LOOKING BACK (FEB. 11) | N0. 8 GEORGETOWN 55, VILLANOVA 53
It took the 48th foul of the game for nationally-ranked No. 8 Georgetown to avoid falling victim to an upset for the second game in a row.
Guard Jonathan Wallace knocked down two free throws with 0.1 seconds remaining to help the Hoyas escape with a 55-53 victory over Big East rival Villanova on Monday for Villanova's first home win over the Wildcats in over a decade.
But the outcome wasn't without controversy. Wallace recovered a loose ball during Villanova's final trip down the floor and began racing down the sideline, hoping to get off one last shot for the Hoyas. But while Wallace was still 70 feet away from the basket, Villanova's Corey Stokes was whistled for nudging the Hoyas guard, sending him to the charity stripe where he converted the go-ahead free throws.
Up 29-28 at the half, the Wildcats made just one of their first 21 field goal attempts to open the second period, allowing Georgetown to open up a 46-34 lead. The Hoyas were outscored 19-9 over the final 8:38, but it was just enough.
The controversial call improved Georgetown to 10-2 in the Big East and 20-3 overall, and it allowed the Hoyas to maintain their one-game lead over Notre Dame and Louisville for first place in the conference. Just days earlier, the Cardinals dealt Georgetown their third loss of the season, scoring a 59-51 upset victory on Feb. 9 in Kentucky.
LOOKING AHEAD (FEB. 15) | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL VS. BOWDOIN
For the women's basketball team to become the winningest squad in school history, it will have to overcome a program that, over the past decade, has established itself as one of the winningest in Div. III.
The Jumbos will host seven-time defending NESCAC champion Bowdoin in a critical conference showdown tomorrow at Cousens Gym, hoping to pick up their 20th win of the year and break a 21-year-old Tufts record for most victories in a season.
But for the Jumbos, there is a lot more to play for than a spot in the record books. After picking up its second NESCAC loss Saturday - a 63-46 setback at Williams - the team joined a logjam of two-loss conference foes who will have to battle it out this weekend for a chance at hosting a game in the first round of the NESCAC Tournament. Tufts' loss also left Bowdoin, the only team to have ever won the conference championship, alone atop the NESCAC standings.
The Polar Bears come into the game winners of 12 of their last 13 games, including four in a row. Along the way, Bowdoin has picked up impressive wins over Williams and Amherst, the only two teams to have beaten the Jumbos in the 2007-08 campaign. The Polar Bears are led by junior co-captain Jill Anelauskas, whose 13.5 points per game are seventh in the NESCAC.
