After a crowded Easter mass and a nice brunch at an Italian restaurant, we drove to the RBC Center. I watched the game from behind the Davidson bench, and then once it was over, I headed back to the media room where I met up with several other reporters who usually cover the Hoyas. We were all upset, and one of them said, “You know, if it weren’t for the seniors, I’d kind of be glad. Means I don’t have to travel to Detroit.” Despite all the headaches that traveling to Detroit would entail for me, I couldn’t agree. I just wanted Roy to play in another game.

Then we headed to the interview room where Davidson head coach Bob McKillop was about to begin his press conference along with Jason Richards and Stephen Curry. I sat and listened while they were asked about the key plays, the fans, and “Sweet Caroline.” Then it was announced that the Georgetown locker room was now open, so I decided to go. I had originally thought that the Hoya locker room was the last place on earth I would like to be, but after sitting in that press conference, I knew I had been mistaken.

It was a horrible scene in the GU locker room, as I saw eleven players about as sad as you could imagine with cameras and microphones in the faces of a few especially unfortunate. I tried to listen to Patrick talk, but he was being very quiet, and I didn’t need to push my way in. Instead I shook hands with Tyler Crawford for an incredible four years, and headed back to the press room.

There, Coach Thompson was about to speak, alongside Roy and Jonathan. All year, Coach’s first word when entering the press conference has been, “Questions.” But today, he felt obligated to have an opening statement:

It’s disappointing. I guess I just want to say - I’ve got a very special senior class. I’ve got a class that is Georgetown basketball, and they have done so much for this program. They are this program. They have done so much for me.

You know, I just feel like I’ve let them down. It’s a group of guys that have done any and everything that I’ve asked them for four years. They’ve put this program on their back, put us in a position where we can possibly have success in the future. I just feel bad for these guys. I feel bad for these guys. We lost to a terrific team today, but I can’t - I just feel bad for my seniors.

After that heart-wrenching opening statement, I thought that it was only fair that the players have their say. A few reporters had some questions about the game, but I needed to hear the seniors respond to what Coach Thompson had just said. This is what Jon had to say:

No, we don’t think Coach let us down. Coach did everything he could to put us in a good position so that we could better ourselves. It’s not just me and Roy that did all the work - Tyler Crawford, Patrick Ewing, Jr., even Jeff Green who’s not here, all of the work they put in. It was a struggle every day and we were all in it together.

And Roy:

Coach Thompson, he’s coaching, but ultimately we are out there playing. I just want to thank him for everything he’s done for us. He brought the program back, but ultimately, we lost today. But he did a great job coaching today.

After that and some more questions directed at the two seniors and at Coach Thompson, I left and got in the car for the long drive home. I gave Emily a copy of the box score, and after looking at all the numbers, we still couldn’t figure out how Davidson won.

We were pretty sad all the way home, including a stop at Burger King where we ran into some members of the GU Pep Band buying food to take back to the bus. Even the sign for Bullocksville wasn’t as funny as it was on the way down.

We were just beginning to put the loss behind us when we arrived at the Key Bridge. Right in front of us was a big charter bus, getting into the left turn lanes to get onto M Street / Canal Road. We had a feeling we knew who was on that bus, so as we both made the turn, we followed it past the Exxon at the bottom of the Exorcist Steps as it turned right at the blue and gray sign that read “HOYA SAXA.” We drove past and made a U-turn by the Southwest Quad as the bus pulled into McDonough. Then we headed back to Canal Road, and I honked the horn a few times as Emily rolled down the window and yelled, “We love you, Hoyas!” to the team before she started to cry again.

I don’t know if any of them heard her, but at 11:15 at night on the saddest of all Easters, we hoped we could bring a little light to the group of young men getting off of the bus with their heads down, hidden beneath gray hooded sweatshirts.

Teams

Georgetown:
Georgetown played as good of a game as they’ve put together this season, and unfortunately, they ended up on the losing end. There were probably too many unforced turnovers, too many offensive fouls, and too little rebounding at the beginning of the second half, but other than that, there was not too much to complain about on the Hoyas’ end.

Davidson:
Davidson played a fine game, probably not a better game than Georgetown, which is strange since the Wildcats ended up on top. They didn’t shoot as well, they didn’t rebound as well, and they didn’t have an unbelievable performance from Stephen Curry like they did against Gonzaga. I think that makes it a harder pill to swallow for the Hoyas, but in a way, Davidson did what Georgetown does best: methodically pull away from their opponent.

Players

Georgetown:
Vernon Macklin played his heart out on Sunday. It probably doesn’t show up so well on the box score, but this was one of his best performances and definitely one of his best efforts. He was diving for loose balls, making nice passes, and concentrating on his free throws. With all of the sadness coming out of the final game for Roy Hibbert, Jonathan Wallace, Patrick Ewing, Jr., and Tyler Crawford, Vernon provided a bright spot and a hopeful look towards next season.

Davidson:
I can’t think of who to point out. Enough has already been said about Stephen Curry, who had an okay game against the Hoyas. It’s hard to say that when the kid has five three pointers and 30 points, but in all seriousness, it wasn’t his game. It was a team effort by the Wildcats who worked hard to get him good shots but also fought for second chances and points off of turnovers. I think Jason Richards did a good job getting points when the team needed them, and Andrew Lovedale had a huge putback layup in the final minutes that almost sealed the deal.

Coaches

Coach Thompson was pretty upset with the officiating after Roy picked up his fourth foul. He walked on the court to complain to the officials and got a warning out of it. Maybe a technical could have spurred his team on, but we’ll never know. Coach McKillop on the other hand was a calming influence on his team even when they were down by double digits in the first half. Seeing how he was screaming at his players to motivate them against Gonzaga, I was a little concerned by his “We’re doing great. This is where we want to be” that I heard at a timeout nearing halftime.

Referees

I think enough has been said about the officiating. It wasn’t biased, it was just very poor and it hurt the Hoyas more than it hurt Davidson. In the postgame press conference, Coach was asked about it, and he restrained himself enough to say, “I’m not going to comment on the officiating. I was upset about more than one of them.”

Fans

It didn’t help the Hoyas that the game was being played in North Carolina, close to Davidson and participant in the second game, UNC. Both of those sides were cheering pretty loudly for the Wildcats and pretty loudly against the Hoyas. I don’t know if it made any difference - maybe it helped spur on Davidson - but I do know that when the Davidson pep band started playing “Sweet Caroline” again, things didn’t get any better for the Hoyas.

Number of the Game

1:29: Time remaining when Davidson scored their last field goal. Usually Georgetown plays unstoppable defense in the final minutes, and it is often the case that the opposing team doesn’t hit a field goal in the last four or five minutes of the game. Richards’ layup was a sign that this game wasn’t going the way Georgetown would have liked.

The “Lucky” Seat

I sat in seat T-2 14 for all three games that I stayed for. That was right behind the bench on the left side as I was facing the court. That meant in the Davidson-Gonzaga game, I was behind the Davidson players, and in the Georgetown-UMBC game, I was behind Coach Thompson and company. When Davidson sat in front of me before the Second Round matchup, I was a little worried that I would be sitting behind the winning team again. After seeing the Davidson players rush the court after the final buzzer, I didn’t care to see where UNC was sitting.

I am 5′8″ tall. Yesterday I could have single-handedly shut down Roy Hibbert. Here’s how: I would have stood near him playing post defense, and every time he extended his arm for the ball I would let his elbow make contact with me. Then I would fall down. Then Hibbert would be called for an offensive foul. That’s exactly what happened against Davidson. Smaller defenders, with no chance of stopping Hibbert, were rewarded by the astoundingly poor judgment of the officials.

The NCAA has some problems. Roy Hibbert could have entered the NBA draft after last season. But he decided that he wanted to come back to school for one more year in college. For the NCAA, that was a dream decision. College basketball maintained a top flight player to enhance their product for another season. So how does the NCAA reward Hibbert? They allow him to be brutally mistreated by the refs in the most important game of the season. Imagine if players in the NBA were able to consistently defend Shaquille O’Neal or Tim Duncan this way. The NBA would lose fans and credibility.

Hibbert (or any college superstar) should not get preferential treatment from the referees. But he deserves fair treatment. Even slightly unfair officiating wouldn’t impact a player of Hibbert’s ability. But totally one-sided decision-making from the referees is too much to overcome - no matter how strong, focused, or dominant a player is.

Hibbert was whistled for his first foul on the second possession of the game when the player he was defending took a jump shot. According to the ref, Hibbert hit the shooter on the arm. Is it even conceivable that the foul on that play was worse than what Roy receives when battling for position in the post? No. Is it possible that the contact on that play had more of an impact than when Roy is simultaneously surrounded and hacked by three players 6-10 inches shorter then him when receiving a pass? No, it is impossible.

One bad call is not the end of the world, but it was the beginning of the end for Roy. Fouls #2, #3, and #4 all occurred on the offensive end. All were absurd. Hibbert was called for his second foul while trying to post up, he was whistled for his third when driving to the basket, and he earned his fourth while trying to catch a pass in the block - almost identical to his second. His fifth foul in the final minutes occurred after the damage was irreparable.

Smaller players can’t defend Roy because of his superior size, strength, and work ethic. Any ref who understands the game and takes his trade seriously would recognize that fact. But the refs versus Davidson were totally oblivious to the situation, and they stayed oblivious for the entire game. It’s a shame that a player who has improved so much during his collegiate career, who has been so successful during his career, and who has been a perfect example of the type of scholar athlete that the NCAA longs for throughout his career would barely be allowed to participate in his final NCAA game. Games like this give superstar college players another reason to leave school early. An NBA rookie is at the bottom of the totem pole, unlike college seniors, and at least if Jeff Green gets cheated by the refs he has his multi-million dollar contract to console him. All Roy Hibbert has is an early exit from his final NCAA Tournament.

Roy Hibbert was saddled with foul trouble throughout, playing only nine minutes in the first half and picking up two questionable offensive fouls in the second half. The Georgetown offense cooled off, but the defense was whistled for 14 fouls in the second half, and Davidson took advantage, making 15 out of 18. Jessie Sapp led the Hoyas with 14 points, 12 coming from downtown, but it wasn’t enough to keep Georgetown from falling for the second time in three games.

In the final game of their careers, Hibbert was 3-3 from the field with six points in 16 minutes, Jonathan Wallace scored 12 points on 5-8 shooting, Patrick Ewing Jr. had two points and a block, and Tyler Crawford had a rebound in six minutes of action.

In order to move on in the tournament, Georgetown will have to weather the crowd and the sharp shooter, and they’ll need to remain poised and focused as they have been all year.

I’ll check back with lineups and stats and whatever you ask for in the next few hours, so stay tuned.

The trends aren’t foolproof, and there is risk in every game, but there is something about that #12 seed beating a #5 seed. As for Georgetown, they could lose their next game, or the following game, but if the past does predict the future, the Hoyas are in good shape to make the Elite Eight.

Connecticut just lost as a #4 seed to the #13 seed San Diego, last season #6 Duke lost in the opening round to #11 VCU, and a few years ago #3 seed Syracuse dropped an opening round game to the #14 seed Vermont. Georgetown on the other hand has never had such an embarrassing loss. In fact, the Hoyas are hardly ever upset at all. In the 1985 Championship game, the #1 Hoyas lost to a #8 team. Of course, once a team makes it to the final game, all bets are off.

Besides that game, the Hoyas have only been upset in the NCAA tournament seven times in 20 tournaments, and Georgetown has never lost to a team more than 3 seeds below them before the Elite Eight. Even though this pattern can’t help Georgetown tomorrow, it does show that the Hoyas have rarely, if ever, underachieved in the NCAA Tournament. Over three decades there aren’t many teams in the country that can honestly say that.

Here is a list of the eight times the Hoyas have been eliminated from the NCAA Tournament by a lower seed. A loss tomorrow against #10 Davidson would be the worst upset loss in Hoya History.

Also before the UMBC game, Stephen Curry stole the show in Davidson’s victory over #7 seed Gonzaga. He had 40 points off of 8-10 shooting from three-point land, and on the season, he’s averaging over 25 points a game. Since Georgetown has the best defense in the country, here’s our question:

How many points will Curry score against the Hoyas?

We’re going to say he’ll grab 24. You can’t stop him from scoring, but if Georgetown makes him work for every hoop, then he’ll be tired by the end. The goal is to make him have more field goal attempts than points.