Bye Bye Double Bye: Marquette Beats Georgetown 83-69, Hoyas Fall To 5 Seed In Big East

Just one of those games. Nothing went right for Georgetown today as Marquette outpaced and outclassed the Hoyas 83-69 to finish the regular season. The Hoyas finished an impressive run through the Big East with a disappointing loss in Wisconsin. Jae Crowder led Marquette with 26 points, 14 rebounds, and 5 steals while Darius Johnson-Odom added 17 points. Hollis Thompson and Otto Porter each had 19 points, while Jason Clark struggled with 11 points on 4-14 shooting.

The Hoyas have outperformed even the most delusional fans thus far this season, so before getting into the loss today, it'd be silly not to acknowledge how much fun this season has been already. Georgetown came into this season considered barely a bubble team, and will end the regular season as a consensus top 12 team, having spent the majority of the season in the top 15. Watching Henry Sims and Clark turn in memorable senior seasons, coupled with Porter and the freshmen's brillance, has been fantastic to watch.

More rambling after The Jump.

Today was one of those games. Of our 6 Big East losses, this was probably the least frustrating for me. Marquette is an excellent team that came off an embarrassing loss on Wednesday. In addition, Crowder and Johnson-Odom, the best 1-2 punch in the Big East, were being honored on their Senior Day. Clark had an off game, with three pointers and layups rolling out that he normally cooly sinks. I'd be remiss not mentioning the seemingly one-sided nature of the referees today. The zebras sure didn't cause the Hoyas to lose, but definitely did them no favors either. Every time Georgetown clawed within 10 points in the second half, either Crowder or a referee answered.

Today's loss was not for a lack of effort, and anyone who would argue otherwise doesn't understand the nature of basketball. The Hoyas played as hard as they could, closed out on seemingly every shot, challenged on the interior, but just couldn't get the ball to land in the basket. I counted at least 10 different times that a Georgetown shot was three quarters of the way down and then magically popped back up. That's the nature of the game, it happens. There were some definite positives to take away as well. Hollis Thompson has regained his form, scoring 19 points as he confidently knocked down shots from all over the court. A good Hollis is much more important in the next month than a win at Marquette. Otto Porter showed again that he plays his best against the best competition. He has had four of his best games against Kansas, Syracuse, Louisville, and Marquette. Mikael Hopkins and Nate Lubick had their moments as well. I also discovered my newfound least favorite player in college basketball - Jae Crowder - who RIPPED the title from Scoop Jardine's grubby hands. Crowder is absolutely insufferable with his dreadlocks and Christiano Ronaldo-like flopping. I very much look forward to rooting against him for a long time. On the negative side, the Hoyas shot 14-25 from the free throw line, which is not awesome.

Next up for the Hoyas is the Big East Tournament. Some may whine that we are now the 5 seed and our road to the championship is muddied compared to what it would have been had we won. I look at our road and see REVENGE TOUR PART DEUX. Remember the 2010 Big East Tournament? We ran through South Florida, Syracuse, and Marquette on our way to a Big East Tournament final. This year we can do one better. Wednesday we will most likely play Pittsburgh, then Cincinnati on Thursday, Syracuse on Friday, and Marquette on Saturday. REVENGE TOUR PART DEUX folks, it's happening.

The Big East Tournament is next.