#5 – February 1, 2003: Notre Dame 93 – Georgetown 92 (2OT)

Referees: Jim Burr, Michael Stuart, Frank Scagliotta

In the final minutes of regulation, Mike Sweetney scored and was fouled to put the Hoyas up by one. On the ensuing defensive possession, Victor Samnick made an incredible block to seemingly save a sure layup. The refs called a foul. The replay was comical, since it showed clear as day that the block was clean. Samnick’s hand was pinning the ball to the backboard - there was no body contact and no contact on the shooter’s arm. The Hoyas eventually lost in overtime.

#4 - February 9, 2002: Notre Dame 116 – Georgetown 111 (4OT)

Referees: Jim Burr, Ed Corbett, Pat Driscoll

There were a bunch of questionable decisions in this game, but there was one that sticks out. At the end of the second overtime, the Hoyas had a chance to win with the score tied. Kevin Braswell missed a jumper, but Wesley Wilson grabbed the rebound. At the buzzer he put up a shot that rimmed out. As he was shooting, the defender slapped him right in the face. It was as if he was trying to give a High Five to Wilson’s nose.

#3 - February 8, 2003: UCLA 71 – Georgetown 70

Referees: David Libbey, Charlie Range, Tommy Nuñez

This was a difficult stretch for the Mike Sweetney-led Hoyas. In the preceding nine days they had already been mistreated by the refs twice (see #5 and #1). UCLA had the ball with the score tied in the final seconds. The Hoyas made a critical defensive play to knock the ball away, and as players from both teams dove on the floor for the loose ball, the refs whistled for a foul with 4.5 seconds left. All ten players looked hopefully to the ref, since no one on the court knew what the call was. It went against Georgetown. The Hoyas lost by a free throw.

#2 - January 19, 1999: West Virginia 55 – Georgetown 54

Referees: Jody Sylvester, Jeff Plunkett, Andre Patillo

The Hoyas were tied at the end of the game with West Virginia playing for the final shot. The Mountaineers were trapped in the corner by the one-man double team of Nat Burton. Time was about to expire without West Virginia even getting a shot off when Jeff Plunkett called a foul on Burton who had flopped backwards. The whistle came with 0.2 seconds remaining. Jeff Plunkett has not officiated a Georgetown game since.

#1 - January 29, 2003: Seton Hall 93 – Georgetown 82 (OT)

Referees: Mike Kitts, Les Jones, Fran Connolly

Kitts, Jones, and Connolly were the four referees responsible for this disaster. The Hoyas were tied with Seton Hall in the final seconds. Coming out of a time-out, Seton Hall ran an alley-oop out of bounds play to take the lead. Without calling time-out, Gerald Riley dribbled down the court and hit a floater to force overtime. There was one problem though; Seton Hall came out of the previous time-out with six players on the court. The refs didn’t notice.

#5 – 2007: Georgetown vs Notre Dame

Georgetown 66 – Notre Dame 48

There was a lot riding on the game last season - Notre Dame came into Verizon center with a lot of hype, as is often the case, and the Hoyas were an unknown commodity after three early losses. Georgetown quickly showed that they were poised for greatness with a completely dominating performance, highlighted by a fast break one-handed alley-oop slam from Jeff Green. The play was so energizing that even Green let out a rare primal yell, sending the Hoya fans into chaos. The final score was much closer than the game itself.

#4 – 2003: Georgetown vs West Virginia

Georgetown 84 – West Virginia 82 (OT)

Mike Sweetney’s final Big East season at Georgetown began in a huge way. Sweetney scored 35 points and grabbed 19 rebounds to go along with 5 blocks, 4 assists, and 3 steals. The Hoyas trailed by 5 with 1:05 to play, but they scored and made a steal to set up the final play. A desperation double pump 3-pointer in the corner from Tony Bethel tied the score in the final seconds and the Hoyas prevailed in overtime.

#3 – 2005: Georgetown @ Pittsburgh

Georgetown 67 – Pittsburgh 64

This was the Big East opener for JTIII. The Hoyas hadn’t looked very good during the early portion of the season, having to go into overtime to defeat Norfolk State just a week earlier, but they were definitely ready for Pitt. The Hoyas started the game 9-12 from 3-point range and led by as many as 19. Pittsburgh made a run in the second half and had the ball with a chance to win, but the Hoyas made a final defensive stand to seal the win. Ashanti Cook had a career-high 23 points to lead all scorers.

#2 – 1996: Georgetown @ West Virginia

Georgetown 86 – West Virginia 83 (OT)

Allen Iverson and company were one of the top teams in the country, and the Mountaineers were hungry for a memorable upset in their first Big East game ever. West Virginia led for most of the game and Georgetown failed to match the intensity and effort of the Mountaineers. Coach Thompson decided to bench his starters late in the game with the game seemingly out of reach. The reserves, led by Jahidi White, managed a frantic comeback to cut the lead to 2, and then the starters returned. Iverson made a spinning floater in the paint to tie the score in the final seconds and force overtime. Iverson and Victor Page each scored 22 points for the Hoyas.

#1 – 1982: Georgetown @ St John’s

Georgetown 72 – St. John’s 42

It’s amazing how much Patrick Ewing’s career was shaped in Madison Square Garden. The arena where Ewing would establish himself as an NBA Legend was also the place for his major coming out party in his freshman year at Georgetown. In the 28 years of the Big East Conference, there has never been another performance to rival this one. Georgetown demolished St. John’s from the start and actually led the game 41-9 at halftime. The game in some ways set the tone for the Georgetown-St. John’s rivalry of the 1980’s, and definitely was the start of the Hoyas remarkable success at Madison Square Garden.

#5 – Silent Night

The Hoyas’ win over Alabama was a quality one in a tough environment against a team from a top conference. That early victory helped the Hoyas extend their undefeated string to start the season and helped to silence the rowdy crowd in Birmingham.

#4 – God Rest You Merry Gentlemen

The Hoya gentlemen deserve a little rest. Hopefully, the players can enjoy a little bit of R & R for Christmas. A little time at home with family and friends should be the perfect way to unwind and re-charge for the intense three months that lie ahead.

#3 – O Come All Ye Faithful

The fans deserve a lot of credit for creating a great atmosphere at the Verizon Center, even during the less attractive part of the schedule. I’m sure the faithful will be even more involved when Big East play begins.

#2 – What Child Is This?

Austin Freeman has been an excellent addition to the Hoyas this season and over the past few games has arguably been Georgetown’s best player. He can score with his jumper, cuts, or athleticism. Besides his ability to fill it up, he also is a very cool customer, never letting a great play affect his poker face. Not bad for a freshman.

#1 – Joy To The World

During the Christmas Holidays, Hoya fans have a nice opportunity to reflect on the great success from 2007 and to anticipate the great things that lie ahead in 2008. The Hoyas look to repeat their Big East Championships from last season, and hope to have a nice reprise of this carol in March.

With that in mind, I was thrilled to hear of the head-to-head meetings between teams from the two top conferences. As you know, the Hoyas will be traveling to Alabama to face the Crimson Tide. That game is part of a double-header along with West Virginia against Auburn. The following day Providence will play South Carolina and Villanova will take on LSU.

Now then, the Hoyas have played their share of games against the toughest teams of the SEC. Here is my list of the Top Five Georgetown vs. SEC games of all time.

#5 – Georgetown at South Carolina

Georgetown 70 – South Carolina 68
December 6, 2001

In an early season road game, the Hoyas came away with a dramatic last second victory. Senior Kevin Braswell drained a long two pointer with less than three seconds left to put the Hoyas up by two. While coming onto the floor after a timeout before the final play, Braswell was talking with a South Carolina fan courtside and told him that he was going to make a shot to win the game. After the shot went in, Braswell pointed over to the fan, smiled and said, “I told you!”

#4 – Georgetown vs. LSU
1988 NCAA Tournament Opening Round

Georgetown 66 – LSU 63
March 18, 1988

The score was tied in the final moments of regulation, and Georgetown was playing for the final shot. Charles Smith was the Hoyas go-to guy at that time, and the play that was drawn up was a simple one. The Hoyas ran an isolation play and let “Smitty” go one-on-one. Smith took a few dribbles towards the three-point arc, then pulled up from the NBA line and banked in the game-winning shot at the buzzer. Maybe it wasn’t exactly how Smith had envisioned it, but it still sent the Hoyas onto the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

#3 – Georgetown vs. Arkansas
2001 NCAA Tournament Opening Round

Georgetown 63 – Arkansas 61
March 15, 2001

Georgetown was playing for the final shot with the game knotted at 61. Kevin Braswell had the ball as he was usually the man to take the last shot with the game on the line. Braswell was being closely guarded near mid court as the clock was winding down, so he passed it to Nathaniel Burton, thinking he’d have time to get the ball back. Braswell’s defender denied him that chance, which left Burton all alone about 40 feet from the basket with five seconds left. Nate exploded to the hoop with a powerful drive and made a layup just as the buzzer sounded. Historians believe this was the first and only shot Nat Burton ever made with his left hand.

#2 – Georgetown vs. Vanderbilt
2007 NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen

Georgetown 66 – Vanderbilt 65
March 23, 2007

The Hoyas were trailing by one in the final seconds. After his heroics all season long, everybody expected Jeff Green to take the last shot for the Hoyas, and the Vanderbilt players rightly had him triple teamed. The easy play would have been for Green to kick it out to an open teammate, but instead he spun, elevated, and kissed a very soft jump hook shot off the glass to send the Hoyas into the Elite Eight. Some analysts will say that Green traveled, but if he did slide his pivot foot, there was clearly contact from the leg of the defender. Not a travel, just a super player making a super play.

#1 – Georgetown vs. Kentucky
1984 Final Four

Georgetown 53 – Kentucky 40
March 31, 1984

The greatest Georgetown vs. SEC match-up might also be the most important game in Hoya Hoops history. The Hoyas of Patrick Ewing and Michael Graham were unbelievably undersized against the Twin Towers of Kentucky. The powerful Wildcats were causing problems for the Hoyas in the first half; Ewing had three fouls, and Georgetown trailed by seven at the half.

The second half of the game was the greatest defensive performance in the history of the Final Four. Georgetown held Kentucky scoreless for the first eight minutes of the half, and allowed only two points in the first 16 minutes. Meanwhile the Hoyas went on a 23-3 run to pull away. Kentucky shot 3 of 33 (9%) from the field in the second half, and the starters, including three future NBA players went 0 for 21. Even though the Hoyas still had to get past Houston in the final, Coach Thompson has gone on record saying that he felt as though that win was the victory that earned Georgetown the National Championship in 1984.