The Georgetown basketball team left the court following its loss to Virginia Tech yesterday afternoon, not knowing whether its season had just ended. The Hoyas didn't do the one thing that would have guaranteed them a slot in the Big East tournament and at least one more game; they didn't beat the Hokies in front of 11,286 at MCI Center in the regular season finale. Instead, the Hoyas fell, 60-55, and had to wait on their fate last night.
Georgetown got a lucky break and backed into the Big East tournament anyway. West Virginia defeated Miami, 58-53, last night, which dropped the Hurricanes into a 12th-place tie with the Hoyas (4-12 in the conference). Georgetown beat Miami twice during the regular season, so the Hoyas took the 12th and final slot in the tournament, which will begin Wednesday.
"It's the worst position to be in," said Gerald Riley, left, after Georgetown failed to lock up a spot in the Big East tournament by losing to Shawn Harris and Virginia Tech.
(Gerald Herbert -- Associatied Press)
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"I'm going to root as hard as I ever have in my life for West Virginia," Georgetown Coach Craig Esherick said after his game. "We want to go to New York, and hopefully will go to New York."
It's not the ideal way to get to Madison Square Garden, but the Hoyas will take it, especially considering they concluded the regular season with an eight-game losing streak that started and ended with losses to Virginia Tech. Georgetown finished the regular season with a losing record (13-14) for the first time since the 1972-73 season (John Thompson's first as head coach), and its Big East mark is its worst record in the 25-year history of the conference.
"It's the worst position for any team to be in, waiting to see if another team wins," said Gerald Riley, who had 11 points in his final home game. "This is not what you would want to be going into the Big East tournament. You want to be able to win it yourself."
The Hokies are in the Big East tournament for the first time in their four seasons in the conference. Virginia Tech (14-13, 7-9) has its highest overall victory total since the 1999-2000 season, when it won 16 games.
Senior forward Bryant Matthews scored a game-high 26 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Hokies, who were picked to finish 14th in the conference in the preseason coaches' poll. Sophomore forward Brandon Bowman led the Hoyas in both scoring (19 points) and rebounding (eight) for the third straight game.
Georgetown, which had shot a woeful 27 percent in its previous two games, had its best shooting performance since the losing streak began, making 21 of 43 shots (49 percent). But the Hoyas didn't do a good job rebounding; they grabbed only four offensive rebounds (two in each half), and gave up 12 offensive rebounds to the Hokies. Georgetown also had 18 turnovers, which led to 22 points for Virginia Tech.
The Hoyas made nine of their first 14 shots and built a 24-17 lead with 7 minutes 26 seconds left in the first half. But instead of extending the lead and taking control of the game, Georgetown faltered, committing turnovers on its next three possessions. The Hoyas held a slim lead at halftime, 32-29.
"I thought once we got up by seven, we had a couple of turnovers that were bad turnovers," Esherick said. "We weren't patient enough to try to just milk the lead and try to build on the lead."
Two free throws by Freeman gave Georgetown a 55-53 advantage with 4:42 left in the game, but those were the last points the Hoyas scored. Matthews made several big plays down the stretch, starting, strangely enough, with a missed free throw with 2:40 to play.
Bowman leaped high for the rebound on the free throw, but fell to the ground with the ball in his hands and was called for traveling. The Hokies kept the ball, and Matthews sank his fourth three-pointer of the game to give his team the lead for good. On Virginia Tech's next possession, he scored off of an offensive rebound.
After the game, Esherick was asked if he thought Bowman did, indeed, travel. Esherick, smiling, declined to answer that, and alluded to his outburst against the officiating after a game against West Virginia last year.
"I've already had one bite at that apple, and if I have two then I will miss some league games next year," Esherick said. "And I will be here next year."
