Dave Preston is an AP Top 25 voter. Read his latest ballot here.
Sports is not life and death; far from it. In fact, the only things that are life and death are — life and death.
Georgetown (16-10, 7-8 Big East) has been fighting an uphill battle in a top-heavy conference that features a two-time defending national champion (UConn) along with three other teams that have been regulars in the Top 25 this winter. The league also features the team that Hoyas head coach Ed Cooley had guided for 12 years in Providence, whose fan base almost two years later remains rather salty that one of their native sons had left for a conference competitor.
Entering this month, Cooley was 0-4 against the Friars while at Georgetown. Still, it wasn’t life or death.
But life and death does not know offseasons; it follows its own schedule. Earlier this week, Ed Cooley’s mother Jane Cooley-Fayerweather died at the age of 81. And it was with a heavy heart her son prepared his team to face his former employer.
“Today was hard, today was hard. It was a day I really didn’t want to coach, to be honest with you. It wasn’t about the game,” Cooley said after the game. “I was so grateful my son flew in … I was so grateful to see my daughter today, my wife, and at the end of the day that’s what it’s all about.”
Georgetown used a 19-3 run to close the first half and build a double-digit lead they’d maintain for the rest of the night in a 93-72 victory, Cooley’s first against the Friars since being hired by the Hoyas. They did so minus freshman phenom Thomas Sorber, who was on the shelf with a toe injury. Georgetown also clinches its first winning regular season since 2019.
“This to me was a signature win for me as a coach,” Cooley said. “And not so much because of the opponent but because of the adversity that we were facing. And I thought our men were resilient on both sides of the ball.”
The victory puts the Hoyas one half game behind sixth place Villanova. Georgetown owns the tiebreaker while hosting the Wildcats in their home finale March 4.
While getting out of playing on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden (and the first round of the Big East Tournament) might be too much to ask at this time, the victory shows progress for a program that’s hit tough times over the last decade. And hopefully, it brings some peace and comfort for a man who might be the coach of a Division I men’s basketball program now, but was originally Jane Cooley-Fayerweather’s son.
Starting Five
Up Top: Auburn reclaims No. 1 in both polls as well as on my ballot after the Tigers topped Alabama 94-85 in Tuscaloosa (forget that AU was wearing white while UA was wearing red). The Crimson Tide slip to third on my ballot, between No. 2 Florida and No. 4 Duke. Biggest variances from the consensus? I have No. 18 Clemson 11th on my ballot and No. 9 Texas Tech 17th. Difficult omissions: Kansas, Kentucky, Utah State, VCU, and Drake. Small-school shout-outs: New Mexico, Saint Mary’s and George Mason.
Going Inside: Maryland (21-6, 11-5 Big Ten) took care of business against USC Thursday night, topping the Trojans 88-71. Once again, the Terps’ starting five enjoyed another stellar evening, combining to post 85 points. It’s become a case where 1+1+1+1+1 is more than five. Entering Thursday’s game with the Trojans, 83.6% of the team’s points comes from the starting five. Depending on the opponent’s personnel, the road to victory can take any one of five routes.
“We all score a lot of points-the starting five-so they can’t double-team or overhelp,” guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie said. “So it’s just, I feel like we help each other offensively.”
A starting five and rotation can often resemble a recipe where just the right amount of vanilla extract can make the difference from delicious to disaster. And the Terps have found the right mix.
“I think they’re all very comfortable with each other and they all kind of know … I think they’re playing well in the sandbox, as I like to say,” Maryland head coach Kevin Willard said after the starters combined for 95 of the team’s 101 points last Sunday in a win over Iowa. “The kind of know when someone’s going to shoot it, they don’t get frustrated when someone shoots it, they know they’re going to get their shots, they know they’re going to get their touches. I think earlier in the year when I was bringing guys in and out, we got antsy a little bit. I just think they all kind of know they’re gonna get theirs, and I think it’s just relaxed them a little bit.”
Thanks to its stellar starting five, Maryland is currently pegged as a No. 5 seed in Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology ratings on ESPN.com. The Terps conclude their homestand next Wednesday against No. 14 Michigan State.
Perimeter Play: James Madison (18-10, 11-4 Sun Belt) is within striking distance of the No. 1 seed after winning eight straight conference games (they lost a non-league tilt at Toledo Feb. 8). The Dukes rank third in the Sun Belt in rebounding margin and are fourth in scoring defense, while the well-traveled Mark Freeman (previous stops at Tennessee State, Illinois State, and Morehouse State) has emerged as the team’s top scoring threat by scoring 15 points per game while shooting 34% from 3-point range.
JMU began the week in a four-way tie for first but is now tied for first with South Alabama (the Jaguars own the tiebreaker) while standing one game ahead of a three-way tie for third. They wrap up the regular season with three teams that are currently under .500 in league play. While winning the league would be nice, finishing in the top two means they’d clinch a semifinal berth in the conference tournament in the “snake bracket.” The Dukes hold Senior Day in Harrisonburg Saturday as they take on Georgia Southern.
Who’s Open: The final weeks of the regular season has a pair of schools chasing perfect conference seasons while three others attempt to avoid the infamy of a winless league campaign. Yale (9-0 in the Ivy) and Akron (13-0 in the MAC) won’t be assured of an NCAA Tournament berth unless they win their respective conference tournaments, but at least they aren’t trying to avoid an embarrassing goose egg like Maryland-Eastern Shore (0-9 in the MEAC), South Carolina (0-13 SEC) or Air Force (0-15 Mountain West). Closer to home, American (17-11, 11-4 Patriot League) and Towson (18-10, 13-2 CAA) dropped league games this week but still lead their respective conferences with three games left in the regular season.
Last Shot: First place in the Atlantic 10 is up for grabs at the Siegel Center in Richmond on Saturday at 4 p.m. as George Mason (21-5, 12-1 A-10) visits VCU (21-5, 11-2). The Patriots are enjoying their best season since joining the conference and have won 11 straight, with seven of those victories being two-possession games.
“We’ve just been fortunate enough we’re tough enough down the stretch we’ve won those games,” George Mason head coach Tony Skinn said. “It’s conference play: you’re not beating anybody by eight, you’re not beating anybody by 10. And so, with a senior-led team-we’ve got five seniors who understand this is their last go-around, they’re finding different ways to win those close games.”
The Rams have won five straight and 11 of 12, with A-10 Preseason Player of the Year Max Shulga living up to his billing while ranking 11th in the conference in scoring, 19th in rebounding, and eighth in assists.
“You look at his stats — his stats do not jump out at you and then when you watch the film pretty much everything that Max Shulga does, it ends up positive,” Skinn said. “He might get four or five assists tonight, he might go get eight or nine rebounds tomorrow, he might go 4-for-4 from 3, and then he’s a big guard that can defend.”
This is the only regular-season meeting between two schools that lie 98 miles apart and have a history that stretches back to when Skinn was a player at Mason and the two programs competed for CAA titles.
“We’ve got to be able to take care of the basketball because in that atmosphere VCU turns turnovers into a lot of points.,” Skinn said. “We’re gonna be who we are defensively, but on the other we’ve got to make them guard us as well.”
I’ll see you courtside.
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