Georgetown University is 12 miles away from the University of Maryland, but the two schools have been separated by more than miles when it comes to playing each other during the regular season. Now, 850 miles south of the nation’s capital, the Hoyas and the Terps are ready to meet for only the third time since the 1980 NCAA Tournament semifinal. Supporters of both programs have always clamored to have the two teams play more often, and now at last, the fans have what they want every season, a head to head meeting. The two best teams in the Metro area will meet in the Third Place game of the Old Spice Classic, but as far as basketball fans in the Baltimore-Washington area are concerned the only game that matters is the consolation game. The loser will collect their second loss in a row, the winner will return home with a 2-1 record from the tournament in Orlando, but more importantly will hold the bragging rights until the next time the teams meet, which most likely will not be any time soon.

If you live in the DC Metro area (which for the purposes of this article means from Baltimore, MD to Hampton, VA) and you don’t like the Washington Redskins, sports coverage must be very annoying. The Skins are the one item on the local sports scene that trumps all others 100% of the time. Recently, mid-week Redskins news was seen as of equal importance to the Wizards firing Eddie Jordan. The Maryland Terrapins are the Washington Redskins of DC college basketball.
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Teams

Georgetown:
The Hoyas grew a lot over the course of this tournament. In the Wichita State game, the team looked a little flat, perhaps they felt a little like Allen Iverson, upset about having to work on Thanksgiving. The team did well closing out that game though, and showed character by not getting anxious despite the closeness of the game.

Georgetown came out ready to play against Tennessee, and for more than 3/4 of the game held their own. Unfortunately, the offense stalled near the end of the game, and their defense did not bail them out when they needed stops. Poor rebounding also hurt the Hoyas, and the Volunteers punished them for it, cutting an eight point Georgetown lead down to two on one possession via offensive boards.

But, the Hoyas had no trouble bouncing back against a mediocre Maryland side, leaving no doubt which is the premiere team in the DC area. The Hoyas ran the offense to perfection against the Terps’ man-to-man defense, and the game was over by halftime. Georgetown also did well not to turn the ball over too much against Maryland’s full-court pressure, a problem that often plagues the Hoyas. And, although it does not mean all problems have been resolved, the Hoyas did outrebound the Terps 39-26.
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Yesterday I addressed the DC Metro area’s media coverage of college basketball being very pro-Maryland. I spoke in a lot of generalities since I wrote before reading the morning editions. Now, we can go back, examine the text of the local papers, and see the truth of their stories. Here we go.
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After all of the games that we attend, Johnny dutifully records audio from the postgame press conferences. Until now, we haven’t done much with them except for occasionally looking for a good quote missed by the other beat writers. We’ve decided to change that, and so from now on, we’re going to share that audio with you. Below, you’ll find a YouTube video with the contents of the Georgetown press conference following the Maryland game in the Old Spice Classic. Enjoy.

What’s wrong with everybody? It seems like everybody always complains about Georgetown and Maryland not playing. Whether in College Park or DC, in the Terrapin Club or the Hoya Hoop Club, regional or national, biased or indifferent, everybody always talks about how this is a game that should be played every year. Why?
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I think enough has probably been said about the Old Spice Classic in terms of real basketball-related stuff, so I’m just gonna mention some fun things I noticed from my trip.

Teams

Georgetown:
After losing to Tennessee, the Hoyas become 3-1 on the season in their home gray uniforms.

Then, on Sunday, they earned win #1 in their road blue. It was the first time the team showed off their new unis and I think they looked pretty nice. They were definitely better than these.
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Defense wins championships. What does that cliche even mean? What sport does it apply to? In the NFL, how often is the “Big Game” Champion the team with the best defensive team? With the essential addition of Kevin Garnett prior to last year, are we to believe that it was his defending that enabled the Celtics to win the NBA title last season? Every person who cares at all about sports knows the old saying, but when the preseason NCAA rankings come out, how many voters thought to themselves, “I’ll put North Carolina as my #1 pick. They’ve got the best defense in the country.” Not many.
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