The packed crowd of students at Leo J. O’Donovan dining hall at Georgetown exploded in cheers of elation and relief when the Hoyas were revealed as a No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region for this year’s NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament.
The Hoyas hardly flinched.
“A lot of teams [on TV], I saw them jumping up and down,” said Georgetown senior center Roy Hibbert. “I think our team stayed calm, and we’re led by a veteran group right now that knows what it takes.”
The Hoyas’ reserved approach came in the wake of a Big East final loss to Pittsburgh the night before that did not cost them the seed they’d been predicted to receive for much of the season. Georgetown (27-5) will play No. 15 Maryland-Baltimore County (24-8) on Friday in Raleigh, N.C., just down the road from Winston-Salem, where it began last year’s road to the Final Four.
George Mason took the exact opposite approach to the Hoyas, basking in the glory of earning the upset-special No. 12 seed in the East Region. The Patriots (23-10) face No. 5 Notre Dame (24-7) in Denver on Thursday.
“There’s gonna be a lot of green and gold in Denver,” said Patriots head coach Jim Larranaga told a crowd of 1,500 at George Mason’s Johnson Student Center, slightly more than the two-dozen he said were at his house two years ago. “But it’s gonna be us with the luck of the Irish.”
Upstart American (21-11) learned that its first-ever appearance in the Big Dance will be as a No. 15 seed Friday in Birmingham, Ala., against No. 2 Tennessee (29-4).
“Believe or not, I was more nervous before they announced our name than I was before any game this season,” said Eagles junior guard Garrison Carr. “As soon as it happened, all my nervousness turned to excitement.”
Selection Sunday’s local impact of was significant, as three of the Retrievers’ top four scorers are from Prince George’s County, while the Patriots were paired with the Fighting Irish, a Big East foe Georgetown knows well.
“I expect a call from Kevin Broaddus,” said Thompson of his former assistant, who is now head coach at Binghamton, which is in the America East Conference with UMBC. “Actually, I’ve already received one. I don’t expect a call from Coach Larranaga. He’s done quite well without touching base with me on anything.”
