With how Georgetown’s NCAA Tournament profile looked coming into the weekend, it didn’t seem out of reach to explore the possibility that the Hoyas could indeed make a run at a No. 1 seed with a couple of big wins and a few timely losses by some combination of Syracuse, Villanova and West Virginia.
But after Sunday’s upset loss at Rutgers, all of a sudden Georgetown doesn’t seem to have that strong a grip on a No. 2 seed that looked a like a lock when the sun came up this morning. Of course, matchups will ultimately play a big part in what Georgetown achieves next month, but today’s loss might also affect the Hoyas’ seeding in the Big East tournament – they’ve now dropped to 5th, which knocks them out of the running for a top-four spot and the double-bye that comes with it.
Other thoughts: The Hoyas were not sharp. 14 turnovers? Yikes. I’m not buying the every game in the Big East is brutal argument. Three times in a row against inferior opponents (South Florida, Providence, Rutgers), Georgetown has offered a game instead of playing with the same kind of passion and effort that has marked their biggest victories (Villanova, Duke, Connecticut). What looked like a trend is now a real concern.
Sunday’s game was lost in the first five minutes after halftime, not on Austin Freeman’s 3-point miss at the buzzer. After going into the break down one, 33-32, the Hoyas got punched in the mouth immediately after the restart by Rutgers, which hit a trio of 3-pointers to take an eight-point lead before Georgetown responded. Good teams don’t have those kinds of letdowns, and that put the Hoyas on their heels, which is a dangerous place to be on the road, no matter the venue or opponent.
Chris Wright is still the barometer. Hoyas record when he scores in double figures? 16-0. When he doesn’t? 2-6. Wright was 2 for 8 from the field against the Scarlet Knights.
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