Hoya Sadness: Welcome to The Cynical Bracket ROUND OF 64

Hey sports fans-

In keeping with this site’s trademarked (and “kid tested, mother approved”) balance between cynicism and delusion, we are bringing you the ultimate adventure in pain and glory. Want to relive the doom and gloom of our 2008 second round loss to Davidson, which was re-aired on CBS Sports Network last night (THANKS CBS)? We’ve got you covered. Feel like being inspired by Otto’s majestic 33-point performance at the Carrier Dome in 2013? No problem, it’s all here.

For the next couple of months, we’ll slowly reveal two monster 64-team brackets: one for Hoya Madness (The Delusional Bracket) and one for Hoya Sadness (The Cynical Bracket). Importantly, the date range for these high highs and low lows will only span the last 16 years of this program’s history (the entire JTIII and Ewing eras).

So, if you’re desperately craving content in these covid-filled days, you’re about to be smacked over the head with a rolling pin filled with content. If you’re a single guy or gal who is bored out of your mind, done with Netflix, and you don’t feel like using this apocalyptic time for “personal development”, we’ve got some content for you. And if you’re spending every waking minute of the day trying to balance homeschooling your kids with doing your day jobs, we’ve got some content for you (you know, during those five minutes each day when you’re crying in the bathroom).

Here’s how this works. Each day or two, we will reveal a new matchup (or two) and a new poll. Each matchup will include a quick synopsis of the game. We encourage you to reminisce, comment like crazy, express all the feels in the world, and then VOTE. Voting on each and every one of these matchups will be good practice for voting in November. We will alternate matchups between Hoya Madness and Hoya Sadness, so you will receive the appropriate balance of elation and depression. Hooray? Yes, hooray.

Global pandemics are terrible. Our hope is that this little cathartic exercise will be slightly less terrible.

We hope you enjoy. But, FFS, if you argue with anyone over the results of these brackets, or the memories that these brackets recall, please keep all violence at a respectable distance of six feet. AND WASH YOUR FREAKING HANDS.

The Delusional Bracket HERE

The “Cynical” Bracket

The Dunk City Region

(1) Florida Gulf Coast 78, Georgetown 68 - March 22, 2013: No explanation necessary. This loss came less than a week after the heartbreaking loss to Syracuse in the BET, making it possibly the worst week in the history of Georgetown basketball since at least 1985.

(16) UNC Asheville 79, Georgetown 73 – December 19, 2015: It’s hard to say that this was a memorable loss because it really wasn’t. It was just, ho hum, our third home loss to an unranked small-conference squad of the season. Following losses to Radford and Monmouth, this one was less unexpected. The Hoyas only hit four of 22 three-point attempts (DSR was 1 for 8), prompting many to ask why a Georgetown team featuring Hayes, Govan, Derrickson and Copeland hadn’t just bullied its way to the basket against a smaller team. Sigh…

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(8) West Virginia 75, Georgetown 58 – January 22, 2009: Days after losing to Duke, Georgetown was absolutely punished by the Mountaineers at the Verizon Center. Da’Sean Butler scored 27 points and West Virginia used its defense, rebounding (16 second chance points on 14 offensive boards) and overall toughness to punch the Hoyas in the mouth and never look back. This was a devastating home loss for the #12 Hoyas, as the ‘Neers came into this game as a middling Big East power.

(9) Xavier 65, Georgetown 63 – March 13, 2015: The favored Hoyas lost in the semifinals of the Big East Tournament in an up and down affair that saw the Hoyas get thoroughly outplayed for the first 33 minutes before mounting a furious comeback in the waning minutes of the game. Georgetown was down 20 points with 7:53 remaining, but a technical foul on Xavier lit a fire under the Hoyas. Isaac Copeland scored 11 points in four minutes, Xavier missed six of seven from the line, and Georgetown, improbably, had a chance to win the game in the final 15 seconds. But it didn’t happen, and the Hoyas failed to advance to the championship game. This was painful for a variety of reasons: having a massive comeback fall just short, enduring the theatrics of Uber-driving Matt Stainbrook (20 points, nine rebounds), and having to take yet another game on the chin from an Xavier team that absolutely punished JTIII’s teams in his final few seasons (this was their third win against us that season).

The Dunk City Region — First Round Matchups

(4) Syracuse 75, Georgetown 71 – February 18, 2010: This game was a tale of two halves at the Verizon Center, as #5 Syracuse raced out to a 23-point lead and then the #10 Hoyas stormed all the way back to cut the deficit to a single point. Georgetown somehow outscored Syracuse by 21 points over a nine-minute period late in the second half, capping it off with a monstrous dunk by Austin Freeman to ignite the crowd. The comeback came up short, though, as Kris Joseph, who had been ineffective all night, hit a big shot with eight seconds to go. Andy Rautins led all scorers with 26 points.

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(13) Villanova 70, Georgetown 69 – March 7, 2020: Jagan’s Senior Day. Georgetown improbably battled back from a 17-point deficit to take a four-point lead with less than a minute to go. With a two-point lead and less than ten seconds to go, the Hoyas then lost in brutal fashion after Jermaine Samuels converted an old-fashioned three-point play (following a questionable foul on Pickett and an even more questionable goaltending call against Wahab). The Hoyas failed to squeeze out a deserving win on Jagan Mosely’s senior day. The only saving grace: aside from playing for pride and for Jagan and the rest of the seniors, this game was basically meaningless.

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(5) Cincinnati 58, Georgetown 46 – February 23, 2011: Chris Wright breaks his hand. After surging through the Big East in late January and February, #11 Georgetown stumbled in a big way at home when it got bullied by a very physical yet unranked Cincy squad. This was the beginning of the end for the Hoyas, as Chris Wright fractured his hand and the Hoyas went on to lose their next four games.

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(12) Oklahoma State 97, Georgetown 70 – November 23, 2016: The day after getting pushed around by Wisconsin, Georgetown was thoroughly routed by the Cowboys in Maui. This game was never close. Georgetown committed 28 turnovers, was outscored by the Pokes’ bench 59-16, and looked listless and completely outmatched.

The Dunk City Region — First Round Matchups

(2) Pittsburgh 74, Georgetown 65 - March 15, 2008: The Hoyas fell short in the Big East championship game, as Pittsburgh avenged its loss from the previous year to send the Hoyas packing. Ronald Ramon and Sam Young led the way for the Panthers, as Hibbert’s 17 points weren’t good enough.

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(15) Marquette 84, Georgetown 80 – January 18, 2020: The Markus Howard game. It was early in the conference schedule, but this was a big home game for the short-handed Hoyas. We were neck-and-neck for much of this game, and even after Marquette built a seven-point lead with over three minutes to go, we battled back to tie it with about a minute left. But alas, Markus Howard hit another three, then Mac McClung missed a game-tying free throw with ten seconds to go, and this one was over. Howard scored 42 points. After the game, legions of Hoyas fans started questioning our use of the double hard hedge on defense.

(7) Duke 76, Georgetown 67 – January 17, 2009: The phantom technical foul at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Georgetown kept it close at Cameron Indoor Stadium until the refs assessed Greg Monroe with a mysterious technical foul midway through the second half. Chris Wright and Jessie Sapp were held to a combined three points, which prompted rumors of a postgame locker room scuffle after the game.

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(10) Syracuse 86, Georgetown 79 – December 16, 2017: This was Ewing’s first game as head coach against Syracuse and it did not end well. Syracuse notched its first victory against Georgetown since the breakup of the old Big East, as the Hoyas squandered a 13-point lead in the second half and fell to the Orange in overtime. Tyus Battle and Oshae Brissett combined for 54 points. The turning point came with 5:23 remaining and Georgetown up by 7 points. Marcus Derrickson (who shouldn’t even have been in the game) was called for a charge and fouled out. The Hoyas never recovered.

The Dunk City Region — First Round Matchups

(3) Florida 57, Georgetown 53 - March 24, 2006: In what would prove to be the closest Tourney game Florida played en route to winning the title, Georgetown damn near pulled off the upset until Darrel Owens’s potential game-winning three clanked off the rim with seven seconds to play in this NCAA regional semifinal matchup. The Hoyas were up by a point with 38 seconds to go before Corey Brewer hit a crazy, off-balance shot for which he was rewarded with a free throw (we were all left to loathe everything about this play: the sequence leading up to the shot, the shot itself and the foul on Bowman). Joakim Noah had 15 points to lead Florida. This would be the last game for seniors Bowman, Owens and Ashanti Cook.

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(14) Harvard 71, Georgetown 68 – March 20, 2019: A first round NIT loss at McDonough demonstrated just how far the Hoyas had sunk as a program. Jessie Govan’s 25 points weren’t enough to secure his first-ever postseason win, as some dude named Bryce Aiken scored 18 points in 17 minutes. The Hoyas went 5 for 21 from three and were somehow outrebounded by Harvard, 39-30.

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(6) South Florida 61, Georgetown 58 - January 19, 2013: This game led to a lot of soul-searching for Hoyas fans. Having lost two in a row to Big East foes, the Hoyas were desperate for a win in the Sun Dome. They were well on their way, as they led by eight points at the half and seemed to smother the Bulls with an effective 2-3 zone. But it wasn’t meant to be, as USF overcame an 11-point deficit and the lack of a field goal in the final six minutes of regulation to notch its first Big East win of the season. Otto Porter scored 21 points, but he fumbled the ball in the last few seconds and was unable to hit a game-winning shot. Anthony Collins scored all 14 of his points in the second half. This game, devastating as it was, proved to be the kick in the pants Georgetown needed before beginning its legendary run through the conference en route to the regular season title. We weren’t smiling on that day, though.

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(11) Notre Dame 78, Georgetown 64 – February 27, 2010: Reeling from injuries, Notre Dame used its brand new “slow burn” offense to absolutely stun the Hoyas at the Verizon Center behind Ben Hansbrough (21 points), Tim Abromaitis (17 points) and Carleton Scott (17 points). The Irish basically did it all with a six-man rotation, as Luke Harangody was out with an injury. For the Hoyas, Greg Monroe scored 15 points, while Hollis Thompson and Jason Clark each contributed twelve; unfortunately, Austin Freeman was limited to five points in 23 minutes because of a stomach flu (which we later discovered was diabetes). Still, it was a surprising and heartbreaking loss.

The Steph Curry Region — First Round Matchups

(1) Davidson 74, Georgetown 70 - March 23, 2008: This #10 seeded Davidson squad overcame a 17-point second half deficit to edge the #2 Hoyas in Raleigh. Curry scored 25 points in the second half, Roy Hibbert was in constant foul trouble and the Hoyas just didn’t have an answer. This was another potential Final Four team and it was also the final game played by star seniors Hibbert, Wallace and Ewing Jr. Those of you who attended this game (in North Carolina!) will remember it as basically a home game for a team seeded tenth. Those of you who watched this one at home will remember that our lead was so big that CBS switched games in the second half. Yeah.

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(16) DePaul 74, Georgetown 68 – February 22, 2020: This marked the second straight season in which Georgetown’s fledgling NCAA Tourney hopes ended at DePaul. Yurtseven returned briefly from injury, but reinjured his ankle. The Hoyas looked listless against a DePaul team that really wasn’t good at all.

(8) Xavier 80, Georgetown 67 – January 15, 2014: The Hoyas squandered a 17-point second half lead in the final 15 minutes of the game at the Cintas Center and lost convincingly to Xavier by 13 points. Markel Starks’ 19 points weren’t good enough, as Semaj Christon and the Musketeers kept attacking the Hoyas’ zone and hitting threes in the second frame. It may have been the largest deficit overcome by a Georgetown opponent since Davidson did the same thing in 2008.

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(9) Butler 91, Georgetown 89 – December 27, 2017: This was Ewing’s first game coaching against a Big East team and it was a memorable disaster. Georgetown improbably squandered a 20-point lead (including an 18-point lead at halftime), fought off multiple furious rallies, and then ultimately fell in double overtime. Some of the low points: Kamar Baldwin had 31 points; Kelan Martin scored 27 points, including a game winning floater with three seconds to go; Sean McDermott tied the game at the end of regulation on a tip-in at the buzzer. A brutal way to start conference play.

The Steph Curry Region — First Round Matchups

(4) Connecticut 66, Georgetown 62 – March 10, 2005: A heartbreaker at the Garden. In JTIII’s first season on the Hilltop, Georgetown got off to a promising start before dropping its last five conference games to end the season very much on the bubble. After dropping Seton Hall, the Hoyas were set to face a UConn squad that they had not defeated in eight years, and they had a chance to avenge a recent 19-point loss to the Huskies in Storrs. The game started with an impressive Brandon Bowman reverse jam and ended with the Hoyas maintaining possession, down only two points with ten seconds to go. After dribbling around, Ashanti Cook settled for a long two-pointer, never seeing a wide-open Jeff Green at the top of the key. A win could’ve propelled the Hoyas into the Tourney.

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(13) Marquette 90, Georgetown 86 – February 26, 2018: The Andrew Rowsey game. Behind Rowsey’s 28 points (including Marquette’s final nine points in overtime), Georgetown failed to hold on against hot-shooting Marquette. The story of the game? Marquette connected on 18 threes (perimeter defense, anyone?). This game was back and forth the whole way, with Jonathan Mulmore tying it with a layup in traffic at the end of regulation, only to have Rowsey’s heroics and free throws end the Hoyas’ valiant effort.

(5) South Florida 72, Georgetown 64 - February 4, 2010: The Dominique Jones “Y’all come watch Dominique Jones play!” game. After crushing Duke a mere four days earlier, the Hoyas squandered a 13-point lead at home, while allowing Dominique Jones to score 22 of his game-high 29 points in the second half to stymie the #7 Hoyas. After hitting an array of shots from all over the court, Jones was seen nodding, smiling and yelling “yes sir” to a stunned Georgetown crowd.

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(12) Marquette 49, Georgetown 48 – January 5, 2013: On the road against Marquette, the Hoyas came out listless. Marquette extended its lead midway through the second half and Georgetown found itself down three with the ball and under ten seconds to go. Greg Whittington attempted a three, was promptly fouled (a la the Jonathan Wallace play from 2008), but he couldn’t hit all three foul shots and the Hoyas dropped an important early season game to Marquette that would later prevent the Hoyas from winning the conference outright.

The Steph Curry Region — First Round Matchups

(2) NC State 66, Georgetown 63 - March 18, 2012: The #11 seeded Wolf Pack stunned the #3 Hoyas in a nail biter. Hollis Thompson put up 23 points, but it wasn’t enough, as a foul-plagued Henry Sims had only four points in 21 minutes. This was the last hurrah for Sims, Thompson and Jason Clark, who was visibly upset in the post-game press conference. Loved this team.

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(15) Loyola Marymount 65, Georgetown 52 – November 16, 2018: Montego Bay meltdown. In Patrick Ewing’s homecoming in Jamaica, Georgetown completely fell apart in the first round of the Jamaica Classic, as some guy named James Batemon scored 27 points. How did we allow this team to score 44 points in the second half? We didn’t play defense and they hit 22 of 25 from the line. Just a brutal early season showing that was a harbinger of things to come.

(7) Syracuse 78, Georgetown 73 – January 18, 2005: Brandon Bowman’s big toe. After pulling off upsets at Pittsburgh and Villanova, the Hoyas were looking to thwart #7 Syracuse on the road, but came up just short as Bowman’s game-tying shot with 2.3 seconds left in regulation was initially thought to be a three but then determined to be a two. In overtime, the Orange escaped with a narrow five-point win and remained undefeated in conference play. After the game, Bowman said he wished his shoes were a size 14.

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(10) Butler 90, Georgetown 87 – February 27, 2016: This one stung. It was DSR’s final home game (he scored 26 points). Georgetown, trailing by nine at the half, used a big run in the second half to tie the game. Butler responded with a 16-0 run of its own to put the Bulldogs up 14 with seven minutes to go. But the Hoyas weren’t finished. They battled back to cut the deficit to three with just a few seconds to go, and miraculously, Isaac Copeland got fouled while shooting a three (he made all three to send the game to overtime). And then, we lost. Kellen Dunham scored 29 points.

The Steph Curry Region — First Round Matchups

(3) Syracuse 58, Georgetown 57 - March 10, 2006: In the semifinals of the BET, Gerry McNamara willed the Orange to another stirring victory en route to winning the conference championship the following night. After squandering a 15-point halftime lead, Georgetown failed to hang on in the waning seconds. McNamara hit a three with 48 seconds to cut the deficit to one point; after a Demetris Nichols steal, Eric Devendorf then hit the game-winning layup to give the Orange the victory by a single point. Hate Gerry Mac.

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(14) Old Dominion 74, Georgetown 66 – December 19, 2009: This was the second time ODU came into McDonough and stunned the Hoyas. This time, Ben Finney and the Monarchs raced out to an 11 point halftime lead, extended the lead to 18 in the second half, and then tried to weather the storm (literally, as the game took place during a snowstorm), as the Hoyas’ furious rally came up just short in the final minutes.

(6) Pittsburgh 73, Georgetown 45 – January 8, 2013: This was our last game against Pitt as members of the Big East conference. It was also Greg Whittington’s final game as a Hoya before his suspension. We were absolutely embarrassed and tattooed at home. The game was never close.

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(11) DePaul 101, Georgetown 69 – March 6, 2019: Any lingering hopes of an NCAA Tourney berth were destroyed in this colossal blowout loss in Chicago. Max Strus scored 30. Georgetown trailed by 23 at the half. DePaul hit 14 of 28 threes. That weird walk-on dude on DePaul kept dancing and doing theatrics.

The Armon Bassett Region — First Round Matchups

(1) Ohio 97, Georgetown 83 - March 18, 2010: The #3 seeded Hoyas were pummeled by the #14 seeded Bobcats in a game that was never close. Armon Freaking Bassett put up 32 points as he hit almost every shot he took. Chris Wright led the Hoyas with 28 points, and Monroe had a solid 19 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists. But there was no defense. None. And this was a Georgetown team that was peaking toward the end of the season and had a real chance to go to the Final Four.

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(16) Providence 73, Georgetown 63 – February 19, 2020: Following a heroic win at Hinkle, a home victory against a middling Providence squad would’ve given Georgetown momentum in the back half of conference play and a realistic chance to go to the Tourney; instead, Yurtseven surprisingly did not return from an ankle injury, McClung reinjured his foot after a circus pass in traffic, and Georgetown looked exhausted in the second half. Can’t fault the team’s effort (they were exhausted), but this was a tough one to lose.

(8) Syracuse 64, Georgetown 61 - February 8, 2012: In what turned out to be an overtime thriller, the #12 Hoyas narrowly missed upsetting the #2 Orange at the Carrier Dome. Kris Joseph had 29 points, including six threes, to lead Syracuse, while Otto Porter led Georgetown with 14 points and 13 rebounds. There were a few mysterious whistles in this game, including a ball that was ruled out of bounds on Otto with two minutes to go in overtime. This could have been a season-defining win. We tend to forget about this one because there have been so many close games against the Orange, but it was painful at the time.

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(9) Maryland 75, Georgetown 71 – November 17, 2015: This loss at Maryland, Georgetown’s first loss against the Terps since the 2001 NCAA Tourney, left a bitter taste in our mouths because we outplayed Maryland for most of this game and fell just short of beating a really strong team (ranked #3 in the country) on the road. The Hoyas, behind a really balanced performance from their starting five, were up seven points with 5:41 to play before the wheels finally came off the wagon. This loss, though painful, gave us a glimmer of hope. Bradley Hayes had 16 points and eight boards, Copeland produced 13 points, six rebounds and five assists, and freshman Marcus Derrickson hit three massive threes in the first strong performance of his career. We just couldn’t stop Melo Trimble.

The Armon Bassett Region — First Round Matchups

(4) Cincinnati 72, Georgetown 70 - March 8, 2012: The Bearcats stunned #11 Georgetown in a double overtime thriller in the quarterfinals of the BET. Although the slugfest between Yancy Gates (23 points, eight rebounds) and Henry Sims (22 points, 15 rebounds) was fun to watch, the outcome left Hoyas fans wanting more. The teams combined to shoot 4 for 31 from beyond the arc. After Cincy erased an 11-point deficit in the last eight minutes of regulation, the Hoyas could never regain control and faltered at the end, despite some heroics from Henry, including a game-tying bucket at the end of the first overtime. The silver lining is that Cincy would go on to upend Syracuse the very next day.

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(13) DePaul 74, Georgetown 73 – January 24, 2018: For the second season in a row, Georgetown dropped a heartbreaker at home to DePaul. New head coach, same result. Eli Cain hit a go-ahead jumper with seven seconds to go to give the Blue Demons the victory in what was a tense back-and-forth affair. Not surprisingly, Cain hit the big shot following an offensive rebound. Georgetown was caught flat-footed and Jagan’s last second jumper was off the mark. Cain finished the game with 27 points and Max Strus had 18.

(5) Northeastern 63, Georgetown 56 – November 21, 2013: This first round loss in Puerto Rico was a sign of the doom and gloom to come for the Hoyas. Georgetown squandered an 11-point halftime lead and was absolutely steamrolled by Reggie Spencer and a Northeastern team that, we would later learn, wasn’t even that good. Unfortunately for the Hoyas, neither were they.

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(12) St. John’s 75, Georgetown 62 – March 11, 2020: The COVID-19 game. Georgetown somehow squandered a ten-point lead with six minutes to go after thoroughly dominating most of the game. St. John’s ended the game on a 19-0 run. After the rest of the BET was cancelled, Georgetown became the only Big East team to be officially eliminated from postseason play. In a fitting end to a tumultuous season, the Hoyas’ final field goal of the game was a tough driving layup by Terrell Allen, after which he suffered a cramp and had to be escorted off the court.

The Armon Bassett Region — First Round Matchups

(2) Virginia Commonwealth 74, Georgetown 56 - March 18, 2011: #11 VCU pasted the #6 Hoyas in a game that was never close. Brandon Rozzell came out of nowhere to hit six threes for the Rams, and Hollis Thompson’s 26 points came too late. Lubick, Sims, Benimon and Vaughn combined for only 2 points in 51 combined minutes. This was Chris Wright’s first game back after fracturing his wrist two weeks earlier.

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(15) Duke 81, Georgetown 73 – November 22, 2019: Phantom foul at the Garden. In what might’ve been Ewing’s coming-out party, Georgetown squandered an 11-point first half lead and was outplayed at the start of the second half. Thanks to some questionable officiating, McClung and Yurtseven were in early foul trouble. A heroic Georgetown comeback in the second half was thwarted by a couple of questionable whistles; Ewing picked up a technical and the game was basically over.

(7) Syracuse 98, Georgetown 94 – February 14, 2009: During a rollercoaster season in which Georgetown had enough talent to beat two eventual Final Four teams but never any kind of consistency, the Hoyas had a chance to save their season at the Carrier Dome, but couldn’t do enough to snag the win. Trailing by 10 with 2:30 left in regulation, the Hoyas went on a massive run to tie the game and send it into overtime. They even had a chance to win it at the end of regulation, but DaJuan Summers missed an open three near the top of the key and the Hoyas couldn’t hold on in overtime. This was a frustrating, then exciting, then heartbreaking loss.

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(10) Monmouth 83, Georgetown 68 – December 15, 2015: Let’s not forget that this was a really good Monmouth team. They beat UCLA, USC and Notre Dame, among others, that season. But the way the Hoyas lost this game was indefensible. Down 12 at the half, Georgetown never made this into a ballgame. The highlight: Monmouth connected on 31 of 37 free throws. This is the game in which people started paying attention to Georgetown’s foul rate: we couldn’t play defense without fouling, and that would come to be the biggest problem for JTIII for the rest of his tenure.

The Armon Bassett Region — First Round Matchups

(3) Ohio State 67, Georgetown 60 - March 31, 2007: In a foul-plagued slugfest, Ohio State more or less controlled this game from the start, despite Greg Oden’s constant foul issues. Hibbert and Jonathan Wallace scored 19 apiece, but Hibbert was in foul trouble of his own, and Jeff Green only contributed nine points on a total of five shots. The Hoyas had zero bench points and couldn’t match the speed of Mike Conley (15 points, six assists, five rebounds) and Jamar Butler (ten points).

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(14) St. John’s 97, Georgetown 94 – January 5, 2019: Georgetown blew a five-point lead at home with under a minute to play in regulation before losing in overtime. Shamorie Ponds scored 37 points. This was STJ’s first win at Georgetown since 2003.

(6) Old Dominion 75, Georgetown 62 - November 19, 2006: This loss came out of nowhere, as the Monarchs ran away from the #8 Hoyas on a cold night at McDonough. ODU overcame an eight-point deficit, pulled down 15 offensive rebounds and didn’t have a turnover in the final 15 minutes of the game. Valdas Vasylius led the way for ODU with 16 points, while Roy Hibbert led the Hoyas with 17 points and eight rebounds. Interestingly, Marc Egerson chipped in 11 points and ten boards, while Jeff Green had only two points and five fouls.

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(11) Arkansas State 78, Georgetown 72 – November 17, 2016: Just one year after losing to the likes of Radford, Monmouth and UNC Asheville, this loss to Arkansas State, in a game that wasn’t even that close, marked the beginning of the end for JTIII. People expected the Hoyas to be fired up and ready to avenge the loss to Maryland. Instead, we lost, and barely put up much of a fight at home.

The C.J. Fair Region — First Round Matchups

(1) Syracuse 58, Georgetown 55 - March 15, 2013: Syracuse needed a third game against the Hoyas to finally eke out a victory, with this one coming in an overtime thriller in the BET semifinals. This was one of the saddest nights at the Garden for Georgetown fans and it marked the last time the Hoyas and the Orange played each other in the Big East Tourney. C.J. Fair’s dunk over Otto was not enjoyable. And that fifth foul on Markel Starks was a travesty.

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(16) Providence 68, Georgetown 65 – March 5, 2005: Capping off a horrific end to the regular season, the Hoyas dropped their fifth in a row, this time at home to a lowly Providence team. This loss basically burst Georgetown’s bubble and ended any realistic chance it had of making the NCAA Tourney.

(8) Rutgers 71, Georgetown 68 – February 14, 2010: Nightmare at the RAC. This was just a bad, bad mid-February loss at the RAC for a #7 Georgetown team that had finally looked like it was putting the pieces together. Greg Monroe’s big day wasn’t enough to overcome Jonathan Mitchell’s career-high 24 points. It was just a bad loss.

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(9) Xavier 66, Georgetown 53 – January 27, 2015: Burn the pink uniforms. Xavier completed a regular season sweep of the Hoyas by dominating this one from start to finish in our nation’s capital. The Hoyas were held without a field goal for a whopping 11 consecutive minutes in the first half, as the Musketeers used tough defense to stymie the Hoyas and hold them to 16 freaking points at halftime. This Georgetown team had just moved into the Top 25 and was finally putting it together before this debacle. Jabril had six turnovers and Georgetown only connected on 13 of 24 free throw attempts. With the loss, we dropped out of first place in the Big East. To be fair, we came into this game battered, as Jabril was nursing a thigh injury and Peak missed the first five minutes with an ankle injury. Copeland made his first career start. (And if you’re wondering if that 16-point halftime total is better or worse than our halftime total in the game against Tennessee, the answer is that the point total was exactly the same. And the only reason that Tennessee clunker isn’t on this list? We somehow won.)

The C.J. Fair Region — First Round Matchups

(4) DePaul 67, Georgetown 65 – February 22, 2017: In a frustrating season, this was the straw that broke the camel’s back and led people to push for JTIII’s ouster. Through thick and thin, the good times and the bad, the one thing Georgetown had seemingly never done was lose a home game to lowly DePaul. Until this one. Losing to the Blue Demons would’ve been one thing, but the way we lost was so surreal that it was offensive. We squandered a 14 point lead (which JTIII’s teams virtually never did); we allowed DePaul to tie the game after a steal led to a fast break with under a minute to go; Jessie Govan airballed a three point attempt on our final offensive possession; and we fouled Billy Garrett with 0.2 seconds remaining to gift-wrap the game. And by the way, DePaul had lost ten games in a row before this one.

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(13) UNC Greensboro 65, Georgetown 61 – November 30, 2019: The quiet before the storm. This is the game that immediately preceded The Great Exodus of 2019 and marked an unfortunate turning point in what should have been a promising season. Georgetown was playing reasonably well until midway through the second frame when Greensboro took a lead with six minutes to go and then never trailed. The Hoyas kept battling back, but Yurtseven missed a go-ahead dunk in the final minute; and then, with Georgetown trailing by 2, Greensboro missed a free throw but corralled the offensive board with 27 seconds left to ice the game. James Akinjo’s hero ball didn’t exactly help. He was 4 for 15 from the field. After this home loss, Akinjo and LeBlanc transferred and the season sort of cratered (eventually).

(5) Utah 75, Georgetown 64 – March 21, 2015: Sadness in Portlandia. The #5 seeded Runnin’ Utes handed Georgetown a tough loss and prevented the Hoyas from advancing to the Sweet 16 for (what would have been) their first trip since 2007. After the Hoyas’ surprisingly hot start, Utah chipped away at Georgetown’s 11-point lead; the second half was a back and forth contest until DSR was whistled for a suspect traveling violation in the last two minutes. Peak’s 18 points weren’t enough, as DSR missed all seven of his three-point attempts and Utah shot a ridiculous 32 free throws. After the game, Jabril Trawick had this to say: “I’m disappointed, but I still have my head high. Surprisingly, I didn’t cry or anything. I had a great time. It’s been a great experience. The group they have coming back is going to be a special team.”

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(12) Syracuse 72, Georgetown 71 – December 8, 2018: The Tyus Battle game. Battle scored 21 of his 26 points in the second half, including a game-winning jumper with 2.5 seconds to go to give the Orange an improbable victory. Georgetown blew a 15-point lead in this one and Syracuse scored a whopping 50 points in the second half. We had several chances to ice this game. First, Govan hit a go-ahead three with about a minute to go. The Hoyas then had the ball with a one-point lead and the shot clock winding down. But there was no play. Jagan was whistled for a charge as he rammed into Dolezaj with ten seconds to go, setting up the wild finish and Battle’s off-balance game-winning jumper. It was painful.

The C.J. Fair Region — First Round Matchups

(2) West Virginia 60, Georgetown 58 - March 13, 2010: This one still hurts. Having avenged losses to South Florida, Syracuse and Marquette, the Hoyas stormed into the BET championship game and almost completed the Revenge Tour against the Mountaineers, but they fell just short, as Da’Sean Butler hit a ridiculous jumper with only a few seconds to play. Two weeks after Austin was diagnosed with diabetes and Georgetown got pasted by West Virginia in Morgantown, the Hoyas put up a valiant effort and clawed back from an 8-point deficit with seven minutes to go, but alas, it wasn’t enough.

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(15) Butler 69, Georgetown 64 – January 28, 2020: The Sean McDermott game. Following an impressive opening frame, Georgetown squandered an 11-point halftime lead (scoring exactly one field goal in the first eight minutes of the second half). Still, improbably, the Hoyas battled back from a late six-point deficit to tie the game, only to leave McDermott wide open for his seventh(!) three of the game with 49 seconds to go.

(7) Wisconsin 73, Georgetown 57 – November 22, 2016: Just one day after thrashing Oregon, the Hoyas were smashed on national television in one of the poorest rebounding efforts in the history of the program. Wisconsin outrebounded Georgetown 50-21 (yes, that’s accurate), including 20-1 on the offensive glass. With guys like Ethan Happ, Bronson Koenig and Nigel Hayes, this Badgers squad was long and talented, but the Hoyas’ performance reflected a lack of effort, energy and overall toughness that led many fans angry and demoralized.

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(10) Duke 86, Georgetown 84 – November 22, 2015: It was Duke. It was at the Garden. We were up five at the half. And we had a chance to win it at the end. This loss, on its own, would’ve been painful enough, even though the Blue Devils were incredibly talented and ranked fifth in the country; but when combined with our losses to Radford and Maryland, this one left the Hoyas in a 1-3 hole to open the season. Three memorable moments: Kaleb Johnson hit a half-court heave to give the Hoyas a five point lead just before intermission; Grayson Allen, who scored a career-high 32 points, arguably should have been called for his diving/whining/tripping antics in the second half; and Isaac Copeland missed a three at the buzzer that would’ve won it. (People may not remember that the Hoyas mounted a furious last-minute rally behind two Copeland threes to cut the deficit to two with seven seconds to go. When Derryck Thornton missed both free throws, Copeland had a shot to win it, but he was just off. Think about how different that season, and Copeland’s career, might have been if that shot just went in.)

The C.J. Fair Region — First Round Matchups

(3) Maryland 76, Georgetown 75 – November 15, 2016: One week after the U.S. presidential election, this loss was a harbinger of things to come for the Hoyas. After the Hoyas blew a nine-point lead with 2:21 to go, Melo Trimble hit two free throws with seven seconds left to give the Terps a stunning one-point victory. Despite Peak’s 19 second half points and Georgetown outscoring Maryland 37-17 from the line, a series of brutal turnovers in the final two minutes doomed the Hoyas. Tre Campbell stepped out of bounds. Melo Trimble was fouled on a long inbounds pass with seven seconds left. And Jagan’s last-second layup was blocked as time expired. This game was brutal.

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(14) Marquette 88, Georgetown 87 – March 1, 2016: We trailed for most of the game, but Isaac Copeland’s career game (32 points) and DSR’s near triple-double (16 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists) kept the game close at the end. DSR hit a jumper with 8 seconds left to give Georgetown a one-point lead, but his foul on Luke Fischer with 1.2 seconds left allowed Fischer to hit two free throws to win it. DSR’s deep heave from Marquette’s foul line at the buzzer hit the back rim.

(6) Radford 82, Georgetown 80 – November 14, 2015: There was a fair bit of optimism heading into the 2015-16 season, but all of that optimism was crushed in the first very game, against a Radford squad that wasn’t very good. Losing to a woeful Radford team would, on its own, justify inclusion on this list. But people should remember that this game wasn’t just a loss – it was a painful loss. Keep in mind that Rashun Davis won this game on a deep three with 1.5 seconds left in double overtime. But it never should have come to that. Following a massive three by Copeland at the end of regulation, Peak picked up a huge steal and layup to tie the game. He was also fouled on the layup, but he missed the game-winning free throw.

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(11) Villanova 81, Georgetown 55 – March 4, 2017: This is the game that underscored how far Georgetown basketball had fallen: we were officially closer to DePaul than Villanova. We were outplayed, outclassed, and decimated in our own gym. It was never close. This was also the first and only meaningless March game in the JTIII era. It was the first time when, absent a massive run in the BET, we had zero chance of making the NCAA Tourney. This is also when certain Casual posters started losing their minds. They blamed Tyler Crawford for “threatening” fans and demanded free pizza from the coaching staff. What a time.

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