Georgetown’s postseason hopes nearly dead

Unless you believe in miracles, it is safe to say the ‘Georgetown is going to make a run’ talk… Unless you believe in miracles, it is safe to say the ‘Georgetown is going to make a run’ talk is dead. Just face it, you can watch the first 15 minutes of ‘America’s Funniest Home Videos’ and see better dogs than the Hoyas. Plus, those dogs will be dancing, unlike these sour pups. What a disappointing season for the Hoyas. The non-tournament prediction assumes they will lose to Villanova on Saturday night, but beat St. John’s and DePaul to close out the season 7-11 in the Big East. Expectations placed on this young team were immense, but just how rightfully so is the question. Adding a stud recruit to a starting lineup full of second- and third-year players tends to excite a fan base. Freshman Greg Monroe will be a great player some day, but he’s a freshman, and growing pains are commonplace. Growing pains are especially likely in the Big East, where Monroe and the Hoyas endured one of the toughest schedules in the nation this year. On top of a loaded Big East schedule, in which the Hoyas played Marquette twice, they dueled Tennessee on a ‘neutral’ site in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., and also were home against Memphis and at Duke. ‘We haven’t been getting as many wins as we like, to put it quite bluntly,’ said Georgetown coach John Thompson III. ‘Villanova’s a terrific team, terrifically coached. We have to figure this out, we have to make this happen.’ If the Hoyas win out, they could make it to the dance. But their recent struggles indicate they will slide down the stretch, requiring them to win the Big East tournament. But enough about teams that won’t be playing in March. Connecticut and Marquette will be dancing and the two teams provided an intense showdown Wednesday night. The No. 2-ranked Huskies ended up winning convincingly 93-82 over No. 8 Marquette. We’ll get to Connecticut guard A.J. Price’s ridiculous game later, because the real story was forward Stanley Robinson taking this game over late in the second half. With seven minutes to go, Connecticut trailed Marquette by one. Robinson threw down two dunks and converted on a 3-point play after a layup to lead the Huskies down the stretch. Marquette not only lost the game, but also senior point guard Dominic James for the rest of the season after he broke a bone in his foot. The injury ended James’ career at Marquette, in which he was a four-year starter and a leader for the Golden Eagles. Connecticut’s win was the 800th of coach Jim Calhoun’s career. Calhoun became just the seventh coach in Division I history to win 800 games. Calhoun is second all-time among active coaches, behind Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who has 826 career victories. On to the awards: Big East Hammer on the Hardwood: A.J. Price went happy-go-jacky on Marquette Wednesday, scoring 36 points and dishing out six assists. Oh, and do you want to see the definition of a killer crossover? Google something along the lines of, ‘A.J. Price on Jerel McNeal,’ and watch a video of it. Seriously, if you look closely, you can see Price take just enough time to look down and laugh before draining the long-range jumper. Big East Cupcake: Hoyas forward DaJuan Summers, who started the year playing well, had a forgettable two-game stretch last week. Summers scored a respectable 12 points in a 78-72 loss to Marquette last Saturday, but committed five turnovers and fouled out of the game. The next game, Summers went 1 for 8 from the floor to score a measly four points. Big East Game of the Week: Villanova escaped the Carrier Dome with the slimmest 89-86 victory you’ll ever see. In a furious final 10 seconds, Syracuse’s Eric Devendorf, followed by Paul Harris and finally Johnny Flynn all missed 3-pointers that would’ve tied the game. All hit iron, leaving the Orange stunned. Big East Game of the Week Ahead: Marquette is involved in three heavyweight bouts in a row, after dropping its first to Connecticut. On Sunday, the Golden Eagles travel to Freedom Hall to take on Louisville. Then on Wednesday, they play Pitt at the Petersen Events Center. Big East Upset Special: Notre Dame has tapered off a bit, but the team and coaches know some wins can get the Irish into the NCAA Tournament. It will be ready for Villanova on Monday. Look for the Irish to pull the upset at home to get a marquee win on their tournament resume.