If the Big East tournament were to start today, Georgetown would be the seventh seed.

A few weeks ago, the Hoyas were poised to secure a top-four spot and the double bye that comes with it, but now that seems like a pipe dream.

After losing four of its last six Big East games, Georgetown travels to Louisville tonight for a critical game as the second tier of the conference jockeys for seeding and the first-round byes given to the top eight teams. The Cardinals (18-9, 9-5 Big East) are fifth in the conference but are well within striking distance for the Hoyas (18-7, 8-6).

A win at Freedom Hall would separate the Blue and Gray from the murky middle of the pack. A loss would move them dangerously close to .500 and the five 6-8 teams in the league.

Two of those 6-8 teams, Notre Dame and Cincinnati, remain on Georgetown’s schedule. The other team left on the Hoyas’ slate is West Virginia, which sits at 10-5 in the Big East.

The recent skid brings back bad memories of last year when Georgetown started the season on fire before losing 12 of its final 16 games.

After getting upset at Rutgers and unsuccessfully rallying against rival Syracuse, the Hoyas have lost back-to-back games for the first time this season. An unpredictable team, they have both dominated the second-best team in the Big East – Villanova – and lost to the second-worst team – Rutgers – in the last two weeks.

These Hoyas are different than last year’s version, however, and Head Coach John Thompson III is not concerned about the games to come.

“Two [losses] in a row is pain and misery,” Thompson said Thursday after his team fell just short against Syracuse. “This team has to continue to get better. This team has to grow, and will grow, from these last two games, but am I worried about this group? No. We’ll figure it out.”

Junior point guard Chris Wright attributed the Hoyas’ thrilling comeback against the Orange to the trust the players have for each other.

“One thing about this team [is] we believe in each other,” Wright said. “We are confident when it comes to coming back and pulling through deficits. We believe in perseverance and really trying to climb through any struggle.”

Behind the Big Three of Wright, junior guard Austin Freeman and sophomore center Greg Monroe, the Hoyas cut the Orange’s 23-point lead to one in a span of 10:48 in the second half.

“Like Chris said, we believe in each other,” Freeman said. “If we’re down 20 we have to keep fighting and claw our way back into it.”

That perseverance will be crucial for the Hoyas in their final four regular season games as they jostle for Big East tournament seeding.

“We have to now go on the road against a very good team, and we have to find a way to try to get a win,” Thompson said when asked about getting over the Syracuse loss. “[Losing is] misery and pain but then we have to move on. We can’t get stuck. We can’t wallow in that because the next opponent always will be a very good opponent.”

The next quality opponent, Louisville, started conference play slowly but has come on strong the last few weeks. Winners of five of their last six, the Cardinals are not only fighting for Big East tournament seeding but also for a berth in the NCAA tournament.

Only sophomore forward Samardo Samuels and senior guard Edgar Sosa score in double figures for Louisville, but Head Coach Rick Pitino’s team goes 11 players deep. The Cardinals play a pressure defense, which could be trouble for the Hoyas, who rank 13th in the league with 14.5 turnovers per game.

Louisville overcame an 11-point halftime deficit to upset Syracuse at the Carrier Dome last Sunday, the start of a three-game winning streak.

With Big East positioning on the line tonight, the Hoyas will try not to think about the standings.

“Win the next game and keep on winning the next game, and those things fall into place,” Monroe said.

Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. in Louisville, Ky. “