Following two straight losses, the Hoyas find themselves in a precarious position. Within a week, Georgetown dropped from 36th to 51st in the Ratings Percentage Index, a main poll used by the NCAA tournament’s selection committee, and lost all of their votes in both polls. Most importantly, the fact that the loss was to St. John’s, a Big East bottom-feeder, cannot help come Selection Sunday.
In some combination, Georgetown will need to win two of their last three games, which means either Villanova at home or Connecticut on the road. Without a win over one of these high-ranked teams, the Hoyas’ resume? is comparatively lackluster. A week ago, the Hoyas were fifth in the conference ahead of Villanova , who beat Kansas, and Notre Dame, who ended BC’s unbeaten-streak. Now, Georgetown is in danger of finsishing seventh in the Conference by RPI and standings, and without some final polishing there is no guarantee that Georgetown is in.
With the final three games, Georgetown will need to get out of the seventh position in the Big East to ensure a spot in the tournament. With such a quality field to pick from on Selection Sunday, the seventh place team in the Big East will need several impressive wins to convince the committee to take seven teams from the Conference.
Ideally, the Hoyas could finish fourth or fifth and earn a first-round bye in the Big East Tournament. No team that has had to play four games has ever won the Big East’s finale. A season-sweep over the Wildcats this season couldn’t hurt that cause, as it appears that both teams will be fighting for the final coveted free day. Notre Dame’s loss to Connecticut on Monday was a big help, as well as Pitt’s loss to West Virginia last night, which dropped the Panthers into a tie for fourth place with Georgetown where The Hoyas own the tie-breaker. A victory this Sunday will allow the Hoyas to move into sole possession of fourth place, a spot that should provide some comfort until Selection Sunday.
