Things are not as bad as they seem for the Hoyas. This will not be a feel good piece about the future of the Hoyas, or an unrealistic assessment of the underachieving team. In all seriousness, things could be worse. Here’s what the Hoyas face right now. They need to do some convincing – specifically they need to convince the selection committee that they deserve an at-large bid. The only way to really make a strong case for that bid is to win out. Period. That will not be easy, but it is a workable task, and it is a pretty reasonable undertaking if you put it in the right context. It’s an analogy that all hoops fans can understand.

Imagine the Hoyas are an NBA team. Right now, the team is trailing 3-2 in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals. Game six is tonight against Louisville. The Hoyas will be playing at home in front of a national television audience in the most important game of the year. There is no tomorrow if Georgetown loses; the players know that. In order to stay alive, the Hoyas need to force game seven, which will be played on the road on Saturday at Villanova. Just like in the NBA, the Hoyas need to make the most of the home court advantage. For the senior students, this will be the last meaningful game of their Georgetown Basketball lives. The students who were freshmen when Georgetown defeated Duke four years ago at the MCI Center, have a game now that in many ways has even more significance. As our colleagues at TNT tell us every May, it’s time to “Win or Go Home.”