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NEW YORK -- Only once in the storied Georgetown-Syracuse rivalry had the Hoyas lost to Syracuse three times in the same season.
Georgetown guard Chris Wright made sure it wasn't going happen again this year.
Wright had 27 points as the No. 8 seeded Hoyas upset No. 1 seed Syracuse 91-84 in Thursday's quarterfinals of the Big East tournament, avenging two earlier regular season losses to the Hoyas.
"It's hard to beat a team three times," Georgetown's Austin Freeman said. "We had that mindset that we were going to come out, play as hard as possible because we had nothing to lose."
The loss was the second consecutive for the Orange since earning the nation's No. 1 ranking this season. Besides possibly costing the Orange (28-4) a No. 1 NCAA tournament seed, the Orange also lost senior center Arinze Onuaku to a right knee strain with 5:07 remaining.
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said Onuaku would be reevaluated Friday and undergo an MRI.
Georgetown (22-9) limped into the Big East tournament having lost four of its last six games, but has put together consecutive impressive performances in victories against South Florida and Syracuse.
"We just wanted to play hard and do all the little things we have to do," Freeman said. "Knowing that they had beaten us twice it was just a certain focus that we weren't going to let them beat us three times."
Wright was the key for Georgetown. He had 27 points combined in the first two meetings with Syracuse and equaled that total Thursday while also adding six rebounds and six assists.
The only thing that could stop him was when he momentarily lost his right contact lens in the final minute.
When the game concluded, Wright hugged Freeman at midcourt. Moments later, Wright waved his arms toward Georgetown's pep band to play louder.
"He played really well," Freeman said. "When he had to score, he scored. When he had to do other things, he did it – get the key rebound, make the important assist. He did all that."
The Hoyas also got a near triple-double from center Greg Monroe, who had 15 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Freeman added 18 points and Jason Clark 17.
"Myself and Jason, we just wanted to try to be aggressive on the zone and ... force the issue and try to get to the middle of the paint and we'd get wide open shots," Wright said. "When we got the ball in the middle, Jason hit a couple of threes and Austin hit a couple of layups and Greg was very effective in the high post.
"It was just a matter of us trying to create off that."
Despite shooting 59 percent in the first half, Syracuse only led 40-37 at halftime. The Orange increased their advantage to 59-51 with 12:23 remaining, before the Hoyas unleashed a 19-2 run for a 70-61 cushion with 7:24 remaining.
Freeman said around the 10-minute mark, when Georgetown caught – and passed – Syracuse was when he knew the Hoyas had recaptured the momentum.
Big East Player of the Year Wes Johnson led Syracuse with 24 points and seven rebounds. Scoop Jardine (19 points) and Scoop Jardine (18 points) had huge games off the bench, while Andy Rautins added 14 points and 10 rebounds.
It was the fifth time in Big East tournament history that the Hoyas had knocked off the tournament's No. 1 seed.
The loss was the first in eight games this season for Syracuse against an Associated Press ranked team.
"The first game [against Georgetown] we controlled the game," Boeheim said. "The second game we controlled about 30 minutes. And then they started to get the ball into Monroe and they did that tonight from the beginning [and] we had difficulty with it.
"We just couldn't get enough stops and I think we made some bad turnovers throughout the course of the game."
ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK
Syracuse heads back upstate after losing consecutive games for the first time this season. The Orange will be eagerly waiting for the result of Arinze Onuaku's MRI on his right knee Friday. Onuaku, a 6-foot-9 senior, is SU's career leader in field goal percentage (64.9) and is averaging 10.7 points and 5.2 rebounds this season. The Orange probably will hold onto a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, having defeated seven of eight ranked opponents this season.
STAT OF THE GAME
78.4: Georgetown's second-half shooting percentage from inside the 3-point line. The Hoyas made 15 of their 19 two-point field goal attempts after halftime.
SOUNDBITE
"Teams in our league at this stage of the year know how to attack us. We're looking forward to get out and play somebody that hasn't seen us." – Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim about facing Georgetown for a third time this season.
NEXT UP
Georgetown will play Marquette in Friday's 7 p.m. semifinal.
Contact FanHouse senior writer Brett McMurphy at brettmcmurphy@gmail.com
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