Bubble Bursting

The Big East tournament starts tonight at Madison Square Garden and once again, the Georgetown Hoyas find themselves in a must-win situation against Seton Hall. A month ago, it would have been inconceivable that the team would be struggling to earn an NCAA bid--after defeating West Virginia on February 12, the Hoyas were an astounding 16-6 (8-3). Certainly they could grind out at least two wins, say, against St. John's and Providence, thereby reaching the magic numbers of 18 overall wins and 10 in the conference. Not so. The Hoyas crumbled under late-season pressure, losing every single game since. And so now, critics claim, they will have to most likely win the entire Big East tourney to get into the Big Dance. I think they'll probably need to at least beat UConn in the second round.

Washington Post sportswriter Mike Wise had a tough column on the collapse of area teams, especially Maryland, but at least gives Georgetown "a major pass."

On a lighter note, as per my prediction, Hoya freshman Jeff Green received top honors and was named, along with UConn's Rudy Gay, Big East co-rookie of the year. The last Georgetown player to earn the title was current Sixer and JVL mentor, A.I.