Hoya Saxa!

I've been warned not to blog about the Georgetown Hoyas by my friends - if I do, I might jinx them into a loss. But the way I see it after today's improbable, heart-stopping win over North Carolina in the East Region Final, these Hoyas have been beating the odds all year, so my little old blog isn't going to wreak too much havoc.

What an incredible 48 hours to be a Hoya. After the shot of a lifetime from team bastion Jeff Green to beat Vanderbilt on Friday night, it was looking like we were going to suffer the ultimate letdown. From an incredible high to a feeling of desperation knowing we had come this close to Final Four immortality. That's how I felt with about 8 minutes left in today's game against the Tar Heels.

It wasn't the North Carolina lead that bothered me. In theory it was more than a workable margin. It never ballooned to a point that would have put the game out of hand. It was the fact that Georgetown was playing North Carolina's game, and we seemingly had no answer for their fast-break offense. If the remainder of the game had played out like that, the Hoyas would be headed home empty, because they wouldn't have had the ability to cut the deficit. Luckily, with time starting to run out on Georgetown's season, they were able to impose their will on a game that had been in North Carolina's control for 30+ minutes.

In retrospect, you could see that Georgetown had a chance even before they began their surge late in the half. The prolific scoring of the first half, resulting in a 50-44 UNC halftime lead, played right into the Tar Heels' hands. If Tyler Hansbrough and company could score another 50 points in the second half, their ticket to Atlanta would most assuredly be punched. When that scoring pace didn't continue to start the second half, the Hoyas had new life. Now, a slow-down, half-court type of game was being played - exactly what Georgetown Coach John Thompson III wanted. It suddenly hit me with 6 or 7 minutes left that the score was only 75-72 Tar Heels. Neither team was pushing 85 or 90, which is what would have happened had the Tar Heels continued to play at their pace in addition to make some shots.

Ah yes, the field goal drought. Georgetown came back in this game in equal parts because they got tougher on the boards and got back to playing their trademark efficient half court game. But just as importantly, North Carolina went as dry as the Mojave for such a prolonged period of time that the lead couldn't help but be cut. I watched with utter amazement as the offensive firepower of the Tar Heels - dangerous from players 1-12 - flamed out in spectacular fashion. In the end, the Heels' sudden offensive futility combined with clutch shooting and toughness from the Hoyas resulted in a 12 point overtime win.

To me, this team is special because of their mental makeup. As they have shown in the last three games in this tournament, they do not allow themselves to get flustered when trailing. They keep the game within reach, and when they eventually able to figure out how to slow down what the opponent has thrown at them, they close the gap, then shut the door. That ability to strategically adjust in-game to the intricacies of the opponent's style has been a hallmark of Coach Thompson and the Hoyas all year, and it has become even more evident in the tournament.

Now comes Ohio State, in a rematch of last year's second-round tournament game in which the Hoyas came up victorious. But this game will bear little resemblance to the matchup from a year ago. Both teams have improved immensely over the course of that year. And now we get to see a matchup of the two best centers in the tournament, Ohio State's Greg Oden vs. Georgetown's Roy Hibbert. The right to play in the national championship game awaits.

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My NCAA Tournament Picks

As promised, below I give you my bracket breakdown by region. Scroll to the end of the post to see my picks for the regional finals and beyond.

EAST: Georgetown over North Carolina

This has the trappings of an awful matchup for the Tar Heels. They love to get out and run, while the Hoyas are the anti-Heels, cutting down on possessions and playing a patient half-court game. I'm not sold on UNC as a championship contender and think the Hoyas are clicking on all cylinders. The team that dictates the pace of the game will win - I think that will be Georgetown.

SOUTH: Texas A&M over Ohio State

I know that the Buckeyes have more talent and some NBA team's future franchise player in Greg Oden, but I just believe in point guard Acie Law IV and Coach Billy Gillespie. They've done the unthinkable by making Aggies basketball relevant. Now they'll cement their status as part of the college basketball elite by advancing to the Final Four.

WEST: UCLA over Kansas

Despite their first round loss in the Pac-10 tournament, I still believe that the Bruins have been the country's most consistent, well-rounded team this year. And they have the edge on experience as well. No key Jayhawk has won an NCAA Tournament game, while UCLA will be burning to make the Final Four for the second consecutive year.

MIDWEST: Florida over Oregon

As smoking hot as Oregon looked in the Pac 10 tournament, and as much as part of me wants to make the bold move and pick against the Gators, I just can't make myself do it. The Gators will overwhelm the Ducks with their talent, depth, experience and drive to advance to the Final Four.

NATIONAL SEMIFINALS:

UCLA over Florida

If this matchup happens, I could see it being an epic battle. I don't see any way this year's game would be anything but close after the Gators trounced the Bruins in the title game last year. However, I think Florida's bid to repeat ends here while UCLA makes another championship game appearance under coach Ben Howland.

Georgetown over Texas A&M

This would be a matchup of two disciplined, well-coached teams and would probably be close all the way. But I'd go with the Hoyas since both Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert have the potential to dominate any given game. The Aggies don't have a dynamic duo as imposing as those Green-Hibbert.

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:

Georgetown over UCLA

My head tells me that this game could go either way. Both teams can play smothering defense, both have go-to conference players of the year in Aaron Afflalo for UCLA and Jeff Green for Georgetown. So in a toss-up, I'll take that as reason enough to go with the Hoyas to win it all. Hey, you didn't think I was going to choose against my alma mater in my own blog, did you?

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Hoyas Take Over Big East Lead

In the Big East's most significant game of the year, Georgetown outslugged Pittsburgh 61-53 in what is probably the program's biggest regular season win since the Allen Iverson era. The victory wasn't the prettiest, with an abundance of turnovers and bodies banging in the air and on the ground, but impressive nonetheless.

Everyone knows about the contributions of the team's big two, Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert and to a lesser degree, on-the-money point guard Jonathan Wallace. But I came away very impressed with the way Patrick Ewing Jr. affected the game. He's not a scorer, but he showed today that he can impose his will on the game on the defensive end and in the energy and emotion he brings. There was a sequence during the game when a Pitt player got by the 7'2" Hibbert and understandably, looked to ease up as he went in for the layup. But out of nowhere came Ewing, blocking the shot from the back and taking away what should have been an uncontested 2 points for Pitt. If you can make the rim that difficult to penetrate, you will usually win, and that's what happened here.

Today's win also affirmed for me that the Hoyas are never out of a game, even when they fall behind. Defense doesn't usually take an off day, so their defensive presence is going to be a constant, keeping games close. And their offensive philosophy dictates that they milk the shot clock for everything it's worth, which cuts down on possessions and making it unlikely for games to get away from them. Today, when they fell behind by 8 in the 2nd half, they were able to stem the Pitt momentum and got back to basics offensively, pounding the ball into Hibbert for a 3 point play immediately following a timeout. And watching the Pitt players chest-bumping on their home court when Georgetown called the momentum-breaking timeout had to stir the team's sense of pride. They responded to the adversity, just as they have throughout their now 11 game winning streak, when they came back from deficits against St. John's, Villanova, and Cincinnati.

Now the Hoyas have the leg up on the Big East regular season title and are showing the country that their preseason top 10 ranking wasn't in fact too high, as many had protested. Georgetown and Pitt are the clear class of the conference this year, and I'm hoping for a third round in this heavyweight fight.


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