Georgetown chasing elusive double-bye
Two weeks ago Georgetown appeared to have a top-four finish in the Big East sewn up. Not only were the Hoyas poised to claim one of four double-byes into the Big East Tournament quarterfinals — two rounds later than they started (and finished) the tournament last season — but they also were in the hunt for a No. 1 or 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament if the cards fell in their favor.
While consecutive losses to Rutgers and Syracuse ended the NCAA portion of those grand plans, the Hoyas (19-7, 9-6 Big East) regained control of their conference tournament destiny with their win at Louisville on Tuesday and surprising losses this week by both West Virginia and Pittsburgh.
A win on Saturday over the Fighting Irish (18-10, 7-8), who have lost seven of their last 11 games, could move Georgetown back into a tie for fourth place with one week remaining in the regular season. Not that Hoyas head coach John Thompson III is looking ahead.
“We have not had those discussions,” said Thompson. “But I think that, and we have seen this, once we aren’t focused on what’s in front of us, once we start looking past what’s next and looking down the road, we have a hiccup.”
Such as at the Scarlet Knights, or home against South Florida, or at McDonough against Old Dominion?
“I think you can look at our losses and say, ‘Hey, maybe we didn’t’ — with every loss, you tend to [say], ‘Ah, you didn’t focus.’ Who knows,” said Thompson.
A game-clinching 21-2 run to start the second half against Louisville might’ve been proof that whatever focus was lost has returned, and even if Thompson admittedly doesn’t have the scenarios worked out, his players do.
“[Finishing in the top four] would be huge,” said sophomore forward Julian Vaughn, “because every game in the Big East is an opportunity to get upset, I think.”
Meanwhile, Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey said on Thursday that Big East leading scorer Luke Harangody, who has missed the last three games with a bruised knee, is doubtful to play Saturday.
