Charles Nailen/The Hoya Mike Sweetney puts up a jump shot in the face of tight defensive pressure. He must come through if the Hoyas expect to defeat the Golden Gophers tonight at MSG.
If you had told anyone in mid-February – when the Hoyas were in danger of not qualifying for the Big East Tournament – that the Georgetown men’s basketball season would live to see April, they probably would have laughed at you.
No one is laughing now.
The Georgetown Hoyas (18-14) will face off against the Minnesota Golden Gophers (18-12) tonight at Madison Square Garden in the semifinals of the National Invitation Tournament. It is just the third meeting between the schools; the series is split 1-1, with the Hoyas having captured the last game in 2000, 76-60, in the Hawaii-Pacific Thanksgiving Classic.
The Golden Gophers defeated the Hoyas 62-61 in the finals of the 1993 NIT.
Georgetown comes into tonight’s semifinal riding a three-game road winning streak that saw them defeat Tennessee, Providence and North Carolina. Minnesota defeated St. Louis, Hawaii and Temple in overtime en route to tonight’s matchup.
The Golden Gophers finished 8-8 in the Big Ten this year, good enough for seventh place in the conference. They are led by sophomore forward Rick Rickert, who is averaging 15.8 points per game as well as 6.4 rebounds per game. Sophomore guard Maurice Hargrow averages 13.4 points per game.
Minnesota’s season has taken a seemingly opposite path from Georgetown’s: in mid-February, the Golden Gophers looked virtually assured of an NCAA bid, but ended the season with a five-game losing streak. They are coached by Dan Monson, now in his fourth season at Minnesota. Before coaching the Gophers, Monson was the head coach at Gonzaga, where he nearly led the Bulldogs to the NCAA Final Four in 1999. He has amassed 66 wins at Minnesota, and 118 overall, including his time at Gonzaga.
The Gophers have posted quality wins this season over Michigan State, Purdue and Georgia, but took questionable losses to Nebraska and Northwestern, and they needed overtime to defeat Arkansas-Little Rock.
Georgetown enters tonight’s game having won seven of its last ten contests after sliding to an 11-11 record at midseason. They are paced by junior forward Mike Sweetney, who is averaging 22.5 points, 10.4 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game. Junior guard Gerald Riley is averaging 14.3 points per game, sophomore guard Tony Bethel is averaging 10.9 points per game and freshman forward Brandon Bowman is averaging 7.3 points per game.
Win or lose, the Hoyas are certain to be playing again Thursday at the Garden, either in the NIT Championship game or the consolation game. Should the Hoyas win, they will play the winner of the St. John’s-Texas Tech game; should they lose, they will play the loser of the Red Storm-Red Raiders game.
The Hoyas have never lost to the Red Raiders of Texas Tech, defeating them both times they have met in the NCAA Tournament, most recently in 1996. The two teams have not played since the legendary Bobby Knight became the head coach of Texas Tech.
Georgetown and St. John’s, on the other hand, are bitter conference rivals, having played together in the Big East since the conference’s founding. In January, the Red Storm came back from 16 down in the second half at MCI Center to defeat the Hoyas 77-72. The win gave St. John’s a two-game edge in the all-time Big East series, 24-22, and a 47-33 lead in the overall series.
The last time the Hoyas competed in the NIT – in 2000 – they lost in the second round to California after beating Virginia in a thrilling triple overtime victory. Last year, Georgetown declined its invitation to the NIT, ending the school’s 27-year streak of appearing in the postseason.
Georgetown has never won the NIT, but appeared in the finals in 1993 and the semifinals in 1978.
Tip-off tonight is at 7 p.m.
