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 Ewing Jr. reverse jam that punctuated the victory. Junior forward Jeff Green also came alive in the second half, totally 11 points, 12 boards, and five blocks. (As an aside, did anyone think that Green had this in him?)
Georgetown moves on to face Vanderbilt, the sixth seed in the East, who were double-overtime winners over Washington St. on Saturday. The Commodores will be looking to avenge a season-opening 16-point loss to the Hoyas in Nashville.
Georgetown’s success came after a disappointing exit from the Big Dance for Maryland.
After a back-and-forth battle, a very dubious charge call on D.J. Strawberry robbed the Terps of a chance to tie the score with 40 seconds to play. Maryland coach Gary Williams then made the questionable choice to not foul Butler, relying on his defense to stop the Bulldogs and get the ball back with enough time to score. The plan backfired, however, when Maryland couldn’t secure the rebound on the Butler miss. The Bulldogs went one-for-two from the line to stretch the lead to three, and the Terps couldn’t get a shot off in the final four seconds.
