2002-03 – Record: 11-6 (Conference 3-5)
Senior Class: Trenton Hillier, Victor Samnick, Wesley Wilson, Mike Sweetney (Departed GU to enter NBA Draft)

In spite of having one of the best players in the conference and the nation in Mike Sweetney, Georgetown truly underachieved in 2002-03. The Hoyas had a very difficult stretch in which they lost six games in a row, including three losses by one point and another loss in overtime. There are clear examples throughout this period of miserable officiating working against the Hoyas, most notably the failure of the refs to notice the opponent was playing with six players, but in many ways, the Hoyas could have done much more to help their own cause. The team did manage to end the year in a positive way by making it to the final game of the NIT.

The Good: In the Big East opener, the Hoyas were facing West Virginia. A young Mountaineer named Kevin Pittsnogle scored 18 points, including 4-5 from three-point range. West Virginia was winning by three with 5 seconds left when Tony Bethel hit a double pump three pointer from the corner to force overtime. Sweetney scored 6 points in the extra session to bring his grand total to 35 to go along with his 19 rebounds. This game is still the only time that Georgetown has won a conference game in overtime at the Verizon Center.

The Bad: With a 1-1 conference record, Georgetown was hosting St. John’s. The Hoyas had a 16-point lead with 7:23 seconds to play, but were outscored 30-9 from that point as Marcus Hatten helped the Red Storm escape with the win. This loss was the one that changed the entire season. The Hoyas had a chance to be 2-1 in the conference, but instead fell to 1-2. Georgetown was never above .500 in the conference after that point. This loss can also be pointed to as the beginning of the end for Coach Esherick.

The Ugly: Beside the six men on the court fiasco against Seton Hall, there was another example of destructive officiating that occurred at Verizon Center in 2002-03. Georgetown was playing UCLA in a mid-February non-conference game. The score was tied in the final seconds and the Bruins had the ball with a chance to win. Georgetown played good defense and knocked the ball away. The ball was on the deck in the lane with players all fighting for it. The referee called a loose-ball foul on Georgetown with 6 seconds left to give UCLA a chance to win the game at the line. The Hoyas lost 71-70.

 
Ten Years in Ten Days:
1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1999-00 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07