Four days before Selection Sunday.
Georgetown won four games in four days last year to emerge as the Big East Tournament champion. But that was after a stretch where they won six of their final 10 regular season games before departing for Madison Square Garden. This year’s team has won six games — all season — and none of them has come in conference play.
The last victory came Dec. 15 against Howard. But Coach Patrick Ewing’s team plans to defend its tournament title with their heads held high.
“They have not given up they have not stopped fighting they have not stopped believing,” Ewing said. “Neither them nor I have stopped fighting or stopped believing that we are a good team.”
They’ve certainly shown flashes, owning second half leads in six of their 19 league losses (the latest coming with 1 minutes and 24 seconds left at Butler, Jan. 29). But they ended the regular season last in the Big East in points allowed, shooting, defensive field goal percentage and defending the three. Not the best mindset as one heads to MSG.
“You have to think about the things that you did well and also the things that you didn’t do well,” Ewing said. “You’ve got to learn from the mistakes that put us in the hole that we were in, but this is a new season — a fresh slate.”
The new season starts Wednesday in the First Round (I’m not as down on the Big East First Round because unlike other leagues, you don’t need two wins to reach the Quarterfinals) against Seton Hall, a team they lost to by five and seven points. Two games where the Hoyas played well enough to contend, but not well enough to win.
“In our last game I think we missed 11 layups,” Ewing said. “Then we also gave them 19 offensive rebounds.” Can they correct the mistakes and begin another March miracle?
Tickets Punched: Get your pen and paper as six teams locked up automatic bids, with five of them coming from one-bid leagues. The exception was the West Coast Conference where No. 1 Gonzaga (26-3) not only beat No. 17 St. Mary’s (25-7) to secure a third-straight championship but also likely cemented a fourth No. 1 seed in the last five NCAA Tournaments.
Don’t feel bad about the Gaels because they’ll make the field as an at-large team. Not so for the team that lost the Atlantic Sun Tournament title tilt, along with the school that won. Bellarmine (20-13) beat Jacksonville (21-10), but the Knights are still transitioning from Division II and are ineligible for the NCAA Tournament so regular season champ Jacksonville State (21-10) makes the Big Dance, despite their semifinal loss to Jacksonville (sounds reasonable).
Wright State (21-13) nips Northern Kentucky (20-12) in the Horizon League championship game 72-71 on Trey Calvin’s jumper with 10.5 seconds left in regulation. South Dakota State (30-4) beats North Dakota State (23-1) to win the Summit League thanks to a 14-4 run over the final 1 minutes 57 seconds of regulation.
Bryant (22-9) threw its knockout punch early, starting the Northeast Conference championship game with a 34-6 run against Wagner (21-6) in the Bulldogs’ 70-43 rout. What was in doubt was fan safety in Smithfield, Rhode Island as the game was delayed 30 minutes because of a fight in the stands late in the first half.
And lastly inside the Beltway, Delaware (22-12) dominated defensively in their 59-55 defeat of UNC-Wilmington in the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament championship game. They became the first school to beat three higher seeds on their way to a CAA Tournament title since East Carolina in 1993.
“We have so much parity in our league, great teams top to bottom. You knew you were going to have to beat really good basketball teams,” Coach Martin Ingelsby said. “The two teams we beat (Towson and UNC-Wilmington) were regular season champions and I think that says a lot about our team to come down here on a neutral court and get it done.”
The Blue Hens allowed fewer than 60 points in all three of their tournament wins, and finished with a flourish by handcuffing the Seahawks after halftime Tuesday night by holding them to 6-23 shooting with eight turnovers.
“They dug in and battled for 40 minutes against a really, really good basketball team,” Ingelsby said. “That was a tough physical game. Back and forth. A lot of lead changes.”
Delaware now awaits their seeding, destination and opponent (ESPN.com has them a No. 16 that will face Kansas in Fort Worth). For the second time in three years, the Entertainment & Sports Arena hosted the event (the 2021 tournament was held in Harrisonburg on the campus of James Madison), and hopefully the CAA will be back at the ESA sooner rather than later.
Bid for Grabs: Only one automatic spot as the Patriot League holds its final in Hamilton, New York, at 7:30 p.m. Navy (21-10) visits Colgate (22-21) as the top two seeds reach the championship game for the 13th time since the conference expanded to eight schools in 2002. The Midshipmen are one win away from their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1998, but lost both regular season meetings — including a 19-point defeat in Annapolis. The Patriot League’s top defensive team (No. 1 in points allowed, field goal defense, defending the three and rebounding margin) will have their hands full with the most prolific offense in the conference (tops in scoring, shooting, three-pointers and assist-to-turnover ratio). The Raiders’ five starters each score in double figures, and you never know who’s going to have the hot hand: While Keegan Records burned the Mids for 25 points and seven rebounds in January, while Tucker Richardson tallied 23 points with nine rebounds and five assists in February. Who will they have to contain this time?
Other games involving locals
UMBC (17-13) hosts Hartford (12-19) at 7 p.m. in the America East Semifinals. The Retrievers’ four-game winning started with a win at the Hawks as senior Darnell Rogers poured in a season-high 26 points. He had 19 in the other regular season meeting.
Virginia Tech (19-12) plays Clemson (17-15) in the ACC Second Round at 7 p.m. The Hokies’ already slim at-large NCAA hopes took a major hit when they fell to the Tigers last Saturday 63-59 in a game where they shot 0-7 with a turnover over the final 2 minutes 30 seconds of regulation. That loss basically means they have to run the table in Brooklyn. Clemson’s 70-64 win over NC State in Tuesday’s First Round was the team’s fifth in a row.
Howard (16-12) takes on Coppin State (7-22) at 8 p.m. in the MEAC Quarterfinals. The Bison have clinched their first winning record since the 2001-02 season and own their best seed since they were No. 1 in 1992 (and won the league for their most recent trip to the NCAA Tournament). But they were also swept by the seventh-place Eagles, including an 86-82 loss at Burr Gymnasium Feb. 21.
Virginia (18-12) meets Louisville (13-18) at 9:30 p.m. in the ACC Second Round. Just like Virginia Tech, the Cavaliers likely are only going to the NCAA Tournament if they win four games in four days and take the ACC Championship. And just like the Hokies, they begin tournament play against the team they wrapped up the regular season with (much tougher in today’s 15-team league). They’ve beaten the Cardinals by double digits twice, with Reece Beekman dominating last Saturday (15 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and five steals).
Georgetown plays Seton Hall at 9:30 p.m. in the Big East First Round. Get the coffee ready. Yes, I know it reads “9:30” but the tipoff will be much closer to 10. The Pirates boast a matchup nightmare in 6-foot 6-inch guard Kadary Richmond (the sophomore averaged 12 points, seven rebounds and nine assists against the Hoyas during the regular season). The Hoyas have a nightmare, but it’s one that began Jan. 7 when Big East play began.
