Georgetown Basketball

Georgetown University announced Wednesday that men's basketball head coach Patrick Ewing will not lead the Hoyas in their upcoming game against the visiting Butler University Bulldogs in accordance with DC Department of Health guidelines.

Hoyas assistant coach Louis Orr will take over for the Hoyas, who will host Butler at Capital One Arena on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET.

Ewing, who is a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame thanks to a decorated playing career that featured him starring for Georgetown and the New York Knicks, is in his fifth season coaching the Hoyas.

Last year's team made a Cinderella run through the Big East tournament to win the conference championship and earn an NCAA tournament berth.

This season has been difficult for Georgetown, which had its first four Big East games canceled because of COVID-19 issues within the Hoyas program.

The Hoyas are also off to a slow start at 6-6. They opened Big East play with a 92-64 loss to Marquette that prompted Ewing to say that former Georgetown head coach and Hall of Famer John Thompson Jr. was "rolling over in his grave."

They'll look to bounce back against Butler on Thursday under Orr, who was Ewing's Knicks teammate from 1985 to 1988 and previously coached Siena, Seton Hall and Bowling Green. The 63-year-old has been Ewing's assistant at Georgetown since 2017.

Butler has started this season 8-6 (1-2 in Big East play).

Nothing went right for the Georgetown men's basketball team Friday evening as the Hoyas fell to Marquette 92-64.

After the game, Georgetown head coach Patrick Ewing told reporters that he was "disappointed in his team's performance" before bringing up ex-Hoyas head coach and legend John Thompson Jr.

"This is not what Georgetown basketball is about. Big John is rolling over in his grave for the performance we showed tonight," Ewing told reporters, per The Athletic.

"This is not what I'm about. This is not what my team's about."

Ewing starred as a player for Georgetown in the mid-1980s as the Thompson-led Hoyas made three national title games in four years, winning in 1984 against Houston.

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer went on to become one of the greatest big men in NBA history beginning in 1985 with the New York Knicks.

Georgetown enjoyed its heyday under Thompson, as the team won six Big East tournaments and made the NCAA tournament each year from 1979-1992. He ultimately led the program from 1972-1999, winning 596 games.

The Hoyas are struggling in the present day, going 6-6 through their first 12 games and losing their opener against a 3-9 Dartmouth team.

They may need some of last year's magic, which included a Cinderella run to win the Big East tournament en route to an NCAA tournament appearance. That capped Ewing's fourth year as the Hoyas' head coach.

For now, Ewing's Hoyas will look to move past a Big East opener that featured them shooting just 29.9 percent from the field. They'll host Butler on Thursday.

Prior to Saturday's men's basketball game between the Georgetown Hoyas and Syracuse Orange at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., Georgetown honored late former head coach John Thompson Jr.

In memory of Thompson, Georgetown changed the name of the court at Capital One Arena to John Thompson Jr. Court:

𝘼 𝙇𝙚𝙜𝙖𝙘𝙮 𝘽𝙚𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝘽𝙖𝙨𝙠𝙚𝙩𝙗𝙖𝙡𝙡.

Ahead of today's presentation of the John Thompson, Jr. Award, the @GeorgetownHoyas re-dedicated the @GeorgetownHoops floor for Big Coach. pic.twitter.com/Lwq5cT8PsZ

— BIG EAST Conference (@BIGEAST) December 11, 2021

Thompson, who died last year at the age of 78, was Georgetown's head coach for 27 seasons from 1972-99.

Thompson is a member of both the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and College Basketball Hall of Fame.

Under Thompson's leadership, the Hoyas went 596-239 and reached the NCAA tournament 20 times.

Georgetown made it to the national championship game three times in a four-year stretch from 1982-85, winning the national title in 1984.

Fittingly, the star player from that team, New York Knicks legend Patrick Ewing, was on hand for Saturday's game, as he has been Georgetown's head coach since the 2017-18 season.

Georgetown beat Syracuse 79-75 on Saturday, overcoming a 10-point halftime deficit, to improve to 5-4 on the season.

Georgetown missed the NCAA men's tournament in each of head coach Patrick Ewing's first three seasons and went 9-12 during the 2020-21 campaign.

And then it ripped off four straight wins as the No. 8 seed in the Big East tournament to clinch a spot in the Big Dance.

Talk about "started from the bottom, now we're here."

New footage from Georgetown’s postgame locker room celebration, with Patrick Ewing singing “Started From the Bottom” (H/T irvscotti3 on IG) pic.twitter.com/ZVwqQ1Nyzt

— Hilltop Hoops (@HilltopHoops_) March 14, 2021

Ewing entered the postgame locker room following Saturday's blowout 73-48 championship game win over Creighton and dropped Drake's famous lyric before his team erupted in celebration.

It was a stunning showing from the Hoyas, who also cruised past Marquette, knocked out top-seeded Villanova and defeated Seton Hall in the Big East tournament before the head-turning championship performance.

Georgetown's reward is a No. 12 seed in the NCAA men's tournament and a first-round matchup with fifth-seeded Colorado.

In the aftermath of Georgetown's surprise victory in the Big East men's basketball tournament, Patrick Ewing received high praise from one of his former NBA head coaches.  

Per ESPN's Ian O'Connor, Miami Heat president Pat Riley explained why he would have loved to play for a coach like Ewing. 

"If I was a high school player and I was really good, I'd want to go with somebody who was not going to kiss my ass, who coached the hell out of me and made me better. I guarantee I'd want to play for Patrick Ewing," said Riley. 

Riley coached Ewing with the New York Knicks for four seasons from 1991-95. They made the playoffs every year, including an appearance in the 1994 NBA Finals. 

Ewing, who graduated from Georgetown in 1985, returned to his alma mater to replace John Thompson III as head coach in April 2017. The Hoyas missed the NCAA tournament in each of his first two seasons and last year's event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Expectations were low for the Hoyas in the 2021 Big East tournament. They were the No. 8 seed when it began with a 9-12 overall record (7-9 in conference play) during the regular season. 

Georgetown won four games in four days, including a 73-48 blowout of No. 2 seed Creighton in Saturday's title game, to earn the program's first NCAA tournament berth since the 2014-15 season. 

Georgetown men's basketball team head coach Patrick Ewing dropped a reference to Drake's single "Started from the Bottom" to explain the Hoyas' rise to the top of the Big East after the team won the conference championship's title game 73-48 over Creighton on Saturday. 

"I keep talking about that Drake song... we started from the bottom now we No. 1 in the Big East."

Patrick Ewing reflects on what this Big East title means to Georgetown 🙌

(via @CBBonFOX)pic.twitter.com/WtM7xXcS4g

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) March 14, 2021

The Hoyas were 1-5 in Big East play after Jan. 9, and then they had to sit for three weeks due to COVID-19 related issues within the men's hoops program.

However, they bounced back to win six of their final 10 conference games to finish 7-9, good enough for the No. 8 seed in the 11-team Big East tournament.

Georgetown then rolled off four straight wins to earn its first conference title since 2007. That quartet of victories included a 72-71 upset win over No. 1 Villanova in the quarterfinals.

The Hoyas will now earn their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2015 and its first under Ewing, who has coached the team for four seasons.

Ewing starred at Georgetown as a player before enjoying a 16-year NBA career, primarily with the New York Knicks. He is a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

The Georgetown Hoyas captured the Big East tournament for the first time since 2007 on Saturday, defeating No. 2-seeded Creighton 73-48 and securing and automatic bid into the NCAA tournament in Indiana next week. 

It's a conference-record eighth Big East tournament title for the Hoyas. Georgetown entered the week as the No. 8 seed and won four games in four days, taking down No. 1 seed Villanova and No. 5 Seton Hall en route to a victory over the Bluejays on Saturday. 

The win gives head coach Patrick Ewing a reason to be happier leaving Madison Square Garden this week than he was when he arrived earlier this week. 

Georgetown (13-12) was considered likely to miss the NCAA tournament when the weekend began. Now there's no doubt the Hoyas will be dancing after a five-year hiatus—and raising another Big East banner when they return home.

  

Notable Performers

Chudier Bile, F, Georgetown Hoyas: 19 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks

Jahvon Blair, G, Georgetown Hoyas: 18 points, 5 rebounds, 4 three-pointers

Qudus Wahab, C, Georgetown Hoyas: 11 points, 12 rebounds

Marcus Zegarowski, G, Creighton Bluejays: 17 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists

Mitchell Ballock, G, Creighton Bluejays: 8 points, 5 assists

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Hoyas Stay Hot At Ewing's House

Georgetown's run through the Big East tournament was thrilling from the start and borderline jaw-dropping by the end. 

The Hoyas not only knocked off the top two seeds in the conference after going a combined 1-3 against Villanova and Creighton during the regular season, they earned just their third win over a team ranked in the top 25 this season. 

𝘽𝙇𝙊𝘾𝙆𝙀𝘿 𝘽𝙔 𝘽𝙄𝙇𝙀!@GeorgetownHoops x #BEtourney pic.twitter.com/aX3WC9KlaW

— BIG EAST MBB (@BIGEASTMBB) March 14, 2021

𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗱 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗗𝗖! pic.twitter.com/4aji24m5Ws

— BIG EAST MBB (@BIGEASTMBB) March 14, 2021

None of that looked remotely possible at the start of the week. In fact, it looked like that bubble was getting ready to burst early on in Saturday's title game. The Hoyas didn't knock down a field goal until more than four minutes into the first half and continued to shoot from the outside despite missing four of five attempts from behind the arc to start the game. 

The shot selections weren't bad, exactly. Georgetown just couldn't get them to drop. But the Hoyas didn't panic. They stuck to their game plan and trusted the buckets would eventually come.

🐶🔥 @dante_Harris3 with a beautiful step back for @GeorgetownHoops pic.twitter.com/l5kXR7tbmm

— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) March 14, 2021

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙩-𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙢!@GeorgetownHoops on a 7⃣-0⃣ run and we're all tied up. pic.twitter.com/NvipFQtS0q

— BIG EAST MBB (@BIGEASTMBB) March 14, 2021

They were right. 

Georgetown ended the first half on an epic 23-2 run over nine minutes to enter halftime up 36-18. The Hoyas out-rebounded the Bluejays 28-19 in the first frame, including 10 offensive rebounds leading to a 12-0 edge in second-chance points. 

Ewing's team simply outworked Creighton from the beginning to end—another 8-0 run at the start of the second half restoring whatever momentum had faded during halftime. 

Now headed to the NCAA tournament, Georgetown may still be an underdog, but it certainly has college basketball's attention.

    

Creighton Comes Up Empty Again

Make it 0-3 for the Bluejays in the Big East tournament title game.

After falling to Providence in 2014 and Villanova in 2017, Creighton again couldn't finish off a championship run on the tournament's final day. 

In all likelihood, the Bluejays (20-8) will be back playing for another Big East banner, but those are concerns for next year. This year's team, which entered Saturday ranked No. 17, still has plenty of expectations to live up to.

Head coach Greg McDermott has yet to lead his team to the Sweet 16 and beyond. His current roster—a talented mix of experienced upperclassmen led by Ballock and Zegarowski—has as much potential to break through that barrier as any Creighton team in recent memory. 

𝗠𝗘𝗚𝗔𝗟𝗢𝗗𝗢𝗡 𝘽𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙠 💣 @BluejayMBB x #BEtourney pic.twitter.com/usLVGdpJgS

— BIG EAST MBB (@BIGEASTMBB) March 13, 2021

Saturday's loss wasn't good by any means, but it's over. So too is the Big East season. Now heading to Indiana and a new stage on which to show off, the Bluejays will look to put their experience to good use by brushing past a bad loss and getting ready to start a new winning streak. 

The Big East tournament was ultimately a win for the conference. Seton Hall, Xavier and UConn all kept themselves in contention for the NCAA tournament while Creighton and Georgetown assured themselves a spot in the bracket. 

The conference's success came at a cost to Creighton. It's now on the school to show it can brush it off and continue proving the Big East remains as competitive as any league in Division I.

   

What's Next

Both the Hoyas and Bluejays await their NCAA tournament fate with the bracket reveal set for 6 p.m. ET on CBS and the Bleacher Report app Sunday.

The Mecca of basketball will be at the epicenter of the 2021 men's NCAA tournament bubble Saturday night when Georgetown takes on Creighton at Madison Square Garden for the Big East championship.

For those who haven't been properly indoctrinated in the lexicon of bracketology, here's a phrase you're going to want to get comfortable with for the next 24 hours: bid thief.

A bid thief is a team that would not have earned an at-large bid without winning its conference tournament, and that wins that tournament to "steal" the automatic bid in a conference that had at least one lock to make the NCAA tournament. As a result, the number of spots available to at-large teams shrinks by one.

Thus far this week, those bid thieves have been nonexistent, which is fantastic news for teams on the bubble.

Gonzaga and Loyola-Chicago won the West Coast and Missouri Valley conference tournaments, as expected. Both the Atlantic 10 and the Mountain West have championship games between teams that were likely to make the Big Dance anyway. The ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and SEC are all down to teams that were, at worst, on the bubble heading into this week.

Oregon State has emerged as a potential bid thief after knocking off Oregon in the Pac-12 semifinals, but we'll see if the Beavers can knock off Colorado.

And then there's the Big East, where 12-12 Georgetown is one win away from crashing the party.

Let the record show that Georgetown was my sleeper pick to win the Big East tournament. (Kindly ignore those Kentucky in the SEC and Stanford in the Pac-12 picks, though. Can't win 'em all.)

After a brutal 3-8 start to the year was followed by a lengthy COVID-19 pause, the Hoyas won six of their final 10 regular-season games, including a road victory over Creighton and home wins over Xavier and Seton Hall (that more or less popped those Big East teams' bubbles).

The post-COVID breakout of Chudier Bile was the biggest reason I was buying the Hoyas.

The transfer from Northwestern State made little impact in Georgetown's first 11 games, but he was arguably the team's most valuable player down the stretch. Out of nowhere, he scored at least a dozen points in eight out of 10 games, emerging as a key perimeter weapon on both ends of the floor.

But, incredibly, the Hoyas have knocked off Marquette, Villanova and Seton Hall without getting much out of Bile on offense.

He shot 1-of-11 from the field against the Golden Eagles, finishing with five points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Against Villanova, he missed each of his four field-goal attempts, committed five turnovers and fouled out in 21 minutes.

In lieu of the guy who had become their leader, everyone else has come through.

Jahvon Blair and Qudus Wahab couldn't miss against Marquette.

Freshman point guard Dante Harris capitalized on Collin Gillespie's absence for Villanova to the tune of 18 points and five assists with no turnovers.

And against Seton Hall, it was Jamorko Pickett's time to shine with a team-high 19 points. (Bile also had a tie-breaking and-1 layup in the final two minutes.)

Throw in senior wing Donald Carey—who doesn't shoot a ton, but does make 42.2 percent of his three-point attempts—and Georgetown has a formidable six-man rotation.

It's almost certainly not a Final Four-caliber six-man rotation, but it's a whole heck of a lot better than what was expected from the Hoyas when they were predicted to finish dead last in the preseason coaches poll.

And it's a rotation good enough to knock off Creighton in Saturday's championship.

After all, the Hoyas just won 86-79 at Creighton a little over a month ago.

It wasn't even a bad night for the Bluejays, either. They made 10 triples, shot 47.4 percent from the field and scored 79 points. They were just unable to keep pace with Georgetown on a night where each of the six main Hoyas played well.

There's no good reason Georgetown can't repeat that formula to shock the college basketball world.

Now for the fun part.

If Georgetown wins the game, some bubble hopeful gets pushed out of the NCAA tournament field.

Squeezed like an Orange, one might say.

While we cannot say with certainty until the Selection Show which team is right on that cut line, it very well could be former Big East (and still loathed) rival Syracuse. The Orange are currently my last team in the projected field, so they would at least be falling out of my bracket if Georgetown wins, for whatever that's worth.

How sweet would that be for the Hoya Saxa faithful?

Since becoming the head coach at Georgetown, Patrick Ewing has just a 1-3 record against the 'Cuse. One of those losses was the one that dropped the Hoyas to 3-8 overall back in early January. But winning this game against Creighton, snapping a five-year tournament drought and potentially knocking Syracuse out of the dance in the process would be like winning the lottery and getting a new puppy on your birthday.

If that happens, maybe the MSG security guards will stop accosting Ewing for his credentials.

               

Kerry Miller covers men's college basketball and college football for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter, @kerrancejames.

If you work in Madison Square Garden, you should know Patrick Ewing when you see him.

This was apparently not the case for the Georgetown head coach while navigating the arena during the Big East tournament.

Patrick Ewing says he’s going to have to call James Dolan because he keeps getting asked about what passes he’s wearing and keeps getting stopped in the hallway. “I thought this was my house! They should know who the hell I am!” - Ewing on The Garden pic.twitter.com/0RfztaIJ7v

— John Fanta (@John_Fanta) March 11, 2021

Marc Stein of the New York Times passed along a statement from Madison Square Garden Entertainment, confirming that Ewing and Knicks owner James Dolan talked about the issue: 

Madison Square Garden Entertainment issues a statement saying Knicks owner James Dolan and Knicks legend Patrick Ewing spoke today after Ewing said he had difficulties today with MSG security during the Big East tournament: pic.twitter.com/e3ZJckyS36

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) March 11, 2021

Ewing spent 15 seasons of his Hall of Fame playing career with the New York Knicks, and his No. 33 hangs in the rafters at MSG. For good measure, he won the Big East tourney twice at the Garden during his college days at Georgetown, taking home tournament MVP in 1984 and 1985.

The 58-year-old, now in his fourth season as the Hoyas head coach, improved to 11-12 with Thursday's quarterfinals upset win over Villanova.

It's obviously difficult for arena security guards to keep track of 11 different teams during a conference tournament, let alone during a pandemic. However, Ewing should be near the top of the list of memorable faces in the New York City venue.

Before Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing starred on the 1992 Dream Team, they made their Olympic debuts with the 1984 U.S. men's basketball squad. However, Ewing almost didn't make it to the Summer Games.

Head coach Bob Knight wanted to send the Georgetown center home because of some horseplay with Jordan.

"He and Jordan are roommates," assistant coach C.M. Newton told then-Notre Dame head coach Digger Phelps, per Doug Haller of The Athletic. "They were wrestling in their room, and Ewing has a twisted neck."

Phelps, a friend of Knight's, was working with ABC as an analyst during the Olympics. Phelps insisted to the coach that he needed Ewing on the roster, and Knight refrained from making any changes.

Ewing averaged 11.0 points per game during Team USA's run to the gold medal and topped the squad with 18 blocks in eight games. Jordan led the team with 17.1 points per game.