College Hoops Rundown: Hoyas, Terps Continue Surge
Georgetown 61, Pittsburgh 53
The Big East is aptly named. The 16-team behemoth is the largest in Division I and backs up its girth with some of the finest play in the nation. So it's no small feat that Georgetown has climbed to the top of this daunting hill. Backed by the strong play of juniors Jeff Green, Roy Hibbert, and Jonathan Wallace, the Hoyas gritted their way to a victory over a Pittsburgh team that had entered the match tied with the Hoyas. Combined with a mid-week victory over bottom-dwellers Cincinnati, the win gave the Hoyas their longest winning streak in 12 years and put them in the top ten for the first time since the second week of the season.
Maryland 89, North Carolina 87
A mere five games ago, the Maryland Terrapins sat at 3-6 in conference play, and with a tough schedule ahead of them, seemed destined for another appearance in the NIT. After last night's thrilling, come from behind victory over then-ranked #5 UNC, the Terps have likely punched their ticket to The Big Dance. A midweek win over Florida State also bolstered the Terps' resume. Last night's match was the proverbial "signature win", however, and was probably the final piece to solving the Maryland's Tournament puzzle.
GW 86, La Salle 74 (Men's)
GW 56, Temple 53 (Women's)
GW is back to their winning ways, collecting three wins after four straight losses. The Colonials had some weaker teams in the stretch, beating depleted Temple and young Richmond teams at home, then going to Philly to face La Salle in a rare televised game. The game started pretty sloppy, but GW gradually started scoring in bunches and forced turnovers as La Salle lost their shooting touch, going .355 from the floor for the game. The Colonials had five players score in double figures, with Carl Elliott and Dokun Akingbade both collecting double-doubles. And the women, ranked 9th in the country, did well too, beating Temple in a close one at the Smith Center. In front of a nice crowd considering the snow and their attendance woes, they managed to let good shooting and defense outweigh poor rebounding to get their 18th straight win. The Colonials end the season with a perfect Atlantic 10 record and in the process stopped Temple's bid for their own undefeated A-10 run.
Northeastern 73, GMU 50
The Patriots of George Mason were unable to exorcise their late-season demons and dropped their 5th game of the last 7 to the Huskies. Losing so badly would be a disappointing, yet mildly acceptable result against these Huskies, or even these Huskies. But there's absolutely no way you can put a positive spin on a blowout loss to those Huskies. Mason is currently the 137th best team RPI-wise, and will have to put together a strong run in the CAA tournament to warrant in the selection for the NIT.
American 78, Lafayette 67
American University is on FI-YAH. Okay, so their four game winning streak has come at the expense of the bottom four teams in the Patriot League, but it's been enough to vault them into third place. Their latest win was sparked by a 25 point performance by senior Andre Ingram, who drained 5 of 10 three-pointers. Tomorrow, the entire college hoops community will be on pins and needles in anticipation of what could be the Eagles first appearance in the Atlantic 11 since week 9.
Andrew Wiseman contributed this week's GW report