March 18, 2013
Ceci Ferrara
Sports Writer
Sports Insider
Despite falling to Syracuse in the Big East tournament semifinals, the Georgetown Hoyas (25-6) are headed to the dance as a number two seed.
While the tournament loss was a disappointment—especially since it was their last year in the Big East—it did not hurt their ranking very much. The high-seeded Hoyas will face number fifteen Florida Gulf Coast on Friday in the second round of the NCAA south regional tournament.
If they advance past the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles, they will face the winner of the number seven (San Diego State) and number ten (Oklahoma) match-up on Sunday.
The Hoyas are led by Coach John Thompson III (son of legendary Georgetown coach John Thompson Jr.), who has headed the team since 2004 and has no plans on exiting early. “We plan on being around a while,” Thompson told reporters after the bracket was announced on Sunday.
Georgetown’s secret weapon is Otto Porter Jr., the 6’8” sophomore who was named Big East player of the year. Porter averaged 16.3 points per game during the regular season, but is quick to deflect attention away from himself, reiterating that winning is a team effort.
“It’s more of being aware of what you’re doing, just being the leader on the team, stepping up and bringing the guys with you to step up,” Porter told reporters after Georgetown’s first Big East tournament game last Thursday.
Georgetown has a good chance at advancing far in this year’s tournament. During the regular season the team went on an eleven-game winning streak, including wins over top teams such as Louisville and Marquette, and ended the regular season ranked number five in the country. If they make it to the sweet sixteen, it will be the first time the team has done so since 2007, when they advanced all the way to the final four.
The Hoyas were the only local team to make it to the tournament; the next-closest school is Richmond-based VCU, a tournament fixture in recent years. Maryland was a long shot, and could have possibly been on the bubble with an ACC tournament win. But while they beat rival Duke on Friday, they fell three points short to UNC Saturday afternoon.
Like Georgetown, it was Maryland’s last appearance in their conference; effective next year, they will be a Big Ten team.
Capitals
As the hockey season starts to enter its final stretch, the Capitals (12-15-1) are still having trouble stringing wins together, going 2-3 in their last five games.
After a 1-4 loss in Boston on Saturday, the Caps hosted the Buffalo Sabres, with the hopes of ending the weekend on a high note.
Alex Ovechkin lended a hand to that end, scoring the first goal just nineteen seconds in. Troy Brouwer, Marcus Johnansson, and Matthieu Perrault all added a goal and an assist in the Caps’ 5-3 victory over the Sabres.
Jason Chimera also had a good night, scoring his first regular season goal since last April.
Each game is increasingly important to the Caps, as they try for an improbable playoff berth. They are currently ranked fourth in the southeast division, and near the bottom of the Eastern conference.
The Caps will next face the Penguins on Tuesday night, kicking off their four-game road trip.
