Did anyone think the sun would ever shine again in and around the Beltway? George Washington, Georgetown, Howard, Virginia-- TIM-BERR! And that's not even including the weekend woes of American, George Mason, Maryland and Virginia Tech. There was no joy anywhere near the nation's capital...until the Terps and Hokies made Conference Tournament Week passable.
Maryland (19-13) snapped a three game losing streak by beating North Carolina State 75-67... with another double-double from Jordan Williams (16 points and 13 rebounds) and solid perimeter defense (Wolfpack shot 2 of 14 from three point range). The Terps quarterfinal opponent will pose a much bigger problem from outside-- as Duke made a combined 16 off 44 three's during their regular season sweep. Freshman Terrell Stoglin scored 5 points in the home and home with the Blue Devils-- and after notching 7 straight double digit efforts has been held to 9 points in consecutive contests (shooting 7 of 18).
Cruising the Commonwealth-- classic good news, bad news in the Dominion. Virginia Tech (20-10) is back on the threshold of the field of 68 thanks to a 59-43 smackdown of Georgia Tech-- a win over Florida State in the quarterfinals should all but punch their ticket. Virginia (16-15) was 35 seconds away from facing North Carolina before coughing up a 10 point lead in the final minute of regulation...the end result a 69-62 loss in overtime to Miami. Especially after the way the Cavaliers played in the final weeks of the regular season, not the preferred ACC Tournament memory to build upon.
Georgetown (21-10) saw its rudderless descent continue with a 79-62 loss to UConn... which in retrospect doesn't look too bad after the Huskies bounced regular season champ Pitt. And although they need their senior point guard back in the worst way-- their collapse isn't nearly as bad as Villanova: the Wildcats (once 16-1) have dropped five straight (one to South Florida... South Florida?!)...7 of 9 and 10 of 15. Nova's body of work gets them in the tournament, I guess... but if there's a case for dropping one of the presumed eleven Big East schools-- Jay Wright's team tops the list.
Alma Mater Update-- happy to say... Syracuse (26-6) took the extended NY invitational (its "quadrant" in the tourney had Rutgers, Seton Hall and St. Johns)-- pushing past the Red Storm 79-73 thanks to a 16-7 finishing kick. Brandon Triche had the game many felt he needed to have for this team to succeed in the halfcourt... and Fab Melo may be actually starting to live up to the outsized expectations that only come with the names "Fab" and "Melo". SU plays UConn in the semifinals-- and many are hyping this as "the first Big East Tournament meeting between these two schools since their six overtime affair"... as if it was Georgetown-Villanova in the NCAA Tournament. It's only been two years!
George Washington (17-14) was upset in the first round of the Atlantic Ten tournament... slipping in overtime to St. Joseph's 71-59. They were lucky to get to the extra session-- trailing by 14 in the second half. Tony Taylor tallied 22 points... but that wasn't enough for one of the area's more lacking offensive teams (276th in scoring, 284th in shooting). Now it's on to the NIT or CBI or whatever the Zeppo of second tier tournaments is called.
Howard (6-24) wrapped up the season with a 68-53 loss in the first round of the MEAC Tournament to Norfolk State... actually leading 39-32 before missing 14 straight shots. If you thought GW had offensive issues-- wait until you hear about the toothless Bison. 341st in scoring, 342nd in shooting and 343rd in assists.
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