All good things must come to an end.
That was certainly the case for the Georgetown Hoyas on Saturday afternoon. Colorado led almost wire-to-wire, handing Georgetown an ugly 96-73 loss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and sending the Hoyas packing after a short stay in Indianapolis.
The Buffaloes were propelled to victory thanks to their hot shooting and some spotty defensive coverage from the Hoyas. Four players finished in double figures for Colorado, with Jabari Walker leading the way with 24 points on 9 of 10 shooting. Standout Buffs guard McKinley Wright IV added a double-double with 12 points and 13 assists. Qudus Wahab was a lone bright spot for Georgetown, scoring a career-high 20 points and grabbing 12 boards to post his eighth double-double of the season.
In front of a crowd of roughly 1,000 fans at Hinkle Fieldhouse, both sides came out with intensity. On offense, Georgetown made it a point of emphasis to feed Qudus Wahab in the post, a strategy they held to throughout the afternoon. On the other end of the floor, the Hoyas were able to force the ball out of McKinley Wright IV’s hands. However, Wright did a fantastic job finding his teammates, and they took advantage, knocking down open looks to give Colorado a narrow early lead. In the first half alone, Wright dished out an incredible eight assists.
Just as the Buffs began making shots, the Hoyas fell into a cold spell on offense, going nearly five minutes without scoring. During this stretch, there was little ball movement and poor decision making. Every possession seemingly ended with a turnover or a contested jumper. The Georgetown seniors were a big part of the problem, with Blair, Pickett, and Bile going a combined 2 of 12 from the field in the first half. The Hoyas did succeed in getting to the free throw line, but they were all too often unable to capitalize, going just 6 of 13 from the charity stripe. The Buffs took advantage of the Hoyas’ struggles, knocking down back-to-back threes to extend their lead to 17-7 with 12:01 to go until halftime.
When the Hoyas finally stopped the scoring drought and put together a 5-0 mini-run, the Buffaloes responded by keeping their foot on the gas pedal on the offensive end. Everything was falling for Colorado. Jabari Walker and D’Shawn Schwartz each drained four first-half three pointers for the Buffs. As a team, Colorado shot a scorching hot 11 of 17 from beyond the arc before halftime. “I think that was a shock to all of us,” Donald Carey commented about Colorado’s hot shooting. Georgetown’s defense certainly shoulders some of the blame for this three-point barrage. A majority of the Buffs’ looks from deep were wide open, as the Hoyas’ defense was too busy helping on drives to the rim. With everything going Colorado’s way, the Hoyas limped into the locker room trailing 47-23.
Colorado came out of the locker room locking to put an early end to this one. The Buffaloes opened the half on a 10-4 run to push their lead to 30, their largest of the afternoon up to that point. But would you expect these Hoyas to go down without a fight? Of course not. Despite facing a near-impossible hill to climb, Georgetown continued to scratch and claw on every possession.
Ultimately, the Hoyas’ inability to come up with a stop on the defensive end killed any chance of a comeback before it started. The closest Georgetown got in the second half was an 18-point deficit with just over 10 minutes to play. The Buffs fans who made the trip to Indy were rewarded with an extended celebration. McKinley Wright IV exited the game with 5:24 to play and was promptly serenaded by fans with chants of “MVP!”
Plain and simple, Colorado was the better team on Saturday afternoon. They were patient on offense, shared the ball, and drained open looks when they got them. For the game, the Buffs shot 60% from the field and 64% from three-point range. On the other end of the floor, they made Georgetown work for each and every bucket. The Hoyas shot just 39% from the floor and never truly got into a rhythm. And when Colorado had the chance to put the Hoyas away, they did exactly that. “We didn’t bring our A game,” Ewing said after the loss. “In order to beat a team like Colorado, you need to play your A game.”
As the saying goes, “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” Saturday’s result was certainly a disappointment, but that doesn’t erase the incredible accomplishments of this Georgetown squad. After the loss, Patrick Ewing tried to put the season into perspective: “Our book is still being written. We have accomplished a lot this year. A lot of people didn’t think that we would be here. Disappointed in the fact that we didn’t play our best game, but the future is bright.”
As for me, I won’t remember the Hoyas that got blown out in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Instead, I’ll remember the Hoyas who overcame a 3-8 start to the season and ultimately won the Big East Tournament.
Until next year, Hoya Saxa!
