Georgetown’s Late Dominance Earns Trip to Atlanta With six minutes remaining in regulation, the Georgetown Hoyas stared at a nine-point deficit. They were going to have to step up their play if they were to reach the Final Four, and do so against the highest caliber of opponent. The Hoyas did just that. They rallied to force overtime and took control in the extra period to come away with a 96-84 victory. The Hoyas’ staunch…

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…

College basketball fans on the Hilltop and in College Park are pleased, while the ones in Foggy Bottom probably wish they hadn’t turned on the TV. The Hoyas pounded Belmont and will face Boston College, while the Terps handled Davidson and will face Butler, and the Colonials were clobbered by Vanderbilt, losing by 33. And over at the DCist Reader-Staff Bracketfest, Kyle Mahaney is in the lead, having picked every game except Butler over…

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,…

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…

Colossal Meltdown for GW Any time you blow a 20 point second half lead, it makes for a particularly ugly loss. GW’s 74-65 loss to USC in the John Wooden Classic on Saturday qualifies as such. This one was just plain nasty. Two minutes into the second half, GW held a commanding 36-16 lead against their counterparts from USC. Up until that point, the Colonials had played sparkling defense, protecting the basket while forcing the…

When George Mason’s name was called on Selection Sunday, it turned more than a few heads (including DCist’s). They were included over major conference clubs like Cincinnati and Florida St., and conference foe Hofstra, who had just beaten the Patriots in the CAA semis. They would also be playing without Tony Skinn, their second-leading scorer, who was suspended one game for punching a Hofstra player. Friday night in Dayton, Ohio, they proved they belonged, coming…

For George Mason, Selection Sunday was a relief. For George Washington, it was the worst-case scenario. The Patriots — a bubble team thanks to two recent losses to Hofstra — didn’t have to sweat too long on Selection Sunday, as they were named the 11 seed in the second bracket announced. This was much to the dismay of CBS basketball announcer Billy Packer. The Patriots’ regional will be played in Washington, but GMU has plenty…