Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

MEN’S BASKETBALL | Hoyas to Face Harvard in NIT Opening Round

Georgetown’s hopes of making its first NCAA Tournament in five years were crushed when they lost to Seton Hall 73-57 in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament March 14. Despite failing to make the NCAA tournament, Georgetown earned a bid to play in the National Invitation tournament.

MARGARET FOUBERG FOR THE HOYA | Georgetown will face off against Harvard in their first appearance in the NIT since 2014. That year, the Hoyas advanced to the second round before being eliminated by Florida State.

 

The Hoyas (19-13, 9-9 Big East) struggled in the first half as they could not stop Seton Hall’s (20-13, 9-9 Big East) junior guard Myles Powell, who outscored the entire Georgetown team with 29 points in the first half. The Blue and Gray failed to find the bottom of the bucket in the first frame, shooting just 36 percent from the field and 1-7 from the three-point line. On the other hand, Powell’s 29 points in the first half propelled the Pirates to 58 percent shooting from the field as they headed into the locker room leading 53-28.

The Hoyas showed some fight after the halftime break, starting the second half on a 10-0 run. Freshman guard James Akinjo and senior center Jessie Govan led Georgetown with three straight buckets to start the half as Seton Hall struggled on the other end. Despite the quick start from the Hoyas, they continued to hurt themselves by wasting important possessions with turnovers as time ticked away. Georgetown suffered in the game with 14 turnovers, and Seton Hall responded sufficiently with 22 points off turnovers. The Hoyas shot a much improved 50 percent from the field in the second half, but a 14-point deficit was the closest Georgetown got to Seton Hall in the second half.

The game against Seton Hall was Georgetown’s first quarterfinal reached in four years. The Hoyas finished the game shooting 42 percent compared to the Pirates’ 41 percent. Seton Hall found great depth from the three-point line, shooting 34 percent compared to Georgetown’s 16 percent. Powell finished the game with 31 points and eventually led the Pirates to the Big East championship, where they fell to Villanova 74-72 on March 16. This is Villanova’s third-straight Big East Conference title.

Georgetown’s strong regular season granted them a three-seed in the NIT. They will face Harvard at McDonough Arena Wednesday night and will play in McDonough for the first time this season. The Hoyas will play in their first NIT in five years, where they last fell in the second round to Florida State University. The Hoyas are 15-13 all time in the NIT and have earned 12 bids to the tournament.

The Georgetown-Harvard matchup is very rare as the teams have only faced off three times in program history. Georgetown is 3-0 in this series and last played against Harvard in 2009, when they defeated the Crimson 86-70. The game can be watched live on ESPN2 at 7 p.m. Wednesday night.

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