Hoyas

Georgetown (4-0) vs. Mount St. Mary's (3-2) Where: Verizon Center. Time: Monday, 7:30 p.m. TV: MASN. Radio: WWXT (92.7 FM), WWXX (94.3 FM), WTEM (980 AM). Following his team's 97-64 loss to Georgetown on Saturday, Lafayette Coach Fran O'Hanlon said he was convinced this year's Hoyas were a top-20 team. But a top 10 team? O'Hanlon hesitated, noting it was too early in the season to tell. He heaped praised on center Greg Monroe and said he was impressed with the Hoyas' guard play.

American University filled its men's basketball coaching vacancy Tuesday by hiring Mike Brennan, who was an assistant during the program's most prosperous seasons and part of Georgetown's staff the past four years. Brennan was introduced during a news conference at Bender Arena, where he helped direct the Eagles to consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, the only two in school history, under then-coach Jeff Jones . Jones departed in early April after 13 seasons in Spring Valley to take the same position at Old...

After suffering losses to top 15 teams in three of its last five games, the Georgetown men's basketball team returned to Verizon Center last night in search of a sorely needed victory and a jolt of confidence. And with unranked West Virginia on tap, there was reason to believe the homecoming would result in both. Instead, the Hoyas ran headlong into sharpshooting Mountaineers forward Da'Sean Butler and a short, squat guard nicknamed "Truck. " Led by the pair's combined 40 points, West Virginia plowed right over the 12th-ranked Hoyas for a 75-58...

He never landed a prized recruit, never scouted an opponent nor scored a single point for Georgetown. But for more than three decades, Bill Shapland was a force behind Georgetown basketball , standing just beyond the spotlight but always within earshot of the coaches and players who delivered the Big East titles and NCAA tournament appearances should they need his counsel, or intervention when reporters came calling. News of Shapland's death, at age 57, on Friday at Virginia Hospital Center hit...

SYRACUSE, N.Y., Feb. 16 -- The easy answer to the question posed to Georgetown Coach John Thompson III following his eighth-ranked team's 77-70 loss at Syracuse on Saturday afternoon -- what was the biggest issue for the Hoyas in a poor first-half performance -- was to point to its 12 turnovers. Thompson did so, but he then highlighted a larger -- and more damaging -- problem with the Hoyas, who fell behind by 21 points in the first 16 minutes en route to losing their second road game in eight days.

SOUTH BEND, Ind., Jan. 5 -- Georgetown Coach John Thompson III reminds his players often that opponents are apt to go on scoring spurts. The key, he tells them, is not to panic. Instead, dig in. Do the fundamentals well. Keep plugging at the opposite end of the court. That's how smart teams keep from getting blown out. The Georgetown Hoyas tried following that script against Notre Dame on Monday night but came up short in nearly every respect except effort. The result was their second consecutive loss, 73-67 -- a contest that was...

What would be the best way to illustrate the dominating defensive performance put forth by 12th-ranked Georgetown in its 73-53 victory over Cincinnati yesterday at Verizon Center? Perhaps it was the way 7-foot-2 senior Roy Hibbert moved around the lane, swatting away shots. Or maybe it was the way guards Jessie Sapp and Jeremiah Rivers took turns chasing Deonta Vaughn, Cincinnati's leading scorer, all over the court, rarely leaving his side. Or the way the Hoyas worked together to contest so many shots.

With a dazzling display of shooting, Georgetown roared back Saturday from its most humbling loss of the season to rout No. 8 Duke, the nonconference foe it most loves to beat, 89-77. The game drew a capacity crowd of 20,039 to Washington's Verizon Center -- nearly all of them clad in gray in a display of Georgetown pride -- including President Obama and Vice President Biden, who looked on from courtside seats. While Obama did nothing to convey a rooting interest, seemingly there to cheer college basketball in general, the...

On a day when a blizzard of historic proportions brought Washington to a standstill, Georgetown came alive at the Verizon Center to knock off No. 2 Villanova, 103-90. A crowd of 10,387 braved Saturday's driving snow and gusting winds for the hazardous trek downtown, where both teams and the game officials had spent the previous night in nearby hotels to ensure they'd be present for the highly anticipated clash between top 10 teams. Unlike three weeks ago, when Villanova exploited a sloppy, sluggish start by the Hoyas ...

For long, scoreless stretches in Georgetown's offensively challenged home opener against Temple, the basketball was almost painful to watch. And when the final statistics were tallied, the ugliness that had been on display at Verizon Center was spelled out in stark relief -- from the Hoyas' 16 turnovers to their 3-of-18 shooting from three-point range. But in this game, what truly mattered resided in the heart. Unlike last season, in which Georgetown frittered away so many close games with lackluster effort in the waning...

Saying he felt ready for the next step, Georgetown sophomore forward Otto Porter Jr. announced Monday that he'll pass up his remaining college eligibility in order to enter the June 27 NBA draft. "It was a tough decision. I love Georgetown, I love my coaches, my teammates," said Porter, who this past season led the Hoyas to a No. 5 national ranking, 25-7 record and No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. "It's something me and my family talked about. They think I'm ready. I feel I'm ready to make this next step.

Otto Porter Jr.'s prospects as a pro player rose so high this season, as the 6-foot-8 sophomore forward led Georgetown to a share of the Big East title and a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament, that it's difficult to imagine him improving his standing by staying on the Hilltop for a third season. That's part of the calculus Porter worked through with his parents these last weeks, as the national honors rolled in and the more respected NBA draft boards projected the Big East player...

In addition to broken dreams, shredded brackets and lost productivity, you can add higher carbon emissions to the adverse effects of March Madness. Booz Allen Hamilton put a new spin on bracket tracking this year, developing an online game that allows users to measure the carbon footprint of their predicted winners. Turns out, environmental activists should have been rooting for Louisville, Mississippi, Davidson and Northwestern State to reach the Final Four, as that would have yielded the smallest carbon footprint of any...

On March 9, the Syracuse basketball team had walked off the Verizon Center court feeling humiliated, hearing the gleeful shrieks of Georgetown fans in their ears after the Hoyas had held them to an unthinkable 39 points in the Big East regular season finale. Exactly three weeks later, the Orange players again found themselves staring up at the number 39 on the same scoreboard in the same building. Only this time, they had huge smiles on their faces and they were in no hurry to leave...

Colleges Terps open 2013-14 season with U-Conn. The Maryland men's basketball team will open next season against Connecticut at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Nov. 8, according to an individual with knowledge of the negotiations. Earlier this month, the arena announced a multi-year deal signed with the Terrapins, but neither Maryland's upcoming opponent nor the date had been finalized. At the time, a person familiar with the situation said the Terps...

Former NBA star Derrick Coleman was in the house — D.C. in D.C., if you will — to support his Syracuse Orange, the Big East and, in general, in-your-grill basketball. "Gotta say, it's kind of weird that a couple of teams from the Big East are representing on Georgetown's court," Coleman said. Weirder still was that those teams, Marquette and Syracuse, will play for the right to go to the Final Four at Verizon Center on Saturday night. NCAA rules forbid Georgetown from playing a...

Georgetown extended its season yesterday afternoon, just not as far as it wanted as Penn State pulled out a win by the same 12-11 score as the Hoyas' devastating loss in State College, Pa., a year ago. The rematch at Multi-Sport Field took one more overtime, with Nittany Lions attackman Rob Forster scoring his game-high fourth goal with 58 seconds left in the second extra session. Jack Davis dived to his right and got his stick on the ball but couldn't come up with his 12th save.

Dominic Randolph accounted for four touchdowns and Terrance Gass ran for 142 yards and a touchdown to lead visiting Holy Cross to a 38-14 win over Georgetown yesterday. Randolph was 25 of 39 for 280 yards and scored the first touchdown for the Crusaders (1-2, 1-0 Patriot League) with a one-yard score on fourth down. His touchdown came six plays after the first of Kyle Mushaweh's three interceptions gave Holy Cross the ball at the Hoyas 23-yard line. Brett McDermott caught a 14-yard touchdown from Randolph in the first quarter and...

A day after another confounding loss in the NCAA tournament, Georgetown Coach John Thompson III searched for answers about his program's failure in March. He'll probably be at it for a while. There's a lot to consider when you've flopped against much lower-seeded teams in five consecutive tournament appearances. But Thompson still is confident in his approach, and he should be. For the most part, the Hoyas have been highly successful under Thompson. Anyone who disputes that simply is ignoring the...

PHILADELPHIA — One upset during a stretch of games could be considered a fluke. Wipe away your tears and move on. But five difficult-to-stomach defeats in as many tournament appearances is a major problem for Georgetown . Georgetown's most recent tournament flop also was — by far — its most embarrassing. Seeded second in the South Region, Georgetown suffered a 78-68 loss here Friday night to 15th-seeded Florida Gulf Coast . Anything less than a convincing...