Watch: Sights & Sounds of Senior Day

Saturday's game against Seton Hall was important for several reasons. Big East Tournament seeding was at stake. The resiliency of this team without D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera was unknown. A victory would give the Hoyas a 20-win regular season, a symbolic barometer of their performance. However, the most significant part of the affair was that it was the final time our seniors would take the court at the Verizon Center.

Prior to the tip-off, all five graduating players were joined by their families and honored at halfcourt. It was an emotional moment for players and fans alike. Tyler Adams, Aaron Bowen, Joshua Smith, Mikael Hopkins and Jabril Trawick have worked hard and represented the school with integrity. The leadership they provide both on the court and off ensures that the underclassmen will be well-prepared to take on that mantle in the years to come.

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For the first time in three seasons, the in-game lineup included all currently enrolled players from the Class of 2015. After being sidelined by a heart condition early in his promising freshman campaign, Tyler Adams remained a part of the team.

The NCAA granted a waiver request filed by John Thompson III that would allow the senior center to appear briefly in the Senior Day matchup against Seton Hall. Only the day before the game, Coach gathered all of his players together to tell them the good news - Adams would be in the starting lineup on Saturday.

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The entire team took the floor for the shootaround and Adams joined them, just like he would in practice on any given day. This is nothing but four minutes of layups and jumpers, but the requests for full pre-game documentation were quite explicit.

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Isaac Copeland took the opening tipoff and swatted it back to Tyler Adams. The center passed it off to the guards who took it up the floor before the ball made its way back to Adams near the edge of the paint. The crowd was on their feet as Seton Hall's defense made space for Tyler to put away an uncontested dunk and find his way into the official box score.

Kevin Willard's apparent decision to let Adams have this moment at center stage was both classy and considerate. In the broadcast version (video), you can see that even the opposing players offered a round of applause as he left the court.

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The seniors have earned a lot of things. This weekend, a win. This season, our respect. This May, their Georgetown degrees. There's a lot to be proud of.

But let's not close the book on their careers yet. March has just begun.