Results tagged “bigdance”

With a number of area teams gearing up for a playoff run, it's an exciting time for sports in the Washington area. Here's what you should be watching this week. Don't hesitate to leave your own suggestions in the comments, and, if you're so inclined, shoot me an email with suggestions for next week.

By DCist contributor Hayden Alfano Georgetown is the area's last hope for this year's NCAA men's basketball title. The Hoyas advanced to the Sweet 16 with a 62-55 win on Saturday over Boston College. After a first half in which he scored just two points and was saddled with two fouls, Georgetown center Roy Hibbert dominated the second 20 minutes. Hibbert finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds, and added the assist on this Patrick...

It starts at 12:20 p.m. this afternoon. Tip-off. For some, the pinnacle of sports fandom rests in these next few days. They are epic: 12 hour days that capture some of the very reasons why we watch sports. The NCAA Tournament has the most exhaustive field in major U.S. sports, giving 65 teams a shot at glory in the national spotlight. Year after year, the Big Dance provides buzzer beaters, star turns, Cinderella stories and...

After all the hype and hope, the seeds are planted and the brackets are being filled out: it's March Madness. Seven (!) area teams made the Big Dance: Georgetown, GW, Maryland, Virginia, Virginia Tech, VCU and ODU. We'll preview the field in the coming days and also announce our first-ever DCist Reader-Staff Pool. In the meantime, we're salivating (and we assume local bar owners are too). There's a potential second round Maryland-Old Dominion matchup,...

Mason's Magic Slips Away For 38 minutes Monday night, the George Mason Patriots did what they needed to do to complete their improbable four-game run through the Colonial Athletic Association and make a return trip to the NCAA Tournament. They lost it all in 14 seconds. That’s how long it took for Virginia Commonwealth’s Eric Maynor to steal the ball from Dre Smith, drive downcourt, hit a layup while getting fouled by Gabe Norwood,...

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...

The D.C. area was well-represented last year in the men's NCAA basketball tourney, with all three Georges winning at least one game, and of course, George Mason making an improbable run to the Final Four. However, the area women were no slouches either, as Maryland grew into a powerhouse, winning the national title, and perennial tourney team George Washington, who've made the tourney in 13 of the last 16 years, reached the second round. This...

The George Mason University Patriots used to have a colonial looking fellow that led the cheers at sporting events, but it was felt that such a diverse school should not have a white male forefather type as a mascot. Instead, Mason decided to recognize its large and growing green muppet population, choosing as its representative the hirsute fellow seen at right. He's called Gunston, after George Mason's old home, and he became nationally recognized after...

AP Photo taken by Darron Cummings.

Though ranked sixth in the country, George Washington has been characterized as an overrated team. Given the opportunity to prove that their 26-1 record and 18 game winning streak wasn't just a house of cards, the Colonials instead folded, losing 68-53 to Temple in the first-round of the Atlantic Ten tournament. The loss is not only disappointing and gives fuel to the team's critics, but it likely cost them a couple of seeds in...

>> Oh those clever Redskins. First they use the NFL labor talks as an opportunity to buy out disgruntled linebacker LaVar Arrington and then while the area media whips itself into a frenzy over the move, the club quietly announces that, much like the Wizards, ticket prices will be going up, up, up next season. Surprising no one, the 'Skins attributed the increases to putting the team more in line with other teams in...

It's a familiar script for the George Washington mens' basketball team. Let an inferior team hang around -- maybe even lead -- until midway through the second half, then go on a devastating run. In the case of last night's 89-78 win at St. Bonaventure, the Colonials trailed by four with under eight minutes left before reeling off 13 straight points to take control. Three Colonials finished in double figures in both points and...

George Washington won its 15th straight game last night, but the bigger news is that star forward Pops Mensah-Bonsu twisted his knee just before halftime and didn't return. Mensah-Bonsu, the team's second-leading scorer and rebounder, will be evaluated today. We (or, more likely, some alert DCist reader) will have an update on his status when it becomes available. Reserve forward Regis Koundjia stepped up in Mensah-Bonsu's absence, chipping in with 13 points, 5 rebounds and...

(Editor's Note: DCist would like to welcome another new member to our Sports staff. Hayden Alfano will be covering the local college hoops beat as well as assisting in our upcoming coverage of the 2005 NBA Draft.) After a grueling season, college basketball coaches have little time to relax. The recruiting trail beckons, and they lay awake at night worrying if any of their players will declare early for the NBA Draft. Local hoops coaches...

If you may remember, we questioned whether the University of Maryland was regretting the decision to plaster Terrapin "Do You Fear the Turtle?" ads all over certain metrorail stations, like here at Gallery Place-Chinatown, when they lost early on in the ACC Tournament and didn't even qualify for the Big Dance. (But the Terps did make it to the final four of the NIT, which is nothing to be ashamed of, depending who you ask of course. And before you start lobbing accusations of anti-Maryland biases, this DCist went to the University of Michigan, where the men's basketball program ... well ... has seen better days.)

>> The nation's capitol is abuzz with all the local teams picked by the NCAA to make it to the Big Dance. Wait, what's that you say? Maryland didn't make it? OK, fine, what about Georgetown then? NIT bound you say? Then how about your Atlantic 10 Champions over at George Washington? You better believe they were packing their bags after winning their first every conference tournament title 76-67 over St. Joeseph's. The win...

We know Maryland fans may not agree with us right now, but is there a better time of year for sports fans than March? That's a rhetorical question because the answer is a resounding no. Football is in it's free agent signing period, baseball is down South preparing for opening day, teams in the NBA start jockeying for playoff position and college basketball starts preening for the camera as the spotlight shines upon it.

>> Shhhhh...that sound you're hearing might be Maryland's already precarious NCAA Tourney hopes going down the drain after this weekend's disappointing 86-76 loss at Virginia Tech. The Terps have dropped their last three contests to leave their conference mark at 7-9. Only a strong showing in this week's ACC tournament can save the Terps from missing the Big Dance for the first time since 1993. Sound familiar Terp fans? Maryland faced a similar situation...