Bracket busting has come early to Washington. The region may miss the NCAA Tournament.
Georgetown is tanking faster than peanut butter sales. Maryland needs a miracle. George Washington just won its first game since Christmas. George Mason is the third best team in a one-bid conference.
American — last year’s Cinderella that reached its first tournament ever — is the only serious prospect, but must win its conference title.
This is madness.
Washington has been the center of college basketball for much of this decade. Four Final Four teams from 2001-07. A national title. The best story since Hoosiers. The return of Hoya Paranoia.
This was the capital of hoops, which is only right since it’s the favorite game around town. The Redskins are the favorite team, but Washingtonians love basketball overall more. The president even plays the game over golf. Bet Barack Obama beats Adrian Fenty for Ben’s chili dogs.
But, it’s like the Wizards have sucked college teams into the black hole with them. Georgetown shares the same floor and should check for toxic mold or something on their shoes. The Hoyas went from highly-ranked to a 3-8 run.
Georgetown is 13-9 overall, 4-7 in the Big East. With four ranked and three mediocre opponents remaining, Georgetown might need a Big East tournament run to impress the NCAA Tournament selection committee. Invitations are no longer based on tradition and a 2007 Final Four appearance.
Maryland has already blown its chance. The Terrapins remaining schedule is brutal with North Carolina, Duke and Wake Forest soon coming to Comcast Center. Maryland needed an early run to survive a bad finish. Instead, the Terps are under .500 in the ACC and will miss the tournament for the fourth time in five years. What a long fall from the 2002 title and 2001 Final Four.
GW used to be something to watch. Now things are so foggy they’ve hit bottom. Eleven straight losses before winning on Saturday.
Mason has a puncher’s chance. After all, who can forget its 2006 Final Four run? But, the Patriots are third in the Colonial Athletic Association behind Northeastern and Virginia Commonwealth. And, they’re realistically they’re the third-best CAA team.
That leaves AU as Washington’s hope. The Eagles are tied atop the Patriot League with Holy Cross. Still, can they do it again?
The Wiz stink. The Nationals stink. The Redskins stink. Now college hoops.
This stinks.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more at TheRickSniderReport.com or e-mail [email protected].
