Georgetown Basketball

The buzzer had barely sounded on N.C. State's third-round victory over Georgetown on Sunday when the usual buzzards started swirling around the head of Hoyas coach John Thompson III.

Georgetown is "The Monet of Choke Artists," the Wall Street Journal proclaimed.

"You know what you're going to get with the Hoyas," CBSsports.com's Jeff Goodman wrote. "You know exactly what they're going to do."

Since the second-seeded Hoyas lost to Steph Curry's 10th-seeded Davidson in the 2008 tournament, it's been the same story for Georgetown: Successful regular season turns into postseason nightmare.

And here, just after you thought the players exorcised those demons with Friday's win against Belmont, they lose to another double-digit seeded team. Again.

But before you go rush to call for the head of JTIII, take a second to pause and reflect on this season.

In the preseason, the Hoyas were picked to finish 10th in the Big East. They had just lost three of their core pieces in Chris Wright, Austin Freeman and Julian Vaughn  to graduation, and they didn't receive a single preseason vote in either poll.

All this year's Hoyas did was lose to a not-so-bad Kansas team in Maui, beat then-ranked No. 8 Memphis two days later, hand No. 12 Alabama their first home loss in over a year, beat Memphis again, and hand a home loss to No. 4 Louisville to open Big East play.

That was all before Jan. 1.

Point is, as Mike Wise of the Washington Post deserves credit for acknowledging, the Hoyas actually overachieved this season. They went from 10th in the Big East to 10th in the country, ending up with a No. 3 seed when there were preseason questions about whether or not they'd even make the NCAA tournament.

Some may take issue with JTIII's late-game management against N.C. State. That's missing the point.

In the postgame news conference, the coach said the play was originally drawn up to pound the ball to Henry Sims, the Hoyas' offensive focal point, down low. After a second Wolfpack player rotated to double cover Sims, he passed the ball to Otto Porter, who was open from the three-point line, down two with 20 seconds left.

Porter passed up the shot, opting to move in and take an off-balance jumper instead.

Can JTIII be blamed for a freshman player getting flustered in the most high-pressure, late-game situation he's faced all season?

Anyone questioning whether JTIII fits with Georgetown long-term needs to look past the NCAA tournament results the past few years and think of the grand scheme.

After an utterly depressing half-decade under Craig Esherick, Thompson restored Georgetown to national prominence. In his eight years at Georgetown, his team's recent NCAA performance and his transfer rate are the two worst knocks against him. (Compare that to Syracuse's Jim Boeheim this season)

Nerlens Noel, the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2012, has Georgetown as one of the final three schools he's considering (along with 'Cuse and Kentucky). Greg Monroe, the No. 6 recruit in 2008 based on RCSI, decided to forgo John Calipari's one-and-done show at Kentucky in favor of JTIII's system that catered to his passing ability.

With JTIII at the helm, Georgetown's been consistently churning out 20-win seasons (six of the past seven seasons), along with a back-to-back, regular-season Big East championship (something John Thompson Jr. never accomplished in his illustrious career). Throw in a Big East tournament title and two more Big East tournament finals appearances, and suddenly, JTIII's record doesn't look so shoddy, does it?

As a Philadelphia Eagles fan, I got to experience this same phenomenon this past season with Andy Reid. When an "all-in" year resulted in an 8-8 record, "fire Reid" chants broke out at the stadium for the first time in years.

Only thing is, Vince Lombardi wasn't walking through that door for the Eagles if they fired Reid.

The same holds true for Georgetown.

You want to get rid of John Thompson III? Who are you replacing him with that's a better fit?

Tom Izzo isn't leaving Michigan State any time soon. Shaka Smart? Stan Heath, the reigning Big East coach of the year? (Kidding there.)

Unless the coaching equivalent of Peyton Manning decides to become a free agent—Phil Jackson to the Hoyas?—Georgetown needs to stick by JTIII just as much as the Eagles need to stick by Andy Reid.

If Noel decides to come to Georgetown, and a lineup featuring a healthy Noel, Porter, Greg Whittington and company can't get past the first weekend of the NCAA's in the next two years, it's then fair to question whether JTIII can ever get the Hoyas back to the promised land.

But, given the talent and poise this year's Hoya freshmen displayed, JTIII deserves a chance to coach these kids up for a few years.

That's what a Final Four appearance buys you when you run a clean program, like it or not.

There's no reason to think that Georgetown's basketball team would be a bunch of happy campers following Sunday's 66-63 loss to North Carolina State in the Round of 32. The Hoyas were the ones pinned on the wrong end of an upset, a three-seed succumbing to an 11-seed for the third year in a row and Georgetown meeting its fate to a double-digit underdog for the third time over that very same span.

It seems like forever and a day ago that John Thompson III had the Hoyas back in the Final Four, with the likes of Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert leading the way. Georgetown has been back to the NCAA tournament four times since then, failing to advance to the Sweet 16 on each occasion.

That's not to say all should be doom and gloom on the basketball courts of DC. After all, Georgetown pulled down its first win in the Big Dance (74-59 over Belmont) since 2008, after two disappointing, first-round exits.

And the Hoyas nearly sent the Wolfpack packing for Raleigh rather than St. Louis despite a foul-plagued Henry Sims contributing a mere four points to the cause.

What's more, the Hoyas were hardly expected to even make it to March Madness this year. They were picked in the preseason to finish 10th in the Big East after losing all-conference performers Chris Wright and Austin Freeman.

Instead, the Hoyas rode breakout seasons by Sims, Jason Clark and Hollis Thompson to a fourth-place finish in the toughest league in college hoops and one of the top 12 overall seeds in the NCAA tournament.

So Georgetown should be even better next season then, right?

Perhaps, perhaps not. Sims and Clark will both be gone to graduation, while Thompson, a junior, could be off the NBA, especially after racking up 23 points against NC State.

Should Thompson return, he'd be the lone senior among an emerging roster that would include quality contributors like Nate Lubick, Otto Porter, Markel Starks and Greg Whittington, along with incoming freshman D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera.

That might not seem like much, but considering the outstanding job JT3 did with the team this season, it may well be enough to get Georgetown back in the tourney come next March, with an opportunity to move another step or two closer to the Final Four.

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At 30-1, Syracuse is undeniably the best team in the conference and is the clear favorite to win the Big East tournament.

Yet as history has proven, rarely does the championship unfold according to plan. Whether it's the depth of the conference, the energy of playing under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden or the magic of March, upsets and surprise runs are inevitable.

In the past decade, only twice has the No. 1 seed entered New York and left with the trophy, having been able to survive what is perhaps Championship Week's most grueling gauntlet of games.

This year is no different. Four teams are nationally ranked, and six enter with 20 or more wins on the season. One team, however, rises above the rest, capable of challenging Syracuse and picking up the mantle should the Orange fall.

Outside of Syracuse, Georgetown is perhaps the most complete and dangerous squad in the tournament and a team that has all the pieces to start their March campaign on a strong note in New York City.

The Hoyas are long, athletic and versatile. The Hoyas have the size to play big, or they can run with smaller lineups. They are balanced offensively with three players scoring nine points per game or more and play tenacious defense, having held 16 teams below 60 points. 

In Jason Clark, they have strong guard play and leadership. In Hollis Thompson, they have a deft shooting touch on the wing, and with Henry Sims, they have a quality big man in the middle. Add Greg Whittington, Jabril Trawick and Otto Porter coming off the bench, and Georgetown is perhaps the most well-rounded and deepest team in the league. 

No one paid much attention to this year's Hoya team at the beginning of the season, but after an impressive 12-6 Big East record (22-7 overall), they are on everyone's radar now.

For a team that relies on four freshman and two sophomores for major minutes, Georgetown has shown remarkable poise and maturity posting wins over five Top 25 teams and was the only school to push Syracuse to extra minutes in an overtime loss at the Carrier Dome.

Perhaps most importantly for a young team, Coach John Thompson III revels playing on the big stage of Big East Tournament, having led Georgetown to three finals appearances since 2007, the most of any program in the league during that time.

Look for Georgetown to have another strong showing in the Big Apple to help solidify themselves as a serious contender in the NCAA tournament.

Going in I had a bad feeling about this game. The Mountaineers came on the heels of a thrilling Georgetown comeback victory over Marquette. Morgantown is a difficult place to play, and while not a ranked team, Bob Huggins led squads are always a problematic opponent. To complicate matters, West Virginia was the last in a formidable run of games that included Memphis, Louisville on the road and Marquette.

It was the ultimate trap game and Georgetown stepped in it and got snarled by a hungrier opponent. 

The big question now is how will the Hoyas respond? 

John Thompson's group is about to embark on what is likely the easiest five game stretch he could have asked for in the habitually grueling Big East. It hasn't been often over the past several years that a team could go three games, let alone five, without having to face a ranked opponent in Big East conference play. This year the Hoyas caught a fortuitous break and must capitalize on such serendipity in order to extend their strong early season start and turn it into momentum for a late March run.

Usually a conference loss is excusable and easily forgotten. Given Georgetown's recent narrative of post-new year slides, Thompson and the coaching staff must spend extra time correcting the mistakes in order to ensure that this trend of late does not derail yet another promising season. 

Last year the Hoyas also entered the new year ranked ninth before a three-game slump left their confidence tattered (While they briefly recovered I still believe those three losses had a damaging legacy). In 2010, the Hoyas lost a handful January games that set the tone for an up-and-down Big East season that amounted to a first round tournament exit. 

Perhaps the most pronounced post Christmas swoon was the 2008/2009 Hoya team that returned from break losing seven of their first nine league games in what was John Thompson's most disappointing season on the hill top. 

This team is different. The Hoyas play with an intensity and camaraderie that is exceptional for such a young freshman laden team.

It is these youngsters that have brought about the change in attitude. It is Georgetown's four key freshmen who have pushed the upperclassmen to play harder and be improved leaders and, led by Otto Porter, it is these guys who have brought the gritty toughness that is required in the Big East, but a quality that too often Georgetown has lacked. 

Now though, it is the coaches and upperclassmen's turn to take the lead. As Georgetown prepares for it's upcoming opponents the coaching staff must instill in its players that these next five games are all must win contests. 

Not only will the Hoyas need to bank the wins for tournament security and seeding, they must right the prevailing mindset that Georgetown teams start hot but fade.

If Georgetown wants to leave their mark on the NCAAs and even reach the Final Four (something that with this group is certainly doable), they will need to rely on the confidence, the positivity and the belief that they can win that they establish over the course of the next month.

Seasons aren't defined or won in January but they can be lost. Georgetown has five games to make sure that doesn't happen.