Greg Monroe lived up to the billing.
The 6-foot-11 freshman had 14 points and seven rebounds to lead No. 22 Georgetown to a 71-62 victory over Jacksonville on Monday night.
Not bad for the player who has to replace the graduated Roy Hibbert in the middle for the Hoyas.
“He has to touch the ball,” Georgetown coach John Thompson III said of Monroe. “Good things will happen for our team when he touches the ball.”
He did early, taking Georgetown’s first shot of the season and making their first field goal on a pass from Chris Wright, a sophomore guard who will have to replace four-year starter Jonathan Wallace at the point.
“Well, he got involved early. First play of the game,” said Wright, who had 16 points, five rebounds and four assists. “Everybody could see he was kind of nervous: He stumbled. But he made the shot.”
Monroe also anchored Georgetown’s typically tough defense, getting credit for three blocks and forcing opponents to alter several shots.
he game. The Dolphins (0-2) went 3-for-20 from 3-point range.
In other games involving ranked teams on Monday, it was: No. 2 Connecticut 99, Hartford 56; No. 6 Pittsburgh 82, Miami (Ohio) 53; No. 11 Purdue 87, Eastern Michigan 58; No. 12 Oklahoma 94, Mississippi Valley State 53; No. 13 Memphis 80, Massachusetts 58; No. 15 Marquette 106, Chicago State 87; No. 21 Davidson 99, James Madison 64; and No. 23 Villanova 107, Fordham 68.
At Washington, The Hoyas shot only 5-for-23 on 3s.
“It’s kind of expected for us to have those type of woes in the first game, shooting so poorly from the 3,” forward DaJuan Summers said.
Summers and Jessie Sapp, the lone returning scholarship senior, both scored 13 points for Georgetown (1-0).
Ben Smith led Jacksonville (0-2) with 17 points – 15 after halftime.
“He woke up in the second half,” Jacksonville coach Cliff Warren said. “I had some choice words for him.”
No. 2 Connecticut 99, Hartford 56
At Hartford, Conn., Craig Austrie and freshman Kemba Walker both scored 21 points to lead the Huskies (2-0) to their 63rd consecutive win over an instate opponent, a streak that spans 22 years.
Jerome Dyson added 18 points for Connecticut and Jeff Adrien had 12 points and 15 rebounds.
Morgan Sabia, who fouled out with seven minutes left, had 15 points for Hartford (0-2).
No. 6 Pittsburgh 82, Miami (Ohio) 53
, Jermaine Dixon, a junior college transfer starting in place of the injured Gilbert Brown, hit two 3-pointers while scoring eight points in the Panthers’ 16-2 run to open the second half.
Levance Fields had 12 points and a career-high 12 assists and Sam Young and Dixon scored 14 points for Pittsburgh (2-0).
Kenny Hayes scored 18 points for the visiting RedHawks (1-2).
No. 11 Purdue 87, E. Michigan 58
At West Lafayette, Ind., Robbie Hummel scored 18 points for the Boilermakers (2-0) in the first round of the NIT Season Tip-Off. They will play Loyola of Chicago, which beat Georgia 74-53.
E’Twaun Moore had 17 points, five rebounds and four assists, and JaJuan Johnson added 11 points for the Boilermakers (2-0).
Justin Dobbins scored 16 points for Eastern Michigan (1-1) in its worst defeat since a 36-point loss to Kent State on Feb. 3, 2007.
No. 12 Oklahoma 94, Mississippi Valley St. 53
Blake Griffin had 20 points, 19 rebounds and six steals to lead the Sooners in the first round of the NIT Season Tip-Off.
At Norman, Okla., Oklahoma (2-0) will play No. 21 Davidson (2-0) on Tuesday night in a matchup of preseason All-Americas – Griffin and the Wildcats’ Stephen Curry. Davidson rolled past James Madison 99-64 on Monday.
Griffin went 8-of-9 from the field – including five dunks – while posting his 12th career double-double and second of the season.
hling had 16 points for the Delta Devils (0-3), who were playing their third game in as many states in four nights, all against major conference opponents.
No. 13 Memphis 80, Massachusetts 58
At Memphis, Tenn., Antonio Anderson had 15 points and a career-high 12 rebounds, freshman Tyreke Evans had 19 points and Robert Dozier added 18 for the Tigers (2-0) as John Calipari became the winningest coach in school history. Calipari’s 221st victory moved him past Larry Finch, who led the program from 1986-1997.
Memphis shot 39 percent for the game, including 2-of-19 from 3-point range.
Ricky Harris led the visiting Minutemen (1-2) with 17 points, while Tony Gaffney had 16 points and a career-high 19 rebounds.
The game was a meeting of mentor and pupil. Derek Kellogg, in his first year as coach at Massachusetts, played for Calipari from 1991-95 during Calipari’s tenure as coach of the Minutemen. Kellogg was an assistant under Calipari for eight years at Memphis before moving to his alma mater.
No. 16 Marquette 106, Chicago St. 87
At Milwaukee, Wesley Matthews scored 26 points and Lazar Hayward added 21 for the Golden Eagles (2-0), who last scored 106 points against Charleston on Dec. 1, 1980. Matthews was 7-of-14 from the field and made all 10 of his free throws. He also had nine rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals.
o State (1-1), including seven 3-pointers.
No. 21 Davidson 99, James Madison 64
At Norman, Okla., Stephen Curry had 33 points and nine assists for the Wildcats (2-0) in the first round of the NIT Season Tip-Off.
It was the 16th time in his career that Curry scored more than 30 points.
Julius Wells had 21 points to lead the Dukes (0-1), who were playing their first game under coach Matt Brady.
No. 23 Villanova 107, Fordham 68
At Villanova, Pa., Senior forward Dante Cunningham scored a career-high 31 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Corey Stokes and Corey Fisher each scored 17 points to lead the Wildcats (2-0) to their 17th straight win at home.
Cunningham finished 11-of-17 from the field and 9-for-12 from the line.
Brenton Butler led the Rams (0-2) with 17 points.
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