Kemp was called for a palming violation in final seconds of the game, allowing Houston to come away with a 66-65 victory. That was not the controversy. The thing that I noticed was how adamant both Hubert Davis and Digger Phelps were in saying that no call should have been made.

The argument goes something like this: Let the players decide the game. On the last play of the game, let the teams on the court decide who wins, not the people in the striped shirts. An interesting argument, but horribly flawed, not to mention hypocritical.

I’ll address the hypocrisy first, since this is what made me so upset upon hearing their analysis. On March 23, 2007, in the final seconds of the game, Jeff Green took the ball on the low post, spun around his defender and made a basket to give the Hoyas a thrilling 66-65 victory over Vanderbilt to advance to the Elite Eight. He made a huge play to lift his side.

The following season, the Hoyas traveled to Morgantown and were involved in another nail-biting finish. Jessie Sapp had just made a three-pointer to put Georgetown up 58-57 with six seconds to play. On the final possession, West Virginia stormed down the court, and Da’Sean Butler went to the basket for a lay-up, when Patrick Ewing Jr. rose above the rim and blocked the shot to secure the Hoya victory. A great defensive play to help his team win.

But, no one talked about Jeff Green’s clutch shot, or Patrick Ewing’s Junior amazing effort on the game-winning block. Instead, people talked about an “obvious travel” and a “clear goal-tending.” They focused on a tiny bauble of Green’s pivot foot, claiming that this slight movement was enough for the officials to make a call. They said the non-call on Ewing’s block was “controversial,” even though after thousands of slow-motion replays it is still hard to tell. In both of these instances, there were no analysts saying that the referees did the right thing by “letting the players decide.”

But, beyond the obvious hypocrisy, there is a deeper issue here. Hubert Davis and Digger Phelps’ philosophy is flawed. If Willie Kemp had been driving up the floor, and four Houston players had tackled him with one second left and there had been no foul called, Hubie and Digger would have been livid. And they would be justified. Sometimes, you have to call a foul, no matter when it happens. And it’s the same here. When a referee puts the whistle away on an obvious foul or violation, it has just as much impact on the final result as a call does.

Was it the right call in the Memphis-Houston game? I saw a few replays, and as an impartial observer in this case I think the referee was right. And so, as far as officiating goes, the referee has to make that call. Is it a tough way to lose? Absolutely. Should Memphis feel cheated? I don’t think so.

The referee’s job is to enforce the rules. Can the referees let the players play sometimes? Of course. And they should. As basketball fans we hate to see games decided by an official, so on close plays, we understand when referees allow play to continue. But, we must remember that if there is a foul, or a carry, or a travel, or a goaltend, a non-call decides the outcome just as much as a call does. Making the blanket statement that a referee should not blow his whistle because “the players should decide the game” is just wrong.

Then I thought, “Wait a second, that’s not true. There’s still the European leagues.” And sure enough, GUHoyas posted yesterday that no less than three Georgetown players would be competing in the German Basketball Bundesliga’s championship game last night.

Actually, it’s a five-game series, and last night was only Game 1. Brandon Bowman’s Telekom Baskets Bonn took the early lead in the series, while EWE Baskets‘ Jonathan Wallace and Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje will have to make up some ground in Game 2 on Thursday.

No matter who wins, there will be at least one Hoya with a Championship to his name by the end of the month.

Why would I cheer for Syracuse? I hate Syracuse. Now that the games matter more than any other point in the season, I’m supposed to support Villanova? Or Pittsburgh? Or UCONN? No chance. If Villanova beats Duke, I admit it is fun for the fans at the game to start chanting “A-C-C.” But besides Duke, I can’t think of any team I would want my bitter rivals to have success against.

Georgetown had a disaster of a season, but at least it’s over. The Hoyas have already started preparing for next season, and if things go according to plan over the next two seasons or so, nobody will really dwell too much on this year. As for Connecticut, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and Villanova, they have a lot riding on these games. With the exception of Syracuse, all of those teams have key seniors on the roster, and a missed opportunity in the NCAA tournament could mean a lot of sleepless nights and what-ifs. Although it is clearly better to be playing for a spot in the Elite Eight compared to having suffered a first-round NIT defeat, a loss in a Sweet 16 game in the NCAA tournament is much more devastating. That’s what I hope for the other Big East teams – devastation.

As for Notre Dame, they defeated Kentucky yesterday to advance to the Final Four of the NIT. This year is a disappointment for them as well, but they have taken a home court advantage in the NIT to get them to Madison Square Garden, where success has often eluded them. Next year they lose a bunch of starters and key players, and as good as Luke Harangody is, the Irish learned this year that he’s not enough. So, I hope Notre Dame loses a difficult game in New York, and if they happen to win the NIT, next season I will be in full support of them becoming back-to-back NIT Champions.

*Only player in BET history to earn 2 Tournament MVP Awards

Individual Awards

All-Time Most Valuable Player
Patrick Ewing, Georgetown

All-Time Coach
Jim Boeheim, Syracuse

Individual Awards

Player of the Year:
Terrence Williams, Louisville

Coach of the Year:
Rick Pitino, Louisville

Individual Awards

Defensive Player of the Year:
Hasheem Thabeet

6th Man of the Year:
Andy Rautins

Rookie of the Year:
Greg Monroe

“We are Georgetown” is not just a cool slogan; it represents Coach Thompson’s philosophy when he took over the program five years ago. JTIII has always been very complimentary about the support from the huge student section at Verizon Center, but he doesn’t want them acting like jerks. Think of Coach and the players. Coach Thompson is one of the classiest coaches in the country, humble in victory and gracious in defeat. He does things the right way, and that’s one of the reasons he has helped the Hoyas be so successful. Win or lose, Coach Thompson and his players behave the right way, and the fans should act the same way. “Practice Good Sportsmanship” is a little too professorial, so I’d just like to say, “Do the Right Thing” – I know that’s what Jessie Sapp does.

The student section at Verizon is wonderful, and they have grown and supported the team as well as any other student section in the conference. The players and coach have all spoken publicly about the positive impact the fans have had on their play. So keep up the good work, be noisy, be boisterous, be abusive if needed, but keep it clean. That’s what John Thompson III would want, and that is what he expects of you.

My fiance and I got a couple seats in the front row of some section in the 400s, and we had a nice view of the Hoyas’ new Final Four banner. We were excited to see Roy earn his second career NBA start, and we cheered for him when they announced his name in the starting lineups. After that, he got set up to take his first jump ball in the Verizon Center since Senior Day. It’s kinda neat thinking that the last time he was in this arena, he was holding the Big East Championship Trophy.

Roy won the opening jump and picked up an assist on the first basket of the game, seven seconds in. After that, things started to get ugly. Foul, air ball, foul, rebound, foul, bench. Not to happy a return for the Big Fella, as less than six minutes into the game, he had already picked up three fouls, and was set to sit out the rest of the half.

When he came back in to start the third quarter, he did better, but he still looked suspect on defense and missed a couple putback layups on offense. He had a nice goaltending, which I was very supportive of, and eventually got sent back to the bench. While he was out, the Wizards managed to catch up and tie the game and then fall back behind by twenty.

Roy got to make a final appearance in the final minute of the game, but by that time most of the fans – including the group of Hibbert fans I saw below me wearing We Are Georgetown shirts and a Navy Blue #55 Jersey – had already gone home. That was when Roy picked up his first points back at the Phone Booth off a pair of free throws.

Not the best performance for Big Roy, but he was welcomed home by the Hoya faithful, and we all wish him the best as he learns the ropes of becoming an NBA center.

After 15 years, the game didn’t even get any publicity anyway. If people really cared that much, the story would’ve made the front page of the sports section “above the fold.” Don’t say it’s just because the Redskins played because I promise that if Kobe Bryant scores 100 points in a game on a Sunday, you won’t just see a full spread Redskins photo on page E1.

This game is just not that important to people. There was an off day in the tournament separating the Hoyas and Terps losing the semifinal and meeting in the consolation game. If the game had such great appeal, there would have been some people who used Saturday to travel to Orlando to see the epic battle. There are about 30 flights on Saturday from DC to Orlando, yet the crowds were minimal for Hoya and Terp supporters. The truth is, people would rather complain about the teams not playing than take steps to enjoy the game.

What the majority of the people want is for the teams to play every year and for the Hoyas to lose every meeting. Now that would be something the general public could get behind. It would be a story of Gary Williams using his intensity and motivational powers to will his players to an upset win over a ranked opponent and long-time bitter cross-town rival. Even with the Hoyas’ regular ability to win games and execute, their failure to do so against Maryland would re-emphasize the Terps as the best program in the city.

So, the Hoyas ruined everything by embarrassing everybody involved with a 30-point win. They played good defense – boring. They didn’t lose a big lead – yawn. They didn’t even make Gary sweat that much. Games like that make fans head for the exits early. That’s not what the fans have been waiting 15 years to see. Maybe that’s why the story of the game itself was almost an afterthought.

There are tons more Maryland fans than Hoya fans, due mainly to size of alumni. The only times that the Maryland people try to make a big deal about playing Georgetown is when they think they can win. That’s also the only time the game gets any huge post game coverage, if the Terps win. Otherwise, the game gets ignored, like the one from this past Sunday. From Georgetown’s perspective, there is no reward for victory, and there is nothing but scrutiny and criticism for a defeat. When it comes down to it, there’s no reason to try and get this game on the schedule, especially since until the next meeting, the Hoyas hold the bragging rights.