At 8-1, Georgetown probably doesn’t need an infusion of good news as much as most teams. Nonetheless, the Hoyas were happy to receive it last week.

Defenseman Gibson Smith, who hadn’t played since the Feb. 21 season opener at Villanova because of an injury suffered in practice, returned for Georgetown’s 10-8 victory at Marquette. Considering what’s next for the Hoyas — a rematch with Big East leader Denver — the timing is exceptional.

“He has played so much lacrosse for us and been through so many different scenarios, sometimes you just have to plug your way through them,” Georgetown coach Kevin Warne said. “It’s great to have him as that field general. Quite honestly, it just helps everybody else. It gets people on the same page and is that constant voice that everybody remembers. It’s like, ‘He’s back, let’s go.’”

The Hoyas (7-1 Big East) have largely handled their business with and without Smith, though not in the gaudy fashion of their first three games when they outscored Villanova, St. John’s and Mount St. Mary’s by a combined 52-7.

It’s left Georgetown as one of the toughest teams to fully assess. Not from a personnel perspective; fifth-year senior Jake Carraway (33 goals, 12 assists) and sophomore Graham Bundy Jr. (26 goals, five assists) have been reliable presences, freshman TJ Haley is among the top feeders in the country with 37 assists, James Reilly (.642) has won plenty of faceoffs and Owen McElroy owns a .570 save percentage.

But who, exactly, are the Hoyas?

“I don’t know if I can tell you,” Warne said. “I think you have to morph into the situation. Hopefully, our past experiences have taught us that if we have to get into a high-scoring game, then guess what? We can do it. If we have to get into a defensive struggle, we can do that. If it has to be a possession game, based on this year’s slate of experiences, I guess we can pick and choose.”

Whether acknowledged or not, Denver remains something of a barometer for the rest of the Big East. The Pioneers (9-2, 7-0 BE) are the only team to upend Georgetown this season, a 13-7 decision on March 16 in a game delayed three days by a snowstorm.

Denver utilized a 10-man ride to fluster the Hoyas and open an early 7-2 lead and never let the Hoyas cut the margin to less than three goals the rest of the way. It’s an experience Georgetown will look to build on as the Pioneers make the return trip to Washington, D.C. — this time with Smith back in the lineup.

“They go on runs, and they quite honestly put people away,” Warne said. “We learned that first hand. We gave up seven in a row the first time around. It was a crazy situation, but they beat us up a little bit. They played better that day, and credit to them. At the same time, you need to learn from that.”

NUMBERS OF NOTE

1

Quinnipiac junior Demitri George became the first player in Division I history to win 27 faceoffs, collect 17 ground balls and score multiple goals when he did so Saturday in a 13-12 overtime defeat of Manhattan. George won 27 of 30 faceoffs, including the final 22, as the Bobcats improved to 3-2.

12

Rutgers’ 12-goal margin in its 22-10 drubbing of Penn State was its most lopsided victory ever in a conference game, dating back to the Scarlet Knights joining the ECAC in 2000. Rutgers has also competed in the Big East and the Big Ten since then.

30-1

The ACC’s five schools are 30-1 in non-conference play after Syracuse’s 13-8 defeat of Albany last week. Army’s Feb. 21 defeat of the Orange remains the league’s only non-conference loss, and it has only one more out-of-league game remaining (Virginia’s meeting with Utah on Saturday) prior to the NCAA tournament.

500

Virginia goalie Alex Rode made his 500th career save in Saturday’s 18-16 victory over North Carolina, becoming only the fourth player in program history to reach the plateau. The others: Tillman Johnson (700), Adam Ghitelman (586) and Rodney Rullman (553) — all of whom, like Rode, were starting goalies on an NCAA tournament champion.