Teams

Georgetown:
The Hoyas lost on Sunday as a result of one of the key problems that plagued the team all season – an unfortunately timed dry spell. In the first half, Georgetown was up by 10 points late in the first half, but went almost five minutes without a basket, letting NC State take control. Yes, there were other problems with Georgetown’s performance, but if the Hoyas could have scored during that stretch, the Wolfpack’s offensive rebounding wouldn’t have been that much of a gamechanger.

NC State:
NC State played extremely well, staying with their game plan, and not losing focus when the Hoyas started off strong. The impressive part was that in the 2nd half, they never let Georgetown back in it, until the final moments, when they came up with some critical stops and key free throws down the stretch.

Players

Georgetown:
Well, Super Hollis showed up in the tournament again. But unfortunately, as in the past two years, his performance was overshadowed by a disappointing defeat. We’ll be waiting to hear if Hollywood decides to stay at Georgetown for his senior year or put his name into the NBA Draft for good this time.

NC State:
Scott Wood is the best shooter for the Wolfpack and on Sunday, he did his part, hitting big time threes at critical points in the game. Entering the contest as a 92% free throw shooter, though, he did miss two free throws, one of which coming late in the game as the Hoyas were surging back. It ended up not mattering, but if Georgetown had won the game, I’m sure those two misses would haunt him for a long time.

Referees

The officiating for this game is something the Hoyas have seen before in the NCAA Tournament. Key big men getting into foul trouble due to questionable offensive fouls contributed to Georgetown’s demise during the Hibbert era, and Ted Valentine did not disappoint this year. While the early calls had a major impact on this game, it wasn’t the deciding factor, and despite Henry’s limited minutes, the Hoyas still had a shot to tie it at the end. It’s just frustrating to have the game affected so drastically by unnecessary whistles (that were not consistent throughout the game) and unfair to Henry Sims to have to watch his last game as a Hoya from the bench.

Number of the Game

1: Lead change. It was a game of two halves – Georgetown’s first 15 minutes and last five minutes of the game just couldn’t outdo NC State’s middle portion.

Beware the Eighteenth of March

For the fourth year in a row, the Hoyas finished the season with a tournament loss on March 18th. Hopefully next season. Georgetown will get to play on St. Patrick’s Day instead.