>> 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 will mark the Colonial’s first trip to the NCAA Tournament in this millenium(their last was in 1999). Junior forward Omar Williams led GW with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
We think GW sophomore Thomas Scazzafavo said it best when he told the Post, “Georgetown fans think they’re too good to play us and even when we beat Maryland this year, their fans said it was a fluke. Now, they’re going to have to give GW some respect.” Indeed. GW will take on Georgia Tech on Friday in Nashville, TN.
>> In the “what else is new?” category, Duke defeated Georgia Tech in a 69-64 slugfest in the ACC Tournament final. The Blue Devils went scoreless from the field for over 11 minutes in the second half but some clutch free throw shooting by JJ Redick and a late tip in by Sheldon Williams dashed Tech’s hopes. The win is Duke’s sixth in the last seven ACC Tourney finals. Duke was picked by most pundits to finish fourth in the conference this year.
>> Virginia head coach Pete Gillen has announced he will “step down”. According to the Post, Gillen and Virginia Athletic Director Craig Littlepage had agreed before the season that if the Cavaliers didn’t qualify for the NCAA Tournament, Gillen would receive a lump-sum payment of about $500,000 that would void the final six years of his contract. The Cavaliers finished just 4-12 in the ACC and 14-15 overall.
>> Lastly, but certainly not least, if you spent your Sunday evening watching the NCAA brackets being revealed, then you missed one of the best basketball games DCist has seen in quite some time. The Washington Wizards lost a close one on the road in Boston in a contest that saw both teams build 10 point leads in the second half. The Wiz had a two point lead in the last minute but a three point play by Ricky Davis with 21 seconds left put the Celtics in the lead for good. The Wizards have lost eight of their last 11 and host the LA Lakers at the MCI Center tonight.
