While making a run to the finals of the Big East tournament, the Georgetown Hoyas fulfilled all the promise they had shown in wins over the likes of Duke and Villanova. But the one thing the Hoyas could not prove in New York was that they were forever rid of the flaws that led to losses to teams like Rutgers.
In the first round of the NCAA tournament, the latter version of the Hoyas showed that it was never really gone.
The third-seeded Hoyas came out flat against the No. 14 seed Ohio Bobcats and never recovered, ending their season with a 97-83 loss.
“They were better today,” sophomore center Greg Monroe said. “They did everything they needed to win.”
It was true. The Bobcats, the Mid-American Conference champions, came into the NCAA tournament on fire and did not cool down. Often it
seemed like Ohio could not miss a shot as they converted 58.2 percent of their field goal attempts.
But while they played better, few would claim the Bobcats are more talented than the Hoyas.
“I try to tell my teammates, we may not be a better team, we’ve just got to be a better team on that given night,” Ohio junior Armon
Bassett said.
Nevertheless, Bassett looked like the best player on the floor Thursday night. The transfer from Indiana scored 32 points, both by connecting from long range and by slashing and driving.
Backcourtmate D.J. Cooper, only a freshman, similarly eviscerated the Hoyas, with 23 points in addition to eight assists.
Ohio had Georgetown’s number from the opening tip, never allowing the Hoyas to lead by more than two and taking a 12 point lead into halftime.
The Bobcats would hold a double digit lead for most of the second half, but the Hoyas tried to make a game of it, at one point cutting the margin to seven. Ohio elevated its game in face of its charging opponent, shooting 66.7 percent after halftime, including 71.4 percent from beyond the arc. It was not out of the ordinary for the Bobcats to be scorching the nets.
“We shot 36 plus percent from three last year and led our conference,” Ohio head coach John Groce said. “And this year we led our conference again in three point field goal percentage. We’ve broken our school record in back-to-back [years in] attempts and makes and percentages.”
Georgetown had prepared for Ohio; its playing style was not a surprise. In the most important game of their season, the Hoyas simply couldn’t keep up with the competition.
“I don’t think we were shocked,” junior guard Chris Wright said. “I just think they came out and played a heck of a game and that’s about it.”
Looking at the stat sheet it could appear that at least some of the Hoyas were on top of their game. Wright continued playing as he had in New York, taking the reins of the squad while shooting 50 percent to score 28 points. Freshman Hollis Thompson tied a career high with 16 points. And Monroe put up the kind of numbers that have him projected as a lottery pick in the NBA draft—19 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists.
But in actually watching the game, it was clear that no one wearing a Georgetown uniform was at their best.
“Our team, no one in that locker room I can look at and say they had a good game that was indicative of who that player is or what our team is,” head coach John Thompson III said.
When Monroe fouled out with 30 seconds to play, it was possibly his last time wearing a Hoya uniform on the court. But asked whether this was his last game in the postgame press conference, a hesitant Monroe gave the answer Georgetown fans want to hear.
“No, it wasn’t,” he said.
Monroe later clarified.
“I don’t know,” he said. “The season just finished. Basically, I’m not looking to the future right now. I’m ready to go back and see how I can help my team in the future.”
The big man is obviously not bound by his comments, and his coach reminded the media that the season had ended only half an hour earlier. Monroe will surely think more about his future before making a final decision.
If Monroe does return to school, it will be for good reason; he has unfinished business. This season’s Georgetown team showed that it could beat any team in the country when it was on. But that was the young team’s fatal flaw—it was off far too often.
“I think as a team we were inconsistent,” Monroe said, evaluating the season. “That’s probably the most glaring thing. We didn’t have the same focus and weren’t the same team every night. That’s basically it. Every night we had to come out and be the best team we could be and we didn’t do that.”
The Hoyas, fall, but they one great I like, the Hoyas get back up no matter…Let’s Goooooo!!!