seven rebounds, six blocks ), his defensive presence was huge. The seven-footer used his length to re-direct countless amounts of shots as he makes opponents think twice before penetrating the lane.

Melo is only a sophomore, but he’s going to be the X-Factor for the Orangemen come March. I think Syracuse fans are more than comfortable letting a guy named Melo lead them in March.

Summary:

Syracuse looked every bit like the title contender they were entering this game while the Hoyas need to learn the in-game substation rules and find a guy willing to take the final shot with the game on the line by this time next month.

All things consider, this was one heck of a game.