WASHINGTON – Georgetown was essentially run out of its own building, taking a beating unlike anything the school has seen in nearly four decades.
The brutal lesson from it all: A team that can't score can only go so far.
The 19th-ranked Hoyas were routed 73-45 by Pittsburgh on Tuesday night, a rout so thorough that the soundtrack for most of it was the constant chants of "Let's go, Pitt!" from visitors in a conference foe's building.
"It's embarrassing," Georgetown coach John Thompson III said. "We have some things we know we need to address and that will be addressed. I don't think this is — I hope this isn't — I know this isn't who we are, but tonight was very disappointing."
The margin of defeat was the largest by Georgetown since a 104-71 loss to Maryland on Dec. 10, 1974. It was the largest home loss since a 107-67 rout by St. John's on Dec. 7, 1971.
No player scored in double figures for the Hoyas (10-3, 0-2), who shot 35 percent and have lost their first two Big East games for the first time since 2001-02. Georgetown failed to score 50 points for the fourth time this season, including their 49-48 loss at Marquette on Saturday, and various changes in the attack haven't compensated for a thin roster that lacks a consistent go-to scorer.
The Hoyas finished with more turnovers (17) than field goals (13).
"It's not just bad luck with the rims," Thompson said. "We've continued to try to make changes as the season has gone along. It's not like we're just sticking our head in the sand and saying 'Hey, let's not worry about it.'"
Talib Zanna scored 15 points, and Tray Woodall added 11 points and seven assists for the Panthers (13-3, 1-2) who shot 55 percent and rediscovered their touch after consecutive conference losses that knocked them out of the Top 25.
Pittsburgh is moving to the Atlantic Coast Conference next season, and they'll surely miss the visits to the nation's capital. The Panthers have won their three last games at Georgetown by 16, 15 and 28 points.
"It's our last time playing here at Georgetown," Woodall said, "and we wanted to make sure we come out with a bang."
The Panthers beat the Hoyas inside and out, scoring 18 points in the paint and making 4 of 5 3-point attempts while building a 37-22 halftime lead.
Pitt didn't slack off in the second half, pushing the lead higher and higher and having fun with alley-oop passes in transition even as the frustration continued to mount for the Hoyas. Thompson drew a technical — his first since March 2007 — for leaving the coach's box during a bout of extended fury when Nate Lubick was called for a foul in the second half.
"I don't think I did anything that was out of character for me and anything different than I was doing for most of the game," Thompson said. "Was I out of the box? Yes. Now, you watch as many games as I do — people get out of the box."
At least there was hope for the Hoyas' future was in the building. Josh Smith, a 6-foot-10 transfer from UCLA, has enrolled in the school — but he won't be available to suit up for a year.
"We'll worry about the big fellow later," Thompson said. "There's a lot of things that showed up today that need to be addressed."
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