Thanks Hoyas

A day later, the unapologetic finality of it all is setting in. The dream run of the Georgetown Hoyas came to a close last night with a deflating loss to Ohio State in the national semifinals. With the gap between the Hoyas and the Buckeyes sitting at three possessions with two minutes left in the game yesterday, I knew there would be no miracle comeback this time. And when the game ended, I kept trying to find solace in the loss, as if that would somehow change the final score, and we would be the ones playing for the championship Monday night.

All my friends and I could focus on after the game were the ifs. If Jeff Green had played a more assertive game. If we could have capitalized on Greg Oden's limited playing time. If the officials had ruled in favor of Green on a questionable bang-bang foul in which Oden tried his best to impersonate Vince Carter dunking on Frederic Weis, 2000 Olympics style. But the fact remains, those ifs never came to fruition, and the Buckeyes were the better team last night. I know that Hoya fans everywhere will cling to the idea that if we played Ohio State in a best of 5 or a best of 7 game series, Georgetown would have ultimately come out on top. But unfortunately, this isn't the NBA, and it's something the team and the fans have to live with.

It's nice to say you have to live with a Final Four appearance though. This team gave Hoyas everywhere more reasons to be proud than we've had in a generation. And frankly, such a turnaround seemed like a pipe dream three years ago when the team finished with a miserable 13-19 record in the last season under Craig Escherick. Time after time this season, Georgetown rose up and met the challenges, one by one. Defeats of Big East rivals Marquette and Pittsburgh at home to punctuate a regular season conference title. A romp through the Big East Tournament. And sweetest of all, a thrill-a-minute ride through the East bracket of the NCAA Tournament, along the way producing a game for the ages against North Carolina. Green and Hibbert became marquee names in the college hoops game, and coach John Thompson III, the irrepressible linchpin of it all, showed the country that there are few coaches out there better at what they do.

This afternoon, a group of about 100 or 150 students waited outside venerable old McDonough Arena on the Georgetown campus waiting to welcome the team upon their arrival. Students screamed the familiar refrain of "Hoya! Saxa!" with the brio of a fan base celebrating a win. A big smile flashed by Hibbert upon stepping off the bus seemed to validate the experience at least somewhat. It was a bittersweet moment - we were all struggling with the fact that they were back in D.C. with a game still to be played in Atlanta. But much more than that, there was a real sense of appreciation present. It was the least we could do for the unforgettable joy ride they've given us over the last month.

jeff green
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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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john thompson III
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greg oden
tyler hansbrough

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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Georgetown Runs Winning Streak to 7

On a day celebrating the 100th anniversary of Georgetown basketball, the Hoyas made a capacity crowd filled with Georgetown greats of old, including Patrick Ewing, proud with a convincing 76-58 victory over #11 Marquette. As usual when Georgetown wins, their two stars, Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert both played superbly with Green putting up a career high 24 points and Hibbert going for 23 and 11 rebounds.

It seems like the Hoyas have turned a corner ever since an embarrassing loss at home to Villanova last month. In their 7 game winning streak, they've beaten up on the teams they should beat, and now have proven that they can beat a top-15 caliber team by defeating the Golden Eagles, who were riding an 8 game streak of their own.

I'm not exactly unbiased here, but it's looking more and more like the Hoyas could make a deep run into March. They have size that most teams can only dream about, an offensive philosophy that places a premium on quality possessions, and experience from a Sweet 16 appearance last year. That being said, there are also a few things could doom them. First is their free throw shooting. Jonathan Wallace, Green, and DaJuan Summers hold their weight, but it gets ugly after that - starters Jessie Sapp and Hibbert are in the 60% range, and none of the first 4 players off the bench shoot better than 50% at the line.

Also, despite playing in an offense where any given starter could lead the team in scoring on any night, Green needs to get opportunities to score against quality opponents. Except for a close loss against a good Pittsburgh team, Green has been a non-factor scoring-wise in all of the Hoyas' defeats. He's picked it up big time in the last four games, probably the team's most impressive four game stretch of the season.

Next, Georgetown gets West Virginia at home on Monday night. The Mountaineers blew #2 UCLA out of the building at home today, and have played surprisingly well this year even after the graduation of their two stars Doug Gansey and Kevin Pittsnoggle. I'll be interested to see if the 'Eers build on the momentum from today's upset or suffer an emotional letdown after their biggest win of the year.

If the Hoyas win their next 3 games, in which they'll be favored in all of them, that'll set up an enormous game against current Big East front-runner Pittsburgh at the Verizon Center in what could be a game that ends up deciding the regular season Big East title. Now that'll be a charged atmosphere.

Sports Illustrated Jinx Strikes Again

Well, at least it wasn't a devestating, season-ending injury. Just a week ago, when I saw that Roy Hibbert and Jonathan Wallace of the Georgetown Hoyas were on the cover of Sports Illustrated's college basketball preview issue for the Mid-Atlantic region (the cover featuring the pair of Hoyas was one of five versions of SI's preview issue), my first reaction was excitement. Finally, after too many years of blending in with the crowd, my Hoyas were back in the national spotlight on the cover of the country's premier sports magazine.

After crowing about our glorious return to prominence for a bit, a co-worker reminded me to be cautious - if they're on the cover of SI, there's always the possibility of being struck with the infamous SI jinx. Kansas, one of the other teams featured on the cover in other parts of the country, had already been struck, being upset by Oral Roberts.

Last night, Georgetown, playing at McDonough Arena, the rarely-used on-campus arena where they hadn't lost in 24 years, was upset rather handily by little Old Dominion 75-62. Hopefully, any powers of the jinx stop here and we're not in for an extending losing streak or injury to a key player like Hibbert or Jeff Green. More importantly, this game may serve as a wake-up call early in the season for the Hoyas, who have looked surprisingly sluggish in their first three games.