The Glass Slipper: A Rough Couple of Weeks
Reading Dan Steinberg's blog the other day, I came upon this post addressing the possibility that zero D.C. teams will earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Yeah, I laughed. (Really, just think about the number of teams that D.C. could feasibly lay a legitimate claim to.) But then I put some more thought into it. Yesterday, Georgetown -- who could easily make the best claim toward an invite within a thirty-mile radius -- helped that thought process and dropped an egg of a second half in Milwaukee against Marquette (an admittedly much better team), their fifth loss in a row. Could the Hoyas somehow miss the Big Dance, even though less than three weeks ago they were a borderline Top 10 team? Here's their resume:
W-L: 12-8 (1-5 in non-neutral road games)
Conference W-L: 3-6
RPI (as of 1/31): 19
Strength of Schedule: 1
Last 10 Games: 3-7
Good Wins: Syracuse, Memphis, @Connecticut
Bad Losses: @Seton Hall
Looking at it this second, Georgetown is in, thanks in no small part to those big wins and the garish computer numbers. But it's tenuous. If DeJuan Summers and crew can't find a victory soon -- their current five-game slide is their worst stretch since John Thompson III's first year at the helm -- that RPI will start to drop, and things like that awful road record and a sub-.500 conference record will seem more and more prominent. One could make the argument that Tuesday's home game against Big East cellar-dweller Rutgers is, shockingly, a must-win game.
But it hasn't just been a bad week for the roundballers representing the C&O Canal; witness within:
Maryland
report by Brett Gellman
What a tumultuous week in College Park. It's not often that, within in the span of seven days: a) the coach and the athletic department publicly spar in the press; b) a player becomes academically ineligible, only to be reinstated a couple days later; and c) one of the top prospects in the country attends your game.
Yet all these events occurred in what has been an interesting period of time in Garyland. Oh, and some basketball was played too.
Following last weekend's drubbing at the hands of Duke -- the worst loss of Gary Williams' long tenure -- the Terps (14-7, 3-4 ACC) fell to Boston College last Tuesday after surrendering a 16 point lead, something which has been a recurring problem for the team lately.
The team (and its venerable coach) managed to get it together amidst all the recent turmoil, defeating the Miami Hurricanes (14-7, 3-5 ACC) last night at the Comcast Center, 73-68, in what was a must-win just in order to stay in the middle of the pack of the ACC. Junior guard Greivis Vasquez was an assist shy of a triple double while junior forward Landon Milbourne led the team with 17 points.
The road for the Terrapins only gets harder as they head to Chapel Hill, North Carolina to take on the Tar Heels Tuesday night. Amazingly, the Terps have won the last two meetings against North Carolina -- but with the lack of a legitimate big man this season, the chances of a third consecutive victory seem rather slim.
American
report by Graham Hough-Cornwell
Since we last checked in with Jeff Jones and the AU Eagles, their win streak's been broken and they've fallen out of first place in the Patriot League with a loss to Ralph Willard's Holy Cross Crusaders. But the Eagles are just a half-game back now, following a nail-biting road win in Annapolis against Navy on Wednesday. It once again came to down to senior guard play -- Garrison Carr poured in 28 points while Derrick Mercer added a double-double with 12 points and 11 assists. The Eagles returned to Bender Arena yesterday to celebrate the gym's namesake with a near sell-out crowd and a return-to-form win over the Lafayette Leopards. Senior forward Brian Gilmore was the difference in the 78-65 win, popping in 22 points and hauling down 6 rebounds.
As American nears the midway point in Patriot League play, they sit in second place, but have a full two game lead over the rest of the pack. It'll certainly be a tight race, but if Gilmore continues to provide some means of rebounding and scoring presence down low (he's currently second in the league on the glass), this is the kind of experienced team that could make a good March run and return to the tournament. A league as tight as the Pat will require some fortunate bounces to win, but this senior-laden roster -- they started five on Saturday -- has to feel some urgency to go out with a bang.
George Washington
report by Andrew Wiseman
GW's season has gone from bad to worse. The Colonials have lost 10 in a row -- including six straight in Atlantic 10 play -- and while they've shown signs of cohesion, they haven't been able to finish games out. The team led in the second half against La Salle and Saint Louis, only to lose it as time ran down.
They're even finding innovative ways to lose: at the Smith Center against Dayton, the Colonials were up 1 with 21 seconds to go and had the ball. However, GW had six players on the court and were called for a technical foul. Dayton made both foul shots and the Flyers escaped with the win. No one has been able to fully assign blame for that one. GW also took Rhode Island to double overtime, but lost that one too.
Some bright spots? How about Wynton Witherspoon, who -- since emerging from coach Karl Hobbs' bench -- is averaging more than 10 points a game, and has emerged as one of the teams offensive leaders. Or shooter Noel Willmore, who has seemed to gain confidence as well, scoring 36 over his last two games.
It's tough to say if the Colonials can turn the season around. It's even tougher to say whether or not this will be coach Karl Hobbs' last season in charge -- the athletic department staff has not said too much in their (rare) statements. The Colonials next face second-placed St. Joe's on Wednesday, meaning the losing streak probably won't come to an end.
Around The Rim: George Mason can't claim immunity from the losing bug, as they've dropped three of their last four. But they still sit at third in the CAA, and it looks like the conference is having another strong year, with rivals Northeastern and VCU holding lofty computer numbers...Hey, Howard won a game -- and, not only that, but they're actually 3-2 in their last five!