Three-plus weeks before NCAA Tournament bids are handed out, "moving month" continues as area schools range from red-hot to ice-cold with a few lukewarms in betweeen...
Georgetown began the month the unquestioned beast of the Big East but has since cooled off...Monday they bounced back from a tough loss and very rough first half at Syracuse (Hoyas trailed 36-15 before making things respectable in a 77-70 loss) to rally past Providence 68-58... a 17-2 run that gave G'town the lead for good was powered by seniors Jonathan Wallace and Roy Hibbert (the pair scoring 11 straight points for the Hoyas during the spurt); the duo combined for 32 points while fellow senior Patrick Ewing Jr. posted his usual quality game off the bench with 5 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.
Despite whatever offensive problems this team has had recently (six straight games shooting under 50% from the field) the Hoyas control their Big East destiny at 11-3; after a pair of games against second-division schools (Cincinnati and Marquette) John Thompson III's team tangles with ranked opponents Marquette and Louisville.
Maryland meets Virginia Tech Wednesday evening in a classic matchup of hot vs cold; the Terps have won 7 of 9 since losing in Blacksburg by a point January 12th (those two losses coming to ACC leading Duke) while the Hokies have dropped three straight--including a 39 point blowout at North Carolina (but the one that really hurts is the 3 point defeat at home to Miami). This is a key contest for the Terps as three of their final four regular season games are on the road; for the Hokies it's a chance to keep slim NCAA hopes alive.
George Mason suffered a heartbreaking two point loss to North Carolina-Wilmington (their first defeat at the Patriot Center this winter)--and instead of being one win away from tying CAA leading VCU while owning the tiebreaker with the Rams, Jim Larranaga's team drops to third in the league (as they've been swept by the Seahawks). The rest of the regular season won't be any easier-- Delaware, William & Mary and Northeastern all boast winning conference records while Bracket Buster opponent Ohio is an at-large contender (despite a recent slide).
Meanwhile, American is quietly the region's hottest team with five straight wins...the Eagles have had a problem maintaining double-digit halftime leads this winter but Sunday at Colgate AU rallied from nine points down at intermission to beat the Raiders 68-60. Garrison Carr continues to make his case for Patriot League MVP--over the last three weeks the junior guard has averaged 25 points during an Eagles five game winning streak that's moved the team from middle of the pack to the top of the conference standings; a win over Army Wednesday plus a Navy loss to Holy Cross clinches the regular season title for Jeff Jones' team.
George Washington doesn't have to worry about going winless on the road after a nine point victory at St. Bonaventure; the Colonials built a double digit halftime lead behind solid play from Damian Hollis and Maureece Rice--before holding off a late Bonnies rally with four free throws over the last 27 seconds. Now the focus moves to qualifying for the Atlantic Ten Tournament-- GW trails Fordham by a game and a half for the 12th and final spot-- and just one of their final five opponents has a losing record in the A-10 (UMass).
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