Connecticut is paying some serious basketball money right now.

Not only did the school just finalize a 5-year, $13 million contract extension for men's coach Jim Calhoun, it also asked the state to spend an additional $375,000 to a Kansas City law firm to defend the school against an ongoing NCAA investigation into the men's team.

The original contract with Bond, Schoeneck & King called for a three-year deal capped at $300,000, according to a story in the Hartford Courant. Yet the state spent more than that in a one-year period between April 2009 and April 2010, when $338,000 in legal bills were paid.

(But before anyone sends nasty letters to the school and state officials for wasting taxpayer money, know that the athletic department reimburses the attorney general's office for all the payments. It's just that that state comptroller's office has to pay the firm.)

This will hardly be the end of the legal fees, too. From the Courant:

And the bill is only going to get larger as the NCAA investigation into the school's recruitment of Nate Miles and the program's ties to former UConn team manager-turned-agent Josh Nochimson continues…

OPM Deputy Secretary Michael Cicchetti approved an additional $200,000 in legal fees to pay the Kansas City firm in late 2009. That was the second time that OPM had granted additional funds; it signed off on an extra $175,000 in July 2009, records show.

The school is already burning through the new money, records show. In a five-day period last month between April 10 and April 15, Bond, Schoeneck & King billed the state for more than $37,000. Enright said those legal bills were accrued from Dec. 1, 2009, through Jan. 31, 2010, and not during just a five-day period.

Well, at least the basketball coach is in place.

Mike Miller's also on Twitter, usually talkin' hoops. Click here for more.

Jim Rogash/Getty Images Mike Rice won 73 games in three seasons at Robert Morris.

Good news, Rutgers fans. You finally have a new coach who's capable of keeping the Scarlet Knights out of the Big East basement.

The bad news? Don't expect Mike Rice to make it happen anytime soon. The place is in shambles.

Rice, 41, will be introduced at Rutgers later this week. His sparkling résumé from three years at Robert Morris – 73-31 overall, 46-8 in conference and two NCAA tournament appearances – hints at what he's capable of, though the best example was how the Colonials played in this year's big Dance. They nearly pulled off the NCAA tournament's upset, losing to 2-seed Villanova in overtime.

Rutgers would love that kind of March result.

The Scarlet Knights haven't been to the NCAA tournament since 1991. They've won 11 conference games the last four seasons and just had their best player, Mike Rosario, transfer. Rice's recruiting talent and coaching acumen will help (this Adam Zagoria story is a great read on Rice), but he'll need a couple seasons to stockpile some of the New Jersey and New York talent.

But he'll have to make an impact somehow. The Big East has chewed up stud recruiters (Norm Roberts) and Xs and Os coaches (Jerry Wainwright). For Rice to avoid their fate, he'll need a few breaks and a few marquee wins.

But it can be done. After all, who would've guessed Rutgers football would ever be relevant?

Mike Miller's also on Twitter, usually talkin' hoops. Click here to follow him.

Every conference expansion conversation usually centers around football because the pigskin drives the revenue. As a result, there's not as much basketball speculation with expansion.

Until now.

The fine folks at Rush the Court broke down the expansion scenarios for the Big Ten, Big East, Pac-10, Big 12, SEC, ACC and what might happen to the A-10, Conference USA and Mountain West as a result. Specifically, the basketball scenarios.

Normally I'd excerpt several bits, but there's far too much that went into the post – including graphics on what expansion could look like – for anyone not to click on it. So go read it. Here's the link again.

And now, let's hope none of it happens.

Mike Miller's also on Twitter, usually talkin' hoops. Click here to follow him.

As if spending the last four days immersed in the NFL draft wasn't enough of a reminder that football lords over basketball in the U.S., the ongoing Big Ten expansion provided another one.

OK, it was actually this article from Pete Thamel of the N.Y. Times, which covers how any Big Ten expansion will affect the Big East. And it wouldn't be pretty.

I'm not a East Coast resident or a huge Big East fan, but it would be depressing to see the conference rivalries broken up because of the almighty dollar that's driven by football. It's already disrupted much of the ACC's appeal – Miami, anyone? – and would do the same thing to the Big East.

"Boston College is in the A.C.C., and no one cares about it there," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim told Thamel. "They have hung on in football, but Miami and Florida State will get strong again and they'll be an afterthought in football.

"I don't think we'll do well in the Big Ten. It's possible, but I don't think we'd do well at all. I just don't see how Syracuse or Rutgers fits in with Iowa and Illinois."

True, the Big East is already a massive basketball conference that doesn't have longtime meaning for every team. Games like DePaul-Providence or Villanova-South Florida don't have much appeal, but the league doesn't revolve around those. It revolves around Syracuse-Georgetown and UConn-Pitt. Without those, the Big East's hoop appeal would drop like a stone.

So if expansion does happen, it's up to the schools to preserve those rivalries. You can't stop expansion (though, if the NCAA tournament expansion is any indication, you can slow it down) or a school in search of a buck, but you can do your best to hold onto what you got and what you love.

Mike Miller's also on Twitter, usually talkin' hoops. Click here to follow him.

It's getting messy at Rutgers.

Mike Rosario was the first McDonald's All-American to play with Rutgers. He won't be there much longer – and the school's not happy about where he wants to go.

The school will file tampering charges against USC, according to a report from Gannett New Jersey. Rosario, who has led the Scarlet Knights in scoring the past two seasons, would like to join former St. Anthony (N.J.) teammate Jio Fontan at USC, but any transfer release might preclude Rosario from doing just that. (Fontan transfered to USC after spending teim at Fordham.)

The release also would prevent Rosario from attending Florida or Kansas, where another ex-teammate, Tyshawn Taylor, is a junior.

"This is like Fordham all over again," a source close to both Fontan and Rosario told Adam Zagoria. "It's like the same [stuff] I see all over again."

This comes on the heels of the school's ongoing divorce from coach Fred Hill, who's under fire for a profanity-laced outburst at the Pitt baseball staff last week. Rosario asked for a transfer after a contentious meeting with Hill last week.

Mike Miller's also on Twitter, usually talkin' hoops. Click here for more.

When DePaul hired Oliver Purnell, it didn't sit well with some of the most import people from the Chicago-area: The public league coaches.

''I don't know who he is,'' Mac Irvin Fire coach Mike Irvin told the Chicago Sun-Times. ''He has never recruited Chicago. I guess Chicago players aren't important to DePaul.''

Irvin's one of the city's most influential club coaches, and he wasn't alone. Two coaches who've had plenty of success the last two years, Young's Tyrone Slaughter and Simeon's Robert Smith, also were befuddled. Slaughter has never met Purnell, while Smith openly questioned the move.

''I'm shocked they brought in a guy who doesn't know anybody,'' Smith said. ''What was wrong with Chris Collins? They need some energy, a younger coach. I don't think the kids are going to be able to relate to [Purnell].''

Well, Purnell didn't waste any time reaching out to those coaches. He knows DePaul's best hope of winning lies with getting that talent to stay in Chicago. He made phone calls to Slaughter, Irvin and Smith, all of whom appreciated the gesture, but are still waiting to see if Purnell follows through.

"It (the phone call) meant a lot," Smith told the Chicago Tribune. "The last coach (Jerry Wainwright) that came to town didn't reach out to me for three months, and I had the best player in the country (Derrick Rose)."

Purnell may have spent the last few years in ACC country at Clemson, but he's no fool. DePaul's hardy an ideal situation – the facilities need an upgrade, its gym, the All-State Arena, isn't on campus and the Big East devours re-building programs – but if Purnell can get just a few of those local players to stay, he'll have a chance.

"I understand the dynamics of the job," Purnell told ESPN.com. "There have been some frustrations with DePaul basketball -- that was clear. It's not my first time around the block. I understand what I was getting into.

"I'm starting a process with my team and the basketball community. It's going to be a great relationship. It's going to be a lasting relationship. It's one that will work well for DePaul but also for the basketball community. I told them, 'It's just the start. I'm reaching out. You're going to see a lot of me, a lot of my staff. We want to make this a viable option for a kid.' It should be a partnership. We're all in the city of Chicago."

That's a plea he'll frequently have to make. Do it for Chicago.

Mike Miller's also on Twitter, usually talkin' hoops. Click here for more.

Editor's note: March Madness is too much for any one person to handle, so I'm adding help. The guys behind Ballin' Is a Habit, Rob Dauster and Troy Machir, will be contributing throughout March and into the Final Four, both with content from their Web site and original articles for us. This post originally appeared at BIAH.

By Rob Dauster

It's not too difficult to figure out that St. John's was looking to make a splash when hiring their new coach.

The school basically offered everyone. Billy Donovan turned down $3 million a year. St. John's AD Chris Monasch couldn't convince Paul Hewitt, and his family, to leave Atlanta. Seth Greenberg passed. Al Skinner didn't fit the bill. Fran McCaffery went to Iowa. Kevin Willard went to Seton Hall to clean up that mess instead.

The Johnnies finally hired a coach, inking Steve Lavin to a six-year deal worth somewhere around $9 million. Yes, that Steve Lavin, who's been an ESPN analyst since 2003. Fans are certainly excited about the hiring, and NYC media members seem optimistic as well.

As I said, St. John's wanted to make a splash. They wanted the media and the fans to be talking about it, and they succeeded. Lavin is a big name and a face people will recognize, but whether or not he is a big time coach deserves to be questioned.

Lavin lucked into the UCLA job. It's that simple. Jim Harrick was fired in November of 1996, and his two lead assistants -- Mark Gottfried and Lorenzo Romar -- had already taken other gigs, The Bruins then turned to Lavin, who at that point was an unproven assistant.

He wasn't terrible at UCLA. He went to five Sweet 16's in seven years. He made the Elite Eight in his first season. He twice put together the No. 1 recruiting class in the country (1998, 2001), signed seven McDonald's All-Americans, and has sent seven players to the NBA.

But there's the problem.

With that much talent coming through his program, the only year he was able to advance beyond the Sweet 16 was his first year, when he was hired a week before the season started. It also was the only time UCLA finished better than third in the Pac-10 during his tenure. They were sixth in the conference his last two seasons, including a 10-19 debacle in 2003.

There is no questioning Lavin's persona -- he's great with the media and is a people person. The guy just oozes charisma.

He's also a California guy with connections up-and-down the West Coast. Anyone that is going to have any kind of success at St. John's has to be able to recruit New York City and the tri-state area. The amount of talent that comes out of the region is impressive, but the politics of recruiting NYC can also be daunting.

How is Lavin going to establish connections with the city's AAU and high school programs?

For Lavin to be successful at St. John's, he needs to do two things. He needs to hire an assistant that is an Xs-and-Os kind of guy -- that was the biggest criticism of his tenure at UCLA -- and he needs to hire a New York guy to recruit.

He basically has a year to do it as well. St. John's has nine scholarship seniors, which is a good thing and a bad thing. It means that Lavin will be coaching a team with experience and maturity, which is just about all you can ask for at a new program.

But it also means he is going to be in a whole lot of trouble if he can't recruit. Nine scholarships is a lot of spots to fill.

I know St. John's is far from the program it was in the 80's, or even in the late 90's. But there is something to be said for New York City's college basketball team. They play in Madison Square Garden. There is history there. It's not crazy to think that this program can be rebuilt.

But for Lavin to do it, he is going to need a quality staff around him. As it is, St. John's is putting a lot of faith in a guy that hasn't coached in the last seven seasons -- which is equivalent to the experience he has as a head coach -- and who has held just one head coaching job where he wasn't overly successful.

This could turn out great for St. John's, but it could also end up being a very expensive mistake.

You can find more of Rob's writing at Ballin' is a Habit and follow him on Twitter @ballinishabit.

Does anyone want to coach St. John's?

At least three New York-raised coaches have apparently passed on the job. That doesn't bode well for the Johnnies landing a big name to replace the fired Norm Roberts.

First it was Florida's Billy Donovan passing on a reported $3 million-a-year deal. A few days later, George Tech coach Paul Hewitt also said "thanks, but no thanks."

Today, it was Virginia tech coach Seth Greenberg, who agreed to a contract extension and a raise.

It's a good thing the NYC-area has produced plenty of coaches. St. John's can just keep going down the list.

Next up is Boston College coach Al Skinner. The Malverne, N.Y. native met with St. John's athletic director Chris Monasch on Friday, according to Adam Zagoria.

Skinner's been at BC since 1997 and makes about $1 million a year. The Johnnies job are supposedly offering Skinner about $1.5 million a year. He may want to take it.

Boston College hasn't fared well since moving to the ACC, finishing no higher than 3^rd, and that was during its first year. Back in the Big East, Skinner's team won two divisional crowns, and only had three losing conference records in eight seasons.

At this point, St. John's would love that kind of record.

Mike Miller's also on Twitter, usually talkin' hoops. Click here for more.

Elsa/Getty Images Greg Monroe and Georgetown suffered the day's biggest upset.

Anyone looking for a silver lining in the Big East's day should probably stop looking. There isn't any.

No. 3 Georgetown was embarrassed by 14-seed Ohio. Two 6 seeds, Notre Dame and Marquette, were sent home. The one team that did win – Villanova – needed a late rally and a few beneficial calls by the refs.

That's a 1-3 day for the conference that sent an NCAA-high eight teams to the tournament. There's no sugarcoating it. It's a rough day.

"We really thought we could make some noise in this tournament," Georgetown guard Austin Freeman said. "We really didn't imagine we would be one-and-done."

He wasn't alone.

The Hoyas were selected by more than 40 percent of ESPN's bracket submissions to reach the Sweet 16. Nearly 98 percent had them winning this game. Yet Georgetown, 16.5-point favorites entering, lost 97-83 to a team that was the ninth seed in the MAC tournament. That's not a surprise. That's a shock.

The Bobcats (22-14) never struggled, either. They got 32 points from ex-Indiana player Armon Bassett and led by as many as 19 points.

Georgetown became the first 3-seed to lose since 2006, and just the 16^th since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985.

Just as surprising was 2-seed Villanova's 73-70 overtime win against Robert Morris. The outcome didn't hurt the Big East in the loss column, but the public perception may be just as damning.

The Wildcats trailed 55-47 with just under four minutes remaining, but took the lead after a series of Robert Morris turnovers and converted free-throw attempts ('Nova hit 7 of 8 in a 150-second stretch). The calls against the Colonials prompted catcalls on the Web, and left senior Scottie Reynolds – the guy who made most of those free throws -- happy to be playing another day.

"You have to be excellent all the time, put it like that," Reynolds said. "You can't have any flaws, even if it's so minor, even an inch, because that's the margin of victory."

'Nova also started slow last season (it trailed by 10 at halftime to 14-seed American) before reaching the Final Four. But fulfill those lofty expectations again this season, it'll need to be better from here on. It was a 13.5-point favorite to win.

The other two losses were a pair of toss-up games, but seeding upsets nonetheless. Six-seeded Marquette fell to Washington, while 6-seed Notre Dame was upended by Old Dominion.

In terms of first-round losses, it was the Big East's worst showing since 2006 when Syracuse, Marquette and Seton Hall were all bounced. But the Orange were the only surprise that year, while this was a blow to the entire league's reputation.

Some of it can be salvaged on Friday. No. 1 seed Syracuse, 2-seed West Virginia and 3-seed Pitt are all double-digit favorites. Louisville, an 8a 9 seed, plays Cal in a game that could go either way.

It leaves the Big East in position to end the first round with at least four teams into the weekend, and possibly five.

But if it's three or less … well, then things will really get tense around the Big East.

Mike Miller's also on Twitter, usually talkin' hoops. Click here for more.

Editor's note: March Madness is too much for any one person to handle, so I'm adding help. The guys behind Ballin' Is a Habit, Rob Dauster and Troy Machir, will be contributing throughout March and into the Final Four, both with content from their Web site and original articles for us. This post originally appeared at BIAH.

By Rob Dauster

Bobby Huggins had every right to celebrate this win.

His 10th conference tournament title. The first Big East tournament title for both Huggins and West Virginia. Madison Square Garden. ESPN.

Short of hanging a banner from Indy in three weeks, this is as good as the college hoops season gets.

But after Da'Sean Butler hit his second game-winner in three nights (and sixth of the season), and after Chris Wright's desperation lay-up couldn't quite get to rim level, Huggins stood to the side as the Mountaineers celebrated.

"I've never gotten involved in that," Huggins said after the game, "because I don't think its about me. I think its about them.

"They're the one who come in and go through what they go through on a day-to-day basis. They're the guys who have to go out and produce on the floor."

He's right. Bob Huggins doesn't have to go through a season's worth of Bob Huggins' practices. The Mountaineers deserve praise for simply surviving.

"We practice three hours a day," Butler said.

Huggins has a unique coaching style. He has developed a reputation as a yeller and a screamer, a younger Bobby Knight if you will. While that isn't necessarily false -- I don't know if there are five people in this profession better at berating an official or a player -- Huggins is actually very calm on the sideline 90 percent of the time.

"I just stand over there," Huggins said. "I can't sit, so I stand. If I could sit I would probably sit."

That said, there may not be a more demanding coach in the country than Huggins. Simply put, he expects the best from each and every one of his players.

And whether it is great coaching, an ability to motivate, or intimidation -- is it possible he scares his players into playing their best to avoid a screaming session? -- Huggins always seems to get the most out of the guys that come through his program.

I mean, this isn't exactly a team chock full of all-americans and lottery picks. West Virginia just won the toughest conference tournament in the country, and they did it with just one five-star (Devin Ebanks) and one four-star (Kevin Jones) recruit. Butler and Wellington Smith were three-star recruits, as was Truck Bryant. Joe Mazzulla and Cam Thoroughman were two-star recruits.

Hell, he turned Joe Alexander, an afterthought as a recruit in high school and as a draft prospect heading into his junior season, into the eighth pick in the draft. After leaving West Virginia and Huggins, Alexander subsequently became the highest draft pick to have his rookie contract option declined.

And you still don't believe he is able to squeeze every ounce of talent out of his players?

There is nothing that is particularly great about this West Virginia team. They have one point guard that is ineffective and another that has one arm. They don't have a true center, or a true shooting guard for that matter. It seems like every player on there roster is stuck somewhere between being a small forward and a power forward.

And yet, he has this team on the brink of becoming a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. He has a Big East Tournament banner to hang in WVU Coliseum. He has a team capable of reaching the Final Four, in not further.

"I just want them to enjoy it and receive the accolades they deserve," Huggins said.

Anyone that caught a glimpse of this team after the game knows they were.

As the team was celebrating after the game, there were hugs all around. They participated in a rousing chorus of "Take me home, country roads" as it played through the Garden's sound system. Butler, once again the hero, came to the press conference with a net around his neck and a smile permanently stretched from ear to ear.

As happy as each of the Mountaineer players were, I think that they would agree, to a man, that they would not be here without Coach Huggins.

He may not take the credit, but he cannot do anything if it is given to him.

As Wellington Smith said, "Coach did a great job just coaching me."

You can find more of Rob's writing at Ballin' is a Habit and follow him on Twitter @ballinishabit.

Editor's note: March Madness is too much for any one person to handle, so I'm adding help. The guys behind Ballin' Is a Habit, Rob Dauster and Troy Machir, will be contributing throughout March and into the Final Four, both with content from their Web site and original articles for us. This post originally appeared at BIAH.

By Rob Dauster

West Virginia coach Bob Huggins isn't one to take the time to reflect on his life.

He hails from Midvale, Ohio, a place he describes as "500 people, two stoplights, nine bars", the kind of place where you learn life lessons from a guy in a pick-up truck.

"I got in a truck with this guy one time," Huggins recalled after the game, "I looked and he didn't have a rear-view mirror. I said 'You don't have a rear-view mirror.' He said 'I don't back-up. We're going forward, son.' And that's kind of how I've lived my life."

There is no doubt Huggins will be heeding his own advice.

Frank Franklin II / AP

West Virginia's Joe Mazzulla, right, drives to the basket for a layup against Notre Dame on Friday.

West Virginia has no time to bask in the glory of their 53-51 win over Notre Dame in Friday's second Big East semifinal. Exactly 21 hours after Tory Jackson's potential game-winning three-pointer bounced off the rim, the Mountaineers will have to take the court again, this time against Georgetown, who just may be the best eighth-seed in the history of conference tournaments.

This is the Big East tournament, after all. And the Big East just may be the toughest league in the country.

"What the people in this league have done over the years," Huggins told reporters. "It's the best league in the country. I've been around enough and been in the other leagues."

"When you're in the other leagues, you say 'Man, it ain't that good.' Then you get in here."

It makes you wonder.

One of the prevailing theme's yesterday from writers covering the Big East Tournament had to do with the double-bye, or more specifically how three of the four teams that had earned the double-bye had lost in their first game, making it five in the two years we've had a double-bye.

The reason why varied. Some believed it was because the team's that had played were in rhythm. Others believed it was an advantage to get rid of the jitters of playing in Madison Square Garden.

Could the answer simply be the league is that good?

That the teams playing on the first day aren't that far behind the teams getting one bye; and that the teams getting one bye are just as good as the teams getting double-byes?

Sitting here at Madison Square Garden, I can't help but think that we may just be getting the Big East's two best teams Saturday night.

Georgetown has whooped both Duke and Villanova this season. Thursday, it knocked off the tournament's No. 1 seed with a thrilling comeback. Three great wins over three great teams, no question about it.

But Friday may actually be the Hoyas most impressive win of the season.

I know that, after reading that, you likely think I'm an idiot, that I'm stretching the facts to make my story better. You may very well be right.

But keep in mind that this Marquette team doesn't get blown out. Coming into this game, the Golden Eagles were 22-10. Of those 10 losses, not a single one had come by double digits; their largest defeat a nine-point setback coming at the hands of rival Wisconsin. Of their seven Big East losses -- which came by a total of 21 points -- the worst was a seven point loss to Pitt.

This Marquette team battles, they fight, and they scrap. Buzz Williams' team doesn't know the meaning of quit.

And Friday they got run out of the gym.

"They absolutely annihilated us," Williams said after the 80-57 loss.

What about West Virginia?

The Mountaineers just knocked off the hottest team in the Big East, beating Notre Dame at their own, slowed-down, game. They aren't going to win many beauty contests with the way they play. West Virginia is the basketball equivalent of an old, beat-up pickup truck. They aren't going to run you off the floor, but they'll run over you, through you, and can ding you throw at them.

West Virginia lacks quality point guard play, but they make up for it with their ability to defend -- this 1-3-1 zone that Huggins is using is so effective with the length of the Mountaineers -- and how hard they hit the offensive glass. And when Da'Sean Butler plays like he has the last two games, this Mountaineer team is awfully tough to beat.

Bob Huggins doesn't reflect.

I do. And when I look back at this week, I don't know if there are two teams I would rather see play for the Big East Tournament title.

You can find more of Rob's writing at Ballin' is a Habit and follow him on Twitter @ballinishabit.

Editor's note: March Madness is too much for any one person to handle, so I'm adding help. The guys behind Ballin' Is a Habit, Rob Dauster and Troy Machir, will be contributing throughout March and into the Final Four, both with content from their Web site and original articles for us. This post originally appeared at BIAH.

By Rob Dauster

It was just three possessions in a 40 minute basketball game, but they meant so much more.

Three possessions was all it took for Georgetown to put this game away. Those same three possessions are all you need to see if you're wondering why Greg Monroe is sitting in the lottery on most NBA Draft boards.

With 6:58 left on the clock, Monroe drove baseline from deep in the left corner and finished at the rim with a dunk. On Georgetown's next possession, he buried a three from the wing. On the ensuing possession, Julian Vaughn blocked a shot by Mo Acker. Monroe picked up the loose ball, led a 2-on-1 break, and dropped a pretty bounce pass to Austin Freeman for an and-one layup that gave the Hoyas a 70-52 lead with just 5:32 left.

Should I mention that he also blocked Jimmy Butler's shot on the next Marquette possession?

Monroe finished with 23 points, 13 boards, 7 assists, and 2 blocks in an 80-57 win for the Hoyas. A sterling performance no matter how you slice it, just the kind that has gotten Monroe mentioned in the same breath as the great Hoya centers of the past -- Patrick Ewing, Dikembe Mutumbo, Alonzo Mourning.

"I'm honored to follow people that were so good here," Monroe told reporters after the game, "but I don't compare myself to them."

"Me being here just two years, I can't put myself in the same category as those players."

Monroe is different than his Georgetown predecessors, however.

Where Mutumbo, Ewing, and 'Zo thrived on their ability to intimidate in the paint, be it via an emphatic dunk or a blocked shot, Monroe's biggest weapon is his versatility. How many players do you know that can get you 13 rebounds and 7 assists on the same night and have it be considered par for the course?

"He is the best skilled big man in the country," West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said after his Mountaineers beat Notre Dame in the other semifinal.

"He passes the ball, he finds open people, he can lay it down, he can score in the post."

With that much ability, it would be very easy to let individual success go to your head. But Monroe has stayed grounded, his mentality as unselfish as his passing ability.

"I just come out and try to do things for my team," Monroe said.

It's not just Monroe.

This team first aspect is something that John Thompson III preaches, something that he has ingrained in his players. You ask him a question about a certain player's performance, he will say it is a function of the team, proof that his system is working the right way. The saying goes "there's no I in team", but with Thompson, there's no I, you, he, or me; it's always we, us, or the team.

A perfect example came when he was asked about Monroe's aggressiveness early and whether it helped set a tone for the team and the game.

"I think the same thing happens when Austin comes out aggressively, when Chris comes out aggressively. When we come out aggressively and focus, it sets the tone in general."

That's a pretty standard answer from Thompson.

And it's refreshing. Incredible, really.

In the day and age of early entry, SportsCenter top 10, and YouTube, it's not that easy to find a player, let alone a team, as devoted to the team concept as Georgetown is.

What's more important is that it shows through in their play.

When the Hoyas are playing at their best, it's due to that team-first mentality. Georgetown runs what is known as a continuity offense, meaning they don't run a lot of set plays. You're not going to see Chris Wright and Monroe running pick-and-rolls. Austin Freeman won't be getting isolations on the wing. Jason Clark isn't going to be curling off of double screens.

Georgetown runs a system with a set of rules and reads given the situation. The Hoya players know where in this system they are going to be able to get scoring opportunities. Put another way, it is very difficult for the Hoyas to call a play for a certain player.

JT III can't, or won't, run a play to 'feed the hot hand', so to speak. Where their selflessness shines through is that the players on the court do it themselves. When Freeman gets it going, they look for him. Yesterday Chris Wright was hot, and Georgetown got him the ball in spots he could score. Today, it was Monroe.

The Hoyas have won a lot of games this year playing that way.

After beating Marquette, who hadn't lost by double digits all season coming into tonight, by 23, the fourth straight impressive win by the Hoyas, it's safe to say this team is playing their best basketball of the year.

But they aren't satisfied just yet.

"Its March," Thompson said, "there's no time to take a breath and pat yourself on the back in March."

You can find more of Rob's writing at Ballin' is a Habit and follow him on Twitter @ballinishabit.