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Porter’s career day quiets Carrier Dome crowd, puts Hoyas in Big East lead

Georgetown v Syracuse

SYRACUSE, NY - FEBRUARY 23: Otto Porter #22 of the Georgetown Hoyas passes the ball during the game against the Syracuse Orange at the Carrier Dome on February 23, 2013 in Syracuse, New York. (Photo by Nate Shron/Getty Images)

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Otto Porter, Jr. only had 31 points in a 57-46 win over Syracuse at the Carrier Dome. His official stat line for the day credits him with 33 points, but Porter picked up two of those on an own-goal by Syracuse’s Michael Carter-Williams in the middle of the second half. That’s how the day was going for Porter. Even when he didn’t score, he still got his points.

Porter’s previous career high was 22 points, scored earlier this year against Big South bottom-dweller Longwood, so this was, shall we say, significantly more meaningful. The point explosion didn’t come at the expense of the rest of Porter’s exquisite all-around game, either. He pulled down eight boards, dished two assists and had five steals to add some steak to the sizzle.

Porter’s milestone came in a road win over Syracuse in the Carrier Dome, where ‘Cuse fans were making history of their own, packing the building past capacity (attendance reported at 35,012) in order to witness Carmelo Anthony’s jersey retirement ceremony. No doubt they also expected to witness a big win over an old foe, but Porter had other ideas.

It’s tempting to say that Porter is doing this all by himself, which doesn’t really bode well for a deep tournament run. But we’ve seen D’vaunte Smith-Rivera, Markel Starks and even Nate Lubick take the scoring lead at times during the Hoyas’ recent nine-game win streak. Even in a game like today’s stunner at the Carrier Dome, Porter doesn’t get open without a flurry of cuts, screens and sharp passes from his teammates. More importantly, Porter’s teammates controlled the ball on offense, and harassed the Orange into several open-floor turnovers and poor shots.

Porter will be the undisputed key to the Hoyas’ chances for a March run. They’ll need 17-20 points from him in every game to make a deep run in the Big Dance. His greatness will have to be a given. But a fair amount of pretty good from the likes of Lubick, Starks, Smith-Rivera and the occasional Jabril Trawick could allow G’town to run the table. Winnable games with UConn, Rutgers and Villanova separate the Hoyas from a season-ending date with none other than Syracuse.

If Georgetown protects their own house in that one, the Big East regular-season title, and a potential No. 1 tourney seed, will be their likely reward.

Eric Angevine is the editor of Storming the Floor. He tweets @stfhoops.