The last time the Hoyas played in Dayton, Ohio, it was under strangely familiar circumstances to the team’s current situation.

In 1986, after finishing 22-6 in the regular season, Georgetown suffered a close loss to arch-nemesis Syracuse in the Big East semifinals, then headed west to Dayton, a town of 160,000 people in west central Ohio, to compete in the first round of the NCAAs.

Twenty years ago, the Hoyas never moved on from Ohio, beating Texas Tech in the opener but falling to Michigan State by 12 points in the second round.

Dayton, where today’s forecast called for morning flurries, is certainly not Jacksonville, San Diego or Dallas, other more glamorous – and warmer – sites for this year’s first two rounds.

Darrel Owens said Sunday that he and his teammates had been considering how nice it would be to take a trip to the West Coast. And Brandon Bowman lamented that his wish to play in San Diego, two hours from his home in Santa Monica, had not come true.

But he added, “We were prepared for wherever they would send us.”

Georgetown will have its work cut out for it this weekend if the team hopes to do a little more traveling before the year is up. Today’s contest with Northern Iowa (23-9) will offer the Hoyas a taste of their own offense-defense balance. And a potential Sunday matchup with Ohio State (25-5) would give Georgetown a stab at knocking off the Big Ten champion and helping the Big East bolster its claim of being the best basketball conference in the country.

The Panthers are known for their perimeter game and for their defensive presence. They led the Missouri Valley Conference in three-point attempts with 616 and allow just 57.1 points per game. Senior guard Ben Jacobson, who averages 36 minutes and 14 points per game, is the fourth leading scorer in his league.

The Hoyas will have to pay special attention to the tandem of junior Grant Stout and sophomore Eric Coleman, starting forwards who shoot better than 55 percent and average about 12 points per outing.

In addition, Northern Iowa has the most faultless offense in the VC, setting conference lows in turnovers (12.9 per game) and fouls (14.5).

The Panthers lost in the semifinals of their conference tournament, but not before tying a school record by posting 23 wins. They stumbled down the stretch, however, losing four of their last five regular season games.

On the other end of the floor, the Hoyas must lock up the skeletons in their closet to have success in the tournament – especially the brutally ugly performances in both meetings with South Florida.

With its victories in the Big East tournament, the team learned it can put a little extra faith in its defensive prowess, but Georgetown will not be able to get away with long scoreless stretches, as the team learned last week against Syracuse.

The Hoyas suffered a similar fate back in December when they came out flat against Illinois, digging a hole so deep there was never a real shot at a second-half comeback. And it happened again in January, when Georgetown took a double-digit lead early in the first half against West Virginia but watched it disintegrate by halftime, only to be stomped out completely by a Mountaineer run to start the second period.

In March, eager programs with something to prove will pounce on the opportunity these sorts of cold streaks present. Facing a issouri Valley team, a conference whose four tournament bids has been the subject of much debate around the college basketball world in recent days, the Hoyas need be fearful of their first-round foe.

The Panthers are certainly chomping at the bit to pull off an upset over a power conference opponent, particularly after watching Wichita State, the MVC regular-season champ, made easy work of Seton Hall yesterday. The Shockers handed the Pirates an 86-66 defeat in Greensboro, N.C.

Northern Iowa is the only club in the MVC to record wins against top 25 teams this year, beating then-No. 13 Iowa and then-No. 24 Bucknell. The Panthers are also no stranger to the postseason, making their fourth tournament appearance in five years.

Meanwhile, John Thompson III is the only man on Georgetown’s side with NCAA experience.

But consider that it took John Thompson Jr. three seasons to lead his team to the Big Dance, and it wasn’t until five seasons later that the elder Thompson’s Hoyas finally won their first NCAA game. In the meantime, they had two one-and-done appearances in the tourney and two trips to the NIT.

But in 1980, Georgetown turned it on just in time for the postseason, knocking off St. John’s and Syracuse en route to capturing the title at the first-ever Big East tournament, and then sneaking into the Elite Eight after wins over Iona and aryland.

The younger Thompson looks to take two giant steps forward – an NCAA berth and a first-round win – in just his second season at the helm of the program, though he insists that he never set any schedules for his team’s progress.

“I didn’t necessarily want to lay out a big timetable,” he said. “We just want to keep moving in the right direction.”

Those who know him well can attest to his firm belief in the adage, “Every game counts.” He kept quiet about the postseason until the Hoyas’ Big East tournament stint had ended. Inklings of the NCAAs crept into his players’ comments following the 68-53 win over Syracuse in the home closer, but the coach was concerned only about South Florida.

Right now, the Panthers may be foremost in his thoughts, yet Thompson can see the forest through the trees.

“To win the championship you have to be invited to play,” he told reporters on Sunday. “My goal doesn’t end with just getting an invitation. I’m excited about being in, but we want to keep playing.”

Georgetown tips off its 23rd NCAA appearance this afternoon at 2:35 p.m. The game will be televised on CBS in both schools’ regional markets.

The victor faces the winner of Ohio State vs. Davidson on Sunday afternoon.