Maybe Next Year

Well that sucked.

After all the hype, after everyone saying this would be the greatest Final Four ever, it turned out to be a snooze fest.

Georgetown's National Championship dream ended unceremoniously at the hands of Mike Conley, Jr. and the Ohio State Buckeyes, 67 - 60. The only bright spots for the Hoyas were Roy Hibbert outplaying Greg Oden and Jeff Green playing so horribly that he ultimately NEEDS to come back next year and redeem himself. That offensive charge he had, when G'Town had the ball down 4 with two minutes to play, was absolutely inexcusable. Just horrible.

On the bright side, things look good for Georgetown next year. If everyone comes back, the Hoyas will be back in the Final Four and better prepared to win the whole shebang. Roy Hibbert should be back, he's still soft. After pulling that disappearing act, Jeff "Five Freakin' Shots" Green needs to come back and boost his reputation. Sapp, Wallace, Summers, Ewing Jr. will all be back. To top of all off, WCAC superstars Austin Freeman and Chris Wright will be suiting up for the Hoyas.

Mark it down...

Finally

Georgetown outlasted North Carolina last night to win the East Regional and move on to the Final Four in dramatic fashion. Jonathan Wallace nailed a game-tying three-pointer with about 30 seconds left, and then the Hoyas clamped down to hold the Tar Heels scoreless for all but the last 8 seconds of overtime to seal the victory, 96 - 84.

This is Georgetown's first trip to the Final Four since 1985, and the first for a D.C. area team since, well, last year's George Mason squad. (We're not exactly starving for college hoops success, unlike all those Philly schools.)

I watched the game at McFadden's in Foggy Bottom then strolled through Georgetown to see the atmosphere. Suprisingly, I went to sleep last night thinking that Georgetown kids just don't know how to celebrate these days. Long story short, I was born at Georgetown Hospital the day between the Hoyas advancing to the National Championship game and the day they won it all in 1984. My mother never let me forget that she couldn't sleep a wink all weekend because of the rowdy Georgetown students. Needless to say, I was shocked to see M Street NW almost entirely empty.

Well, after checking some blogs this morning, it turns out I didn't see anyone because they had already moved down M Street onto Pennsylvania Ave and were chanting "We Want Bush!" in front of the White House.

Beautiful.

Anyway, the Hoyas now collide with the Ohio State Buckeyes for the right to play for the National Title. I'll get a preview up later this week. For now, I'm just going to enjoy the high spirits in D.C.

Love for GDub

Lost in the hoopla of Hoya Paranoia pt. 2 is the tremendous achievement of the George Washington Colonials.

GW has made it to the NCAA Tournament three years running (a longer streak than any other DC area men's team), and they're looking to notch their second win in as many years.

Last year, in one of the most awful hose jobs on recent memory, GW was given an 8-seed after finishing 26-2. Not only were they an 8-seed, the Colonials got to face UNC Wilmington and overall 1-seed Duke in Greensboro, North Carolina. Sweet deal. Compared to that, this year's seed is a gift-wrapped basket.

Three reasons George Washington can advance to the Sweet 16...

The seed. As an 11-seed, George Washington University will play 6th-seeded Vanderbilt University in the first round. If they get past Vandy, they'll match-up with either Washington State or Oral Roberts. GW can beat all three teams. Washington State is so inexperienced that no one on their team has ever played in the NCAA tournament before. Oral Roberts, seen by many as a Cinderella candidate, is still the weakest team in this pool. Also, all these games will be played in Sacramento, California, not exactly a home-court advantage for anyone.

The athleticism. The Vanderbilt match-up is great for GW. Their athleticism could push them by the slower Commodores. I envision Regis Koundijia and Rob Diggs unleashing hell on the defensive end and when going for up-for-grab rebounds. Steals, blocks, and fast breaks will lead to big wins for GW.

The experience. Another key strength of the Colonials is their veteran experience. Carl Elliot is a senior and Maureece Rice is a junior. Never underestimate the importance of guard play in the early NCAA rounds. Never. They've been dancing three years running and a Cinderella splash is not out of reach.

Although the Colonials didn't win the Atlantic-10 regular season crown, (they finished 3rd behind Xavier and UMass), they did string enough victories together to claim the A-10 Tournament Championship. Some might say their title might be tainted because they didn't do any of the leg work. After all, Rhode Island took out Xavier and St. Louis took out UMass. However, GW opportunistically made the most of their chances by wiping both SLU and URI out. Can't blame them for that.

Normally, I don't look favorably on teams that snuck into the NCAA Tournament through the back door, but GW's speed, experience and strong back court will make them a difficult out. I got 'em dancing all the way to the Sweet 16 before bowing out to the Hoyas. But who knows, maybe this year's George Mason is the other other 'George' team from D.C.

A homer? Me? No way.

Can Georgetown Win it All?

23 years ago the Hoyas brought the NCAA Championship to Washington, D.C. This year they have the best shot to bring home the title since the heyday of Hoya Paranoia. They are a trendy pick to make the Final Four, but can they win it all?


The Hoyas are capable of complete domination. There are other teams capable of domination (Ohio State, Florida, Texas), but not to the extent of Georgetown. They could realistically steam roll their way to the National Championship.

Jeff Green is a machine. Roy Hibbert is a monster. John Thompson III is a genius. This does not bode well for the 63* other teams in the tournament.

When clicking on all cylinders (late January-now) they have been a force to be reckoned with. Despite a hiccup against Syracuse, they have been straight killing teams, winning 15 of 16. In those 15 wins, all against Big East opponents, they've won by an average of almost 13 points.

The Georgetown Hoyas can win it all for three reasons:

The experience. They made it to the Sweet 16 last year, giving eventual champion Florida their toughest test by far. Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert know how to get this done. A tough Big East regular season and tournament also prepared them well.

The offense. JT III employs an offense that is Georgetown's biggest tournament strength. There are very few other teams in D-1 NCAA that play the Princeton-style offense (G'Town, Princeton, Air Force, anyone else?). If their opponents haven't seen it, they could get swamped. Sure, other Big East teams have figured it out, but most of them are on the other side of the bracket (Pitt, Notre Dame, Villanova) and unlikely to make it the Finals. Speaking of which, another strength for the Hoyas is...

The seed. On the downside, Georgetown got stuck with North Carolina and Texas in the same region. Fortunately, they'd only need to go through one of them to make it to the Final Four. Also on the bright side, the #3 Seed in the East, Washington State, isn't nearly as threatening as the other #3 seeds, Oregon, Pittsburgh, and Texas A&M. I think they have a clear shot at the Elite 8 before a real challenger steps into the picture. Also, the East Regionals are in East Rutherford, a loooong ways away from North Carolina or Texas.

However, despite the potential, flaws still exist.

The backcourt. DaJuan Summers and Jeremiah Rivers are freshmen. Jessie Sapp is a sophomore. Let that sink in. Young point guards can get trounced by experienced PGs, especially in the first two rounds.

The inevitable. All teams face adversity at some point in the tournament. The Hoyas will, too. Roy Hibbert is hit-or-miss offensively. It's hard for him to do nothing on the defensive end (he's 7'2" for crying out loud!), but if he gets in early foul trouble it could be lights out, especially against UNC or Texas. Hibbert needs to stay in the game and contain Tyler Hansbrough and Kevin Durant. The Hoyas can withstand a bad offensive night from Hibbert, but if he's not clogging up the paint they're not going far.

All things considered, the Hoyas have a fantastic chance to dance all the way to the Final Four. If they get past either UNC or Texas, their toughest possible challenge in my opinion, they have a great shot of winning it all. The only team I see as flat-out better than Georgetown is Florida. Any other match up, on paper, favors the Hoyas. Which is why, if they make it to Atlanta, the Hoyas should be cutting down the nets.
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* I know damn well there are 64 other teams in the tournament. However, it is straight bullshit to claim that both Florida A&M and Niagara are in the tournament. Only the winner of the play-in game is truly "dancing". This is so egregious because it's easily fixable. ELIMINATE THE PLAY-IN GAME. Florida A&M and Niagara are CHAMPIONS. (Especially Niagara, they got hosed. The MAAC is better than that.) They both deserve to be in the field of 64. Who cares if there is one less at-large spot? If anything, the play-in game should be between two at-large teams. In this year's case, I think Arkansas vs. Old Dominion would be a much more sensible and TV friendly matchup.