The Maryland women’s basketball team won’t have a chance to repeat as national champions. The Terps lost to Mississippi in the second round 89-78. Maryland came into the tournament as a 2-seed, and their early exit is something of a disappointment, especially considered they returned almost their entire team from last year’s title run. Foggy Bottom folks still have something to cheer for, however, as the Colonials beat Texas A&M on Monday and will face…

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…

A weekend full of college basketball saw all four major D.C. area programs hosting games against teams ahead of them in the respective conference standings. Two emerged with convincing wins, while two others suffered disappointing losses. On Saturday, Georgetown leapfrogged No. 11 Marquette into second place in the Big East with a 76-58 victory in front of an announced 17,867 at the Phone Booth. Jeff Green helped break open a close one around the six-minute…

For the first time this season, two area teams occupy spots in the AP’s top 10 for women’s college hoops. While their male counterparts’ seasons have been wrought with inconsistencies, reigning champs Maryland (22-3, #6) and surging GW (19-2, #8) have been making noise all season. This afternoon’s poll reveals GW’s first appearance in the top ten since February, 1992. The Colonials are riding a 12-game winning streak and are unbeaten in conference play. Their…

Midnight madness has come and gone, and area NCAA men’s cagers are back at it. Georgetown looks to be the area’s top team this year, starting the season ranked in the top 10, while Mason hopes to keep up the momentum from their Final Four run, GW tries to make their third straight NCAA tourney after losing 4 key players, Maryland hopes not to make a third straight NIT, and the rest hope to compete…

This entry was written by DCist contributor Andrew Wiseman Bad news for GW basketball fans – leading scorer Danilo Pinnock’s GW days are over, as he will soon sign with an agent. Pinnock, a junior, had entered his name into the NBA draft but was expected to return until now. The Colonials already lost senior forwards Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Mike Hall, and Omar Williams to graduation, so another top ten ranking in Foggy Bottom doesn’t appear…

Owing in large part to a soft schedule, George Washington had earned a reputation as overrated despite a 26-2 record. With just 11 minutes remaining in their first-round NCAA Tournament game against UNC-Wilmington last night, the Colonials appeared posed to prove their critics right. They trailed by 18 points, and had allowed the Seahawks to make 14 of their last 16 shots. The game, which had been tied at halftime, seemed to be slipping away….