PITTSBURGH (AP) - Georgetown coach Craig Esherick wasn't happy with the Hoyas' play or preparation when Pittsburgh recently upset them at home. He was even more unhappy with his coaching.
So this time, rather than putting the pressure on himself, he put it on Pittsburgh.
Georgetown took Pitt out of the game early with its strong inside play, led by Mike Sweetney's 24 points, its pressure defense and timely 3-point shooting and the No. 15 Hoyas cruised to an 81-67 victory Monday night.
The Hoyas (19-3, 6-3 Big East) quickly made certain it wouldn't be upset by the Panthers (12-9, 4-6) for the second time in two weeks, building leads of 15-6 and 30-13 to open a 20-point lead by halftime.
Pitt ended Georgetown's season-opening 16-game winning streak with a 70-66 upset victory on Jan. 20.
``I was upset with myself the last time. I wasn't happy with the way we defended or our effort,'' Esherick said. ``The last time we were too passive on defense and pressured them only four or five times. You can't play a team as patient as Pittsburgh by playing them half-court. This time, we pressured them the whole time.''
Pittsburgh began the game with the Big East's top-ranked defense but, with senior forward Ricardo Greer hobbled defensively by foot and back problems, couldn't defend against Sweetney's strong inside play or the Hoyas' quick transition baskets.
``It really hurts,'' said Greer, who scored 16 points even though he didn't know until several hours before the game if he could play. ``It hurt me offensively and defensively. We let them pressure us and it really hurt us.''
Sweetney had 16 points by halftime before finishing with a season high on 10-of-16 shooting, and his strong work inside was complemented by the Hoyas' six 3-pointers. Overall, the Hoyas shot 62.3 percent (33-of-53).
``I told our guards, 'You can see what I see, get him (Sweetney) the ball''' Esherick said. ``We haven't done a good job all season of getting him the ball enough. I've been saying it all year that our guys can shoot the ball.''
Pitt coach Ben Howland wondered how Sweetney could be so open so often, and Greer agreed, saying, ``I thought he was living in the paint. But he really hurt us.''
Georgetown won its second in a row since the Pitt loss started the Panthers on a string of three losses in four games. Kevin Braswell hit a pair of 3-pointers while adding 15 points for the Hoyas and Gerald Riley, who was 2-of-3 from 3-point range, had 10 points.
``They wanted some payback because we were the first team to beat them, and they came out being physical and pressing us and they wanted to beat us,'' Greer said.
Pittsburgh lost its second Big East home game in three days and its fifth in eight games despite point guard Brandin Knight's 20 points. Donatas Zavackas, coming off a 22-point night in a 75-67 loss Saturday to Notre Dame, never did get into a rhythm and finished with 8 points while taking only four shots.
Knight sustained a slight concussion during a collision with a Georgetown player late in the game, and his status for Thursday's game at West Virginia is uncertain.
``They were overplaying us so much, our guys were standing around instead of trying to get open,'' Howland said. ``We didn't play as hard as we needed to play. They had a good game plan and they took it right to us.''
The Hoyas' fast start took the crowd out of the game in an unusually quiet Fitzgerald Field House, normally one of the Big East's more difficult venues for a visiting team. With the Hoyas leading 63-38 midway through the second half, the usually vocal student section already was beginning to empty.
