Big East Tournament 2010: Georgetown Hoyas Show USF Bulls Who's Top Dog

Georgetown got the last laugh on the USF Bulls, as the Hoyas cruised to a 69-49 victory in Madison Square Garden this afternoon.  The Bulls shooting woes carried over from the DePaul game, hindering the already over-matched USF team.

The Bulls never got on track, shooting against a stingy Hoya defense.  “We really struggled shooting today,” quoted Stan Heath in the post game press conference. He was right.  The Bulls shot 29 percent from the field and 10 percent from three-point range.

The 1-for-10 three-point performance today made USF 1-for-18 in the Big East tournament.  The Bulls shot 36 percent from the field in their two games in the tournament.  “It’s hard to beat teams like Georgetown when you’re missing shots from outside,” Dominique Jones said.

Dominique Jones finished once again with the game-high in a Big East game.  He scored 21 points, but unfortunately was the only Bull to score in double figures.  Jones finished the season as the second-leading scorer in the Big East.

Augustus Gilchrist finished with nine points and eight rebounds, but has been very inconsistent since returning from an ankle injury that forced him to miss most of the season.

Jarrid Famous, who’s been asked to step up to match Gilchrist’s former production, had seven points and seven rebounds.  Neither player could do much against Greg Monroe on the defensive end.

Monroe finished with 16 points and eight rebounds, imposing his will on the Bulls' big men for most of the game.  Monroe, unlike Jones, had plenty of help from his supporting cast.  Both Chris Wright and Jason Clark finished with 15 points and 16 points respectively.

The Big East tournament was hardly impressive for USF, when the Bulls needed to shine for the NCAA selection committee.  If they hadn’t opened with DePaul, this team would have been bounced in round 1.  With their slim NCAA hopes dashed, the Bulls turn their attention to the NIT.

USF (20-12, 9-9 in the Big East) has some quality wins and a decent postseason resume.  It won't be enough for the NCAA this season, but they will get a favorable seed in the NIT.  This is the team's most wins since the 1989-90 season when the Bulls finished 20-11.