This morning, the Division I Men’s Basketball Committee named Georgetown University one of the hosts for the 2013 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. Georgetown will host the East Regional at their home arena, the Verizon Center.

This is the first time Georgetown hosts the regional finals since 2006, in addition to the Verizon Center’s first tournament games since 2010. The East Regional – better known as the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight – will be held on Thursday, March 28, and Saturday, March 30.

In a statement, Athletic Director Lee Reed said, “Along with Verizon Center, we’re very excited to serve as the host for the 2013 NCAA East Regional. It is part of our University’s commitment to be engaged with the community and we’re happy to bring this great event to our city for Georgetown fans and others who love March Madness.”

With the announcement, Washington DC joins Los Angeles, Indianapolis, and Arlington, Texas as regional hosts. The weekend’s slate ultimately decides who advances to the Final Four, to be held in Atlanta next season. If the Hoyas manage to advance to the Sweet Sixteen, they will be switching time zones – as the host school for the East Regional, they cannot be placed in the region.

This year’s tournament holds great significance as the 75th iteration of a tradition that has grown from eight teams back in 1939 to 68 teams in its current format. All of the other locations were selected back in 2009, but the committee delayed a decision on the East Regional until today.

Read the rest of this entry »

Well, that was disappointing. Nerlens Noel, the nation’s No.1 college basketball recruit, chose Kentucky over Georgetown and Syracuse on national television Wednesday night.

Noel, a 6-foot-10 center from Everett, Massachusetts had been on Georgetown’s radar (not to mention every other major program’s) for years. After spending his freshman and sophomore year at his local high school in Everett, Noel transferred to the Tilton School in New Hampshire, where he planned to stay for three years and enter college as a member of the class of 2013. However, in February, Noel reclassified to the class of 2012, setting off a recruiting frenzy.

The big man is a game-changing prospect, a true center many have compared to National Player of the Year and likely No. 1 overall draft pick Anthony Davis for his defensive ability. Some have even claimed that Noel is a better shot blocker than Davis, who averaged 4.6 blocks per game this year at Kentucky. Now Noel will have a chance to replace Davis and lead the Wildcats back to the Final Four.

With John Calipari having pulled in the nation’s best recruiting class in each of his three seasons at Kentucky, Georgetown was always the underdog in this recruiting battle. But as Noel dragged out his decision, the Hoyas’ chances kept looking better. The final decision was apparently a tough one for Noel, who claimed to still be undecided even yesterday.

Missing out on Noel isn’t the end of the world for the Hoyas. John Thompson III and his staff still have time to add to a recruiting class that already includes top prospect D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera. Georgetown’s next big target is McDonald’s All-American Devonta Pollard, a 6-foot-7 small forward. Pollard, who will be making his official visit to campus this weekend, is also considering Missouri, Texas, and Alabama.

After Georgetown’s disappointingly routine early exit from the NCAA tournament yesterday, Caleb King was already pointing fingers:

It’s hard for me to say this but, its time to FIRE JTIII!

@Caleb King defended our oft-criticized head coach:

You are a dumbass.

Why would they fire him? Because he took a team with zero expectations and favored by many to finish at the bottom of the big east to the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament?

In non-incredibly sad basketball news, Wiz Khalifa was announced last week as the headliner of the Spring Concert. Here is one Hoya‘s reaction:

Great to see a headliner for my senior year be someone who just casually drops “faggot” in his lyrics. Hoya Saxa everyone!

That’s odd, we feel like that’s not something to be excited about. It’s so difficult to distinguish tone on the Internet.

Read the rest of this entry »

John Thompson III had something to say after today’s NCAA Tournament loss:

I don’t know that I’ve ever been as proud to be associated with a group of men, with a team, as much as I am with this team this year. This team, in spite of whatever downs we’ve had, losses like today, has been a really special group that I think has represented themselves, represented our institution, represented their families, represented each other very well. It’s a group that’s given it their all. We haven’t always had success, but it’s a group that all year fought for each other and cared about each other, and I’m proud to be associated with these guys.

We’ve got the full recap up on the main site.

Editor’s note: an earlier version of this post’s title accidentally switched Georgetown and North Carolina State. Would that it were.

Jack, Our beloved mascot and the dog who eats boxes so we don’t have to, tore an ACL on Sunday. According to Fr. Christopher Steck, Jack likely injured himself jumping on a couch. Steck tweeted Monday that the hobbled bulldog will need two months to recover.

Initially attended to by the mother of former Hoyas basketball player Ryan Dougherty (COL ’11), who is a veterinarian, Jack will visit a canine orthopedic surgeon to plan his recovery. Steck initially suggested that surgery is probable.

The NCAA confirmed to USA Today that Jack will be allowed to attend the Final Four if he has recovered from his injuries and, of course, if the Casual Hoya Delusion Train makes a stop in New Orleans. Mascots do not travel to regional sites.

Jack had to be carried to the Selection Sunday party in Leo’s Sunday. He is not allowed to use stairs for the time being.

President DeGioia hugs Jason Clark

It was Senior Day for Georgetown on Monday, and the Hoyas’ veterans made sure to put on one last great performance for the home crowd. Jason Clark and Henry Sims ended their career at the Verizon Center on a high note, leading the Hoyas to a resounding 59-41 victory over Notre Dame. It was the first time the two seniors beat the Fighting Irish.

The game was a back-and-forth defensive struggle for the first 10 minutes, but the Hoyas found their offensive rhythm midway through the half. Sims was the catalyst as Georgetown pulled away, scoring or assisting on 10 straight points in the closing minutes of the first half. The Hoyas went into the locker room up 28-18.

“That’s what Henry has done all year, that’s what we need him to do,” head coach John Thompson III said. “For most of the year I think he has been very good at balancing when it’s my turn and when to look if someone else is open.”

Sims finished with a well-rounded 13 points, six rebounds, and five assists. He also put an exclamation point on his performance with 4:45 to go in the game, swatting a Jerian Grant layup attempt into the stands.

Clark’s game was a microcosm of his career—an efficient offensive performance paired with an even more impressive defensive effort. The guard scored 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting (while also pulling down six boards), but Thompson praised him mostly for setting the defensive tone for the Hoyas from the opening tip.

Neither Clark or Sims led the Hoyas in scoring. That honor went to freshman Greg Whittington, who knocked down three corner treys en route to a career-high 15 points. Still, the young forward gave the credit to one of his senior teammates.

“It was because of Sims. Sims had the defense closing in on him, so coach said inside-out,” Whittington said. “Coach just said ‘bang it,’ and I did.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Player(s) to watch

We’ll flip around the usual order of our preview to give top billing to tonight’s featured players: seniors Jason Clark and Henry Sims. It’s the final home game for two players who have been linchpins on this year’s squad.

Clark and Sims took very different paths to get to this point, however. For his first three years on the team, Clark took third-billing in the backcourt behind Chris Wright and Austin Freeman. Still, even with two formidable players in front of him, Clark managed to carve out plenty of playing time. In fact, he’s appeared in every Georgetown game over the past four seasons, and he’s started in every contest since his sophomore year.

“I think about Jason as someone who’s come in and from day one has worked extremely hard,” head coach John Thompson III said. “He’s probably won just about every sprint that we’ve had in practice. You look at him as someone–for most of his career–being in the shadows, but at the same time being a strong, dominant force in those shadows.”

This season, Clark has been one the casting the shadows. The veteran scorer has  been the focus of most opposing teams’ scouting reports, yet he still leads the Hoyas with 14.5 points per game. Clark could easily average more, as Villanova head coach Jay Wright pointed out after Saturday’s game, but he’s as much a facilitator as a scorer, ensuring Georgetown’s offense flows smoothly while waiting for opportune shots (he’s hitting 48.2 percent of his attempts).

Then there’s Sims. While Clark was firmly installing himself in the starting lineup sophomore year, Sims was falling out of the rotation entirely. The 6-foot-10 center was actually more highly regarded as a recruit than Clark and projected to form a dangerous inside tandem with classmate Greg Monroe. Instead, Sims found his minutes dwindling into the single digits during Big East play in 2010. In the Hoyas’ final two games, he didn’t even get off the bench.

“Henry is someone who has epitomized growth, someone who has epitomized in many ways the overall collegiate experience,” Thompson said. “A young man ready to go out into the world as a senior is much different than who you are walking in the door. And every year, in various aspects of Henry’s life, on the court and off, we’ve seen significant growth.”

Read the rest of this entry »

When we last saw our Hoyas

Things got ugly in Newark. Georgetown experienced its worst loss of the season, losing by 18 points to a Seton Hall team that had lost seven of its last 10 games. The Hoyas were practically unrecognizable Tuesday night, allowing the Pirates to shoot 61 percent from the field.

“I think everybody in our locker room, everybody in this program knows that what happened in that game is not acceptable,” senior guard Jason Clark said Thursday. “That’s not Georgetown basketball. That’s not us.”

It’s hard to pinpoint where Georgetown went wrong, because it was basically everywhere. The only bright side to the loss might be that it didn’t seem to be the product of some intrinsic flaw. The Hoyas simply fell behind and then allowed their mistakes to compound to devastating effect.

“The biggest thing is when we weren’t scoring on offense we let it show up on defense, and when we weren’t playing defense we let it show up on offense,” Clark said. “Like coach said [after the game], we’ve just got to be better. We have to be better.”

Tomorrow’s villain

Normally, a late February game against Villanova would be a marquee matchup with major implications at the top of the Big East standings. This year, however, Jay Wright’s squad is suffering through a hellish season, and the Wildcats are amazingly tied for the worst overall record in the conference at 11-16.

Despite its struggles, Villanova could easily beat the Hoyas if they play like they did on Tuesday. Dysfunctional as they may be, the Wildcats still are talented. They nearly knocked off Notre Dame and UConn in their last two games, losing in overtime to both. Villanova was also without their best player, junior guard Maalik Wayns, for those games. On Thursday, Wright said that Wayns, who averages 17.8 points per game, was “hopeful” for Saturday’s game.

Read the rest of this entry »

When we last left our Hoyas

It’s been smooth sailing for Georgetown since their overtime loss to Syracuse, with two easy 10-point victories over St. John’s and Providence. The Hoyas haven’t exactly looked dominant, but they’ve taken care of business and remain in control of their own destiny in the race for second place in the Big East.

Tonight’s villain

The Seton Hall Pirates vied with the Hoyas for the title of most surprising team in the Big East earlier this season, posting an 11-1 non-conference record and earning their first national ranking since 2001. Conference play, however, has exposed the Pirates as beneficiaries of a weak conference schedule.

After a stretch where they went nearly a full month without a win, losing six straight from January to February, the Pirates now find themselves in a desperate situation. Without a single marquee win on its resume (sorry Pirates fans, beating UConn doesn’t count anymore), Seton Hall is clinging to the NCAA Tournament bubble. With only two games against Rutgers and DePaul remaining, tonight may be the Pirates’ last chance to impress the selection committee.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Georgetown men’s basketball team rebounded nicely from Wednesday’s devastating overtime loss to Syracuse with a 71-61 win at the Verizon Center over Big East rival St. Johns. The youthful and unranked Red Storm gave the No. 11 Hoyas quite a scare though, playing a tight first half before narrowing the lead to as little as two points in the second half. Nevertheless, the heavily favored Hoyas pulled away in the final five minutes thanks to a career day defensively from sophomore Nate Lubick and some balanced scoring from the Hoyas’ offense.

Unlikely Leaders

The Hoyas needed a balanced attack to scrape past the Red Storm, as the usual suspects struggled to leave their mark on the game. With Henry Sims restricted to just 20 minutes on the court due to foul trouble and Jason Clark shooting a dismal 4-13 on the afternoon, the Hoyas were fueled by the surprisingly assertive and confident play of Greg Whittington, who’s smooth jumper spurred him to a team-high 12 points. Clark, Otto Porter, Hollis Thompson and Markel Starks all scored in double figures to give the Hoyas just enough firepower. Meanwhile, Nate Lubick gobbled up eight boards, dished out five assists and added a career-high 4 blocks on the defensive end, to energize the Hoyas as the Red Storm tried to battle back into the game.

Two-Man Team

While the promising play of Lubick and Whittington ignited the Hoyas on both ends of the floor, the Red Storm lingered within striking distance of the Hoyas thanks to their own dynamic duo of freshmen De’Angelo Harrison and Moe Harkless. Harkless was everywhere for the Johnnies, using his rare combination of length and quickness to slice his way through the lauded Hoyas’ defense for 20 points. Harrison added a game-high 24 points, including five three pointers which threatened to shift momentum away from the Hoyas. However, St. Johns’ six-man rotation exhausted the fabulous freshmen and subsequently, their shooting tailed off as the game went on. With just 17 points contributed by the rest of the team, the Red Storm had little chance of a comeback against the Hoyas’ balance and depth.

Read the rest of this entry »