The Maui Invitational proved to be another beneficial trip for the Hoyas, even if not everything was sunny in the Aloha State.

Head Coach John Thompson III made it no secret that he was frustrated with the Hoyas’ opening round 67-63 loss to Kansas.

“It’s frustrating. That’s a good team,” Thompson III said following Monday’s loss. “But there are a few things that we can control. We’re not going to be singing this young- team song all year. These guys are ready to play. So what grade they’re in doesn’t matter. We have to take care of our business a little better.”

With 30 seconds left and Georgetown down by two, Kansas had the ball and the Hoyas seemed confused about what to do, finally fouling Kansas redshirt junior guard Travis Releford with 15 seconds left. But after those few seconds of confusion, the damage was done.

Those 15 seconds could have meant two extra possessions in the game. Still, Releford deserves credit for knocking down his free throws at a critical time in the game, especially on a night where Kansas shot only 64 percent from the charity stripe.

Overall, the Blue and Gray did not take, or make, many good shots against the Jayhawks. Only a flurry of exceptional baskets — including a floater by junior forward Hollis Thompson and a three-pointer by freshman forward Otto Porter — kept the Hoyas within reach. This was partly due to Kansas’ strong defense, but Georgetown’s shot selection needs improvement.

The Jayhawks’ lead was also in part because of Thomas Robinson, who proved to be an all-tournament team player and looks like a contender for national player of the year. He was ferocious, throwing down dunk after dunk and grabbing rebounds.

“[Robinson] played very well,” Thompson III said. “We did not execute our plan. We wanted him to take 12 [or] 15 foot jump shot. Now their guards did a very good job of getting into the meat of our defense, and our [big men] probably stepped up a little bit too much and ended up with what feels like 14 dunks.”

Robinson’s play is certainly unique, but the Hoyas have not seen the last of talented big men. Andre Drummond of Connecticut will be a challenge, and Fab Melo at Syracuse also looms on the schedule. Even so, aggressive play by senior center Henry Sims and Porter kept the rebounding nearly even against Kansas.

Defensively, Georgetown is faster and more intense than they have been in the last few years. They played great perimeter defense on the Jayhawks in a big game in a de facto away-game environment.

In the end, losing to Kansas by four — especially when the Hoyas put the onus on Releford to hit the free throws to secure the game — is not a big deal, especially early in the season.

“I think we’re a very tough team. I’ve known that since we started working out over the summer going through the championship,” senior guard Jason Clark said. “I think that the team is getting better with dealing with adversity. We’re getting better. I think we responded well after the loss to Kansas. I think everybody’s starting to pay a lot more attention to what we need to do on the court offense.”

Division II Chaminade, the Hoyas’ next opponent, was not nearly of the same caliber as Kansas. Georgetown hit a lot of shots early before going cold from long range, which was disconcerting. That said, the Silverswords stayed within 30 points only because they swished several threes of their own.

With that win in their pocket, Georgetown came up big against Memphis in what would be their most impressive game of the tournament. The quick, athletic Tigers squad played a good game but committed a lot of turnovers and fell to the Hoyas in overtime, 91-88.

The Tigers did not expect Henry Sims to be as dominant as he was — and continued to be against IUPUI once the Hoyas returned to the mainland — as he has elevated his play to match his talent, dominating the post on both ends of the court. Against the Big East teams with smaller centers, Sims will be hard to handle, his sheer size making him difficult to guard and tough to block out for rebounds.

This was a very important win for Georgetown. Games like Memphis, Kansas and last night’s win at Alabama will make or break the Blue and Gray’s NCAA hopes.

“They are the top teams in their conference,” senior center Henry Sims said. “That’s a tune-up for the Big East — gets us some experience, especially for physical play, so when the Big East comes around, it’s a physical league, so the guys won’t be surprised when they catch an elbow or something.”

All things considered, the fifth-place Maui finish was the second-best way things could have worked out for Georgetown. They played Kansas into the final minute and beat a top-10 team, although the Tigers were probably over ranked.

“Hawaii, China — you accumulate all of that, it’s still making us a better team,” sophomore point guard Markel Starks said. “Maui helped us a lot, because there was a lot of really good competition out there.”