{"id":3054,"date":"2021-03-15T00:01:51","date_gmt":"2021-03-15T04:01:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportsreporting\/?p=3054"},"modified":"2021-03-14T22:45:06","modified_gmt":"2021-03-15T02:45:06","slug":"why-georgetowns-big-east-tournament-win-is-bigger-than-basketball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportsreporting\/2021\/03\/15\/why-georgetowns-big-east-tournament-win-is-bigger-than-basketball\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Georgetown’s Big East Tournament Win Is Bigger Than Basketball"},"content":{"rendered":"

40 years ago, a nimble 7-foot center named Patrick Ewing made his college basketball debut for the John Thompson Jr.-led Georgetown Hoyas. As a freshman, Ewing won one of his four Big East Defensive Player of the Year awards, took home the Big East Rookie of the Year award and was named to the All-Big East second team.<\/p>\n

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Ewing helped the Hoyas win their second Big East tournament title in school history and secured a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. If we fast forward to 2021, things look awfully similar within Georgetown’s men’s basketball program.<\/p>\n

Ewing returned to his alma mater on April 3, 2017 when he was hired as head coach for the Hoyas. During his first season, Georgetown finished with a 15-15 record (5-13 in the Big East) and lost to the ninth-seeded St. John’s Red Storm in the first round of the Big East tournament.<\/p>\n

The following season, now with highly-touted recruits Mac McClung<\/a>, James Akinjo<\/a> and Josh LeBlanc<\/a>, the Hoyas won five more games than the season prior (19-14). But Ewing and company still lost in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament and in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT).<\/p>\n

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Ewing’s third season took a turn for the worst when it was reported that Akinjo and LeBlanc would no longer be members of the team after the players faced allegations<\/a> of sexual harassment, assault and burglary.<\/p>\n

Georgetown won six straight games following the departures of Akinjo and LeBlanc, but the team finished the season on a seven-game losing streak including another first-round exit in the Big East tournament.<\/p>\n

The 2020-21 season started as any other season for the Ewing-led Hoyas, as Georgetown opened their in-conference schedule 1-5 and had six of their games postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n

That said, the Hoyas finished their regular season with quality wins against the Creighton Bluejays and the Seton Hall Pirates. But entering the Big East tournament as the eighth-seed for the third time in four years, nobody projected Georgetown to bust any brackets.<\/p>\n

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The Hoyas breezed through the ninth-seeded Marquette Golden Eagles in the first round of the tournament, marking Ewing’s first Big East tournament win and a matchup with the top-seeded Villanova Wildcats in the quarterfinals.<\/p>\n

Despite not having their star point guard Collin Gillespie<\/a>, Nova had the co-Big East Player of the Year Jeremiah Robinson-Earl<\/a> and standout guard Justin Moore<\/a> in tow.<\/p>\n

But behind an 18-point, 5-assist performance from freshman guard Dante Harris<\/a>, the Hoyas escaped with a 72-71 victory over the Wildcats.<\/p>\n

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W's in the #BETourney<\/a> just feel that much better. \ud83c\udf4e\ud83c\udfc0\ud83c\udfa5<\/p>\n

Postgame clips provided by @medstarGUH<\/a> #HoyaSaxa<\/a> #LetsGoHoyas<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/ONKQr8emTV<\/a><\/p>\n

— Georgetown Hoops (@GeorgetownHoops) March 11, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n