Villanova gets jolt from Georgetown

After its brick-laden performance at Providence a few days ago, Villanova found itself with the same fuzzy shooting eye Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center against the smart and aggressive defenders of Georgetown.

Even so, the eighth-ranked Wildcats almost found enough offense in the final three minutes to pull out the Big East win. But the No. 21 Hoyas rode the excellent play of Austin Freeman to a 69-66 victory in front of a crowd of 19,914.

It was a long day of poor shooting and poor shot selection for Villanova (17-4, 5-3 Big East), which lost for the third time in four games. And it's something the Wildcats can't afford to continue if they expect to be considered among the elite in the conference.

"We've gotten into a little funk," 'Nova coach Jay Wright said. "We've had some games where we've made bad shots - Syracuse is a great example. They weren't good shots, but we made them. We've fallen into some bad habits.

"I thought in the last five or six minutes, we started making extra passes, driving the ball. We looked good, but it was too late. I think we'll get it right. But in this league, one game like that and you're going to pay for it. I don't think it was this one; I think it was the Syracuse game that cost us."

The Wildcats shot 50 percent a week ago in their 83-72 road win over the then-No. 3 Orange. But if you throw that game out of their last five and count Saturday's, the Cats are hitting less than 38 percent of their shots and 25.8 percent from three-point range.

"Coach is right," senior Corey Fisher said. "We've got to play harder. It's not all about offense. Some games we're not going to make shots. Today we didn't make shots, and we needed to step it up another level. We have to play better basketball."

Despite their problems, the Wildcats, who shot 40.7 percent Saturday, might have been able to eke out a win had Freeman not been on the court for the Hoyas (16-5, 5-4).

The 6-foot-31/2 senior, the preseason Big East player of the year, lived up to his billing by scoring 30 points. He was particularly strong in the final three minutes, when he scored eight points and threw a 40-foot pass out of a double-team to Nate Lubick for a dunk.

Freeman's two free throws with 2 minutes, 59 seconds to play gave the Hoyas a 61-53 lead. But the Wildcats scored seven points in the next 51 seconds to draw to within one as Maalik Wayns, who was questionable for the game because of a left forearm bruise, repeatedly made plays.

Freeman, however, would not allow the Hoyas to yield the lead.

Perhaps his biggest play came at 63-62, when Chris Wright fought off a triple-team against the right sideline to fire a skip pass to Freeman. Freeman fired a 20-footer from near the left corner over Wayns that swished through at the 40.9-second mark.

"That jumper was crazy," said Chris Wright, who played well despite not scoring. "It would be stupid of me and my teammates not to give him the ball."

The Wildcats, who had burned their last time-out with 7:47 to play, still were down by three starting their last offensive trip with 14 seconds remaining. But they weren't able to get the ball to Corey Stokes, their best long-range shooter, who suffered a toe injury in the first half, or any of their guards.

Antonio Pena wound up with a look from beyond the arc that rimmed out. Dominic Cheek rebounded and ran back to the line but could manage only a rushed shot at the buzzer.

Wayns and Fisher led the Wildcats with 15 points each. But the Wildcats, dropping the first game on a vital three-game homestand, have to fix what's broken, and that's shot selection.

"We give our guys freedom," Jay Wright said. "When guys are feeling it, we let them go. One of the drawbacks is that they continue to make bad decisions. Even if they're making shots, you've got to pull them back. I don't think we've done a good-enough job of that."