Just like that, their seasons are finished. Each Washington-area team represented in the men’s NCAA Tournament wore a different shoe: the true Cinderella, the scrappy mid-major, and the powerhouse favorite. All suffered the same fate — a disappointing exit in the first weekend of the tournament. Wha’ happened?
Wildcat Rally Upsets Hoyas
When the Georgetown Hoyas built up a 17-point lead against 10-seed Davidson, I came awfully close to picking up my bracket, grabbing my green highlighter, and running it over the word “Georgetown”. The Hoyas were showing their class. Through 25 minutes they asserted their will and the experience of their upper classmen against the champions of the relatively obscure Southern Conference. Then Stephen Curry woke up. By the time the Wildcats’ sophomore superstar was finished sinking dagger after dagger (while mixing in a few dimes), the Hoyas were on their knees, bloodied, bruised, and beaten (74-70). The guard torched Gonzaga in the first round for 40 points, so his 30 against the Hoyas was to the surprise of few. More alarming was the performance of Hoya center Roy Hibbert. The senior leader was in foul trouble all game, rarely touched the ball in the paint, and ended up with a meager six points. At one point, scouts projected Hibbert as a high lottery pick. The questions surrounding his disappearing act in yesterday’s game will surely cause his stock to fall dramatically.
Mason Pummeled by Irish
The 12-seed is the trendiest of all first round upsets to pick. This year’s bracket features two 12-seeds in the Sweet Sixteen. The George Mason Patriots are not one of those. Despite the pedigree of their seed and their recent history, the Patriots fell behind Notre Dame early and never closed the gap to single digits (68-50, final). Will Thomas was Mason’s lone bright spot, leading his team in points, rebounds, assists, and steals (25, 7, 3, 3). His senior classmate and fellow star Folarin Campbell fell flat, however, and made only one basket in 12 attempts from the field. The Irish used the inside presence of Luke Harangody and the outside shooting of Kyle McAlarney to sink the Patriots before they could mount a comeback. A frustrating game for Mason fans and 12-seed pickers everywhere.
Feisty Eagles Quelled by Vols
Of the three area teams in the men’s Big Dance, American acquitted themselves most admirably. Despite falling to Tennessee, 72-57, American held the explosive Vols close until the end, keeping within a score into the final five minutes. Eagles 5’11” guard Garrison Carr hit several monster threes from several steps beyond the arc in the losing effort. Against arguably the strongest 2-seed, American matched bucket for bucket, and did not appear intimidated or outmatched until the very end. With Carr and backcourt-mate Derrick Mercer presumably returning for their senior seasons, the Eagles could get a chance at a tournament win next year.
