2013–14 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team
Conference schedule
### Conference schedule

Although Georgetown was a member of the Big East Conference, it was not the storied conference the Hoyas had joined as a charter member in [1979](/wiki/1979%E2%80%9380_Georgetown_Hoyas_men%27s_basketball_team "1979–80 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team"). The [original Big East Conference](/wiki/Big_East_Conference_%281979%E2%80%932013%29 "Big East Conference (1979–2013)") still existed, but under a new name, as the [American Athletic Conference](/wiki/American_Athletic_Conference "American Athletic Conference") – marketed as "the American" – and Georgetown this season was a charter member of an entirely new conference also named the Big East. Both the new Big East and the American claimed the history and heritage of the original Big East as their own, and the new Big East had many aspects that were reminiscent of the old Big East. Like the old conference in its early days, the new Big East was a basketball\-only conference that played a regular\-season schedule made up of each team hosting and visiting each other team once – something that had become impractical in the old conference as it expanded in the interest of [college football](/wiki/College_football "College football") programs – and it also maintained the old Big East's tradition of holding its conference championship tournament, the [Big East tournament](/wiki/Big_East_men%27s_basketball_tournament "Big East men's basketball tournament"), at [Madison Square Garden](/wiki/Madison_Square_Garden "Madison Square Garden") in [New York City](/wiki/New_York_City "New York City"). The new conference also included traditional Georgetown foes; among schools that had transferred from the old conference to the new one were three other charter members of the original conference ([Providence](/wiki/Providence_Friars_men%27s_basketball "Providence Friars men's basketball"), [St. John's](/wiki/St._John%27s_Red_Storm_men%27s_basketball "St. John's Red Storm men's basketball"), and [Seton Hall](/wiki/Seton_Hall_Pirates_men%27s_basketball "Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball")) and a second\-season addition to the old Big East ([Villanova](/wiki/Villanova_Wildcats_men%27s_basketball "Villanova Wildcats men's basketball")), as well as two schools that had joined the old Big East more recently ([DePaul](/wiki/DePaul_Blue_Demons_men%27s_basketball "DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball") and [Marquette](/wiki/Marquette_Golden_Eagles_men%27s_basketball "Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball")). However, other aspects of the new conference were quite different from the old one. Three of its members ([Butler](/wiki/Butler_Bulldogs_men%27s_basketball "Butler Bulldogs men's basketball"), [Creighton](/wiki/Creighton_Bluejays_men%27s_basketball "Creighton Bluejays men's basketball"), and [Xavier](/wiki/Xavier_Musketeers_men%27s_basketball "Xavier Musketeers men's basketball")) had no association at all with the original Big East, and two of them were among the better teams in the conference in its first year, while Georgetown\-St. John's meetings lacked the national notability they had enjoyed in the old conference's heyday. Moreover, Georgetown would no longer face traditional foes such as [Connecticut](/wiki/Connecticut_Huskies_men%27s_basketball "Connecticut Huskies men's basketball") – a charter member of the original Big East which remained in the American, not on Georgetown's schedule for the first time since the [1979\-80 season](/wiki/1979%E2%80%9380_Georgetown_Hoyas_men%27s_basketball_team "1979–80 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team") – and [Pittsburgh](/wiki/Pittsburgh_Panthers_men%27s_basketball "Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball") – a fourth\-season addition to the old conference which had joined the [Atlantic Coast Conference](/wiki/Atlantic_Coast_Conference "Atlantic Coast Conference") (ACC) and was not on Georgetown's schedule for the first time since the [1981\-82 season](/wiki/1981%E2%80%9382_Georgetown_Hoyas_men%27s_basketball_team "1981–82 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team"). Most notably, archrival [Syracuse](/wiki/Syracuse_Orange_men%27s_basketball "Syracuse Orange men's basketball") (which also had joined the ACC) was no longer on Georgetown's schedule, missing from it for the first time since the [1978\-79](/wiki/1978%E2%80%9379_Georgetown_Hoyas_men%27s_basketball_team "1978–79 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team") season. Both the new Big East and Georgetown felt the absence of Syracuse particularly keenly because of the role the Georgetown\-Syracuse rivalry had played in the original Big East throughout its 34\-season history. As the new Big East began play, media observers opined that the new conference was weaker on the court than the old one and lacked the luster of its predecessor and would have to build new rivalries and a new history of its own if it was to prevail in the sports marketplace.

The new Big East Conference began play with a full slate of five games on December 31, 2013, and Georgetown – picked pre\-season by the conference's coaches to finish second in the Big East[White, Joseph, "Marquette defeats Georgetown 80\-72 in OT," Associated Press, January 21, 2014](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400504540) – started its first season in the new conference at the Verizon Center with its 13th straight win over [DePaul](/wiki/2013%E2%80%9314_DePaul_Blue_Demons_men%27s_basketball_team "2013–14 DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball team"), a game in which Markel Starks had a game\-high 21\-point performance and D'Vauntes Smith\-Rivera scored 12\.[Anonymous, "Georgetown holds off DePaul 61\-54," Associated Press, December 31, 2013\. Retrieved June 29, 2018](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400504512) The Hoyas followed that with their 100th game against [St. John's](/wiki/2013%E2%80%9314_St._John%27s_Red_Storm_men%27s_basketball_team "2013–14 St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team"), beating the Red Storm easily for the sixth time in a row and preserving a home winning streak against St. John's that dated back to [January 18, 2003](/wiki/2002%E2%80%9303_Georgetown_Hoyas_men%27s_basketball_team "2002–03 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team").[White, Joseph, "Georgetown routs St John's 77\-60 in 100th meeting," Associated Press, January 4, 2014\. Retrieved June 29, 2014](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400504515) The Hoyas improved their record in the all\-time series with St. John's – which began in the [1909\-1910 season](/wiki/1909%E2%80%9310_Georgetown_Hoyas_men%27s_basketball_team "1909–10 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team") – to 47–53 as D'Vauntes Smith\-Rivera scored 31 points, shooting 9\-for\-12 (75 percent) from the field overall and 6\-for\-7 (86 percent) from three\-point range, and Markel Starks contributed 12 points.[St. John's vs. Georgetown – Box Score – January 4, 2014 – ESPN](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=400504515)

Joshua Smith had scored 25 points against Oregon, 17 points against VCU, and 11 or more points in six straight games and in double figures in seven games to start the season, but his performance then began to decline. Against Kansas, FIU, and DePaul he scored no more than five points in any game, and against St. John's[Wang, Gene, "Georgetown 77, St. John's 60: Hoyas rout Red Storm in 100th meeting," washingtonpost.com, January 4, 2014\.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/georgetown-77-st-johns-60-hoyas-rout-red-storm-in-100th-meeting/2014/01/04/d9070cd6-7582-11e3-9389-09ef9944065e_story.html) he missed five of his six shots.[Wang, Gene, "Joshua Smith is Georgetown's big man (back) in the middle," washingtonpost.com, November 10, 2014, 7:48 p.m. EST.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/joshua-smith-is-georgetowns-big-man-back-on-campus/2014/11/10/90ab0f1c-65ed-11e4-ab86-46000e1d0035_story.html)[Wang, Gene, "Georgetown basketball: Story lines for the 2014\-15 season," washingtonpost.com, November 10, 2014, 7:52 p.m. EST.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/georgetown-basketball-story-lines-for-the-2014-15-season/2014/11/10/10c02c3c-65ee-11e4-ab86-46000e1d0035_story.html) Despite Smith's declining performance, he was the Hoyas' third\-leading scorer for the season as of the completion of the St. John's game on January 4, averaging 11\.6 points per game, and with him on the court the Hoyas had gone 10–3 in their first 13 games. Georgetown thus suffered a major blow to its roster on January 8 when Smith did not accompany the team for its third conference game, a road game at [Providence](/wiki/2013%E2%80%9314_Providence_Friars_men%27s_basketball_team "2013–14 Providence Friars men's basketball team"). Georgetown officials revealed that Smith would not play again until he resolved an academic issue, and, after he had continued to struggle in his classes, Georgetown announced on January 24 that he had been dismissed from the team and would not play for the remainder of the 2013–14 season, but would return for the [2014\-2015 season](/wiki/2014%E2%80%9315_Georgetown_Hoyas_men%27s_basketball_team "2014–15 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team") if his academic performance improved enough by then.[Wang, Gene, "Hoyas' Josh Smith ruled out for season because of academic reasons," washingtonpost.com, January 24, 2014\.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/hoyas-josh-smith-ruled-out-for-season-because-of-academic-reasons/2014/01/24/b6e67bde-852f-11e3-a273-6ffd9cf9f4ba_story.html) With Smith out, Thompson was forced to move power forward Mikael Hopkins to center and play Reggie Cameron and Nate Lubick at forward, giving the Hoyas an undersized and less experienced front court.[Wang, Gene, "Georgetown basketball enters Battle 4 Atlantis boasting improved depth," washingtonpost.com, November 25, 2014\.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/georgetown-basketball-enters-battle-4-atlantis-boasting-improved-depth/2014/11/25/587b9376-74db-11e4-8893-97bf0c02cc5f_story.html) Facing a Providence team on the evening of January 8 that had lost three games in a row, D'Vauntes Smith\-Rivera scored 19 points and Hopkins had 12, but the revamped Georgetown line\-up fared poorly in an 18\-point loss to the Friars.[Anonymous, "Batts' 21 lead Providence over Georgetown 70\-52," Associated Press, January 8, 2014\. Retrieved June 29, 2018](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400504521) The loss broke a nine\-game Georgetown winning streak over Providence that dated back to [March 2005](/wiki/2004%E2%80%9305_Georgetown_Hoyas_men%27s_basketball_team "2004–05 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team") and a three\-game Hoya winning streak at the [Dunkin Donuts Center](/wiki/Dunkin_Donuts_Center "Dunkin Donuts Center"). Georgetown also lost another player during the game when Jabril Trawick suffered a broken jaw, forcing him to miss the next five games.[Wang, Gene, "Georgetown Hoyas search for answers as unfamiliar lineups contribute to losses," washingtonpost.com, January 19, 2014\.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/georgetown-hoyas-search-for-answers-as-unfamiliar-lineups-contribute-to-losses/2014/01/19/a22a8f20-813b-11e3-a273-6ffd9cf9f4ba_story.html)

Although the Hoyas bounced back for an overtime win at [Butler](/wiki/2013%E2%80%9314_Butler_Bulldogs_men%27s_basketball_team "2013–14 Butler Bulldogs men's basketball team") in which D'Vauntes Smith\-Rivera scored 18 points, Markel Starks had 15, and Aaron Bowen came off the bench to score 11, handing the Bulldogs their fourth straight loss,[Anonymous, "Georgetown triumphs over Butler 70\-67 in overtime," Associated Press, January 11, 2014\. Retrieved June 29, 2018](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400504526)[Georgetown vs, Butler – Box Score – January 11, 2014 – ESPN. Retrieved June 29, 2018](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=400504526) Georgetown and its depleted roster then went into a tailspin, losing at [Xavier](/wiki/2013%E2%80%9314_Xavier_Musketeers_men%27s_basketball_team "2013–14 Xavier Musketeers men's basketball team"), at home against [Seton Hall](/wiki/2013%E2%80%9314_Seton_Hall_Pirates_men%27s_basketball_team "2013–14 Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball team") and at home in overtime against [Marquette](/wiki/2013%E2%80%9314_Marquette_Golden_Eagles_men%27s_basketball_team "2013–14 Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball team"), and at [Creighton](/wiki/2013%E2%80%9314_Creighton_Bluejays_men%27s_basketball_team "2013–14 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team"). At Xavier, Markel Starks scored 19 points, D'Vauntes Smith\-Rivera had 18 for the second straight game, and Reggie Cameron scored in double digits for the first time in his collegiate career with a 13\-point performance, and as a team the Hoyas tied their season record by connecting on 10 three\-pointers, but the Hoyas blew a 17\-point lead with 15 minutes to play, failing to score during the game's final six minutes.[Kay, Joe, "Xavier rallies for 80\-67 win over Georgetown," Associated Press, January 15, 2014\. Retrieved June 29, 2018](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400504531)[Georgetown vs. Xavier – Box Score – January 15, 2014 – ESPN. Retrieved June 29, 2018](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=400504531) The pattern repeated itself three days later, when Seton Hall overcame a 10\-point deficit in the second half and held the Hoyas scoreless over the last 9:44 of the game to beat Georgetown.[White, Joseph, "Seton Hall ends DC skid, tops Georgetown 67\-57," Associated Press, January 18, 2014\. Retrieved June 29, 2018](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400504534) It was Seton Hall's first defeat of Georgetown in a game in Washington since an overtime victory on [January 29, 2003](/wiki/2002%E2%80%9303_Georgetown_Hoyas_men%27s_basketball_team "2002–03 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team"), and the first one in regulation since [January 8, 2000](/wiki/1999%E2%80%932000_Georgetown_Hoyas_men%27s_basketball_team "1999–2000 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team"); against the Pirates, Smith\-Rivera had 14 points, Aaron Bowen came off the bench to score 13, and Mikael Hopkins contributed 11\.[Seton Hall vs. Georgetown – Box Score – January 18, 2014 – ESPN. Retrieved June 29, 2018](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=400504534) The game with Marquette broke a string of seven straight games between the schools in which at least one of the teams had been in the Top 25,[White, Joseph, "Marquette defeats Georgetown 80\-72 in OT," Associated Press, January 21, 2014\. Retrieved June 29, 2018](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400504540) and Marquette – picked pre\-season to win the Big East and, like the Hoyas, falling well short of expectations – arrived winless on the road in Big East play for the season, but the Hoyas blew a seven\-point lead with three minutes to play and the Golden Eagles outscored them 15–7 in overtime. Markel Starks had a career\-high 28 points and Smith\-Rivera had 24, while Mikael Hopkins contributed 11 rebounds and six points against Marquette.[Marquette vs. Georgetown – Box Score – January 20, 2014 – ESPN. Retrieved June 29, 2018](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=400504540) In the loss at first\-place Creighton five nights later before a school\-record crowd of 18,859 at [CenturyLink Center Omaha](/wiki/CenturyLink_Center_Omaha "CenturyLink Center Omaha"), Starks had 21 points, Smith\-Rivera had 18, and Hopkins had 14, and Nate Lubick pulled down 10 rebounds, but the Hoyas shot 39 percent from the field; it was their third sub\-40\-percent performance in a row.[Anonymous, "Creighton top Georgetown 76\-63 before record crowd," Associated Press, January 27, 2014\. Retrieved June 29, 2018](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400504547)[Seton Hall vs. Georgetown – Box Score – January 18, 2014 – ESPN Retrieved June 29, 2018](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=400504534)

Losers of four in a row and five of their last six, the Hoyas came home to host the first ranked opponent of their conference season, No. 9 [Villanova](/wiki/2013%E2%80%9314_Villanova_Wildcats_men%27s_basketball_team "2013–14 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team"). Their depleted roster received a reinforcement for the game when Jabril Trawick returned to action; he had recovered more quickly than expected from his broken jaw and missed only five games because of the injury,[Wang, Gene, "Georgetown men's basketball is edged by Villanova for fifth straight defeat," washingtonpost.com, January 27, 2014\.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/georgetown-mens-basketball-is-edged-by-villanova-for-fifth-straight-defeat/2014/01/27/a7bdd6b0-87ab-11e3-a5bd-844629433ba3_story.html) and he played 12 minutes against the Wildcats.[Anonymous, "No. 9 Villanova tops Georgetown in turnover\-filled rivalry game," Associated Press, January 28, 2014\. Retrieved June 29, 2018](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400504548) But John Thompson III also had to deal with another player loss, when back\-up center Moses Ayegba received a one\-game NCAA suspension less than three hours before game time because of a pre\-enrollment infraction. The game had no flow, with the teams combining for 34 turnovers (18 by Georgetown) and 39 fouls to go with their 41 field goals. Amid the frequent stoppages of play, Georgetown scored the game's first eight points, giving the Hoyas what turned out to be their largest lead of the game. The Wildcats took advantage of a big disparity in free throw opportunities, going 22\-for\-28 (79 percent) from the line while Georgetown went 8\-for\-9 (89 percent). Villanova led 35–30 at the half, but Georgetown came back repeatedly to tie the game in the second half at 35–35, 37–37, 39–39, and 43–43 before Villanova pulled ahead for good with 10:04 to play.[Villanova vs. Georgetown – Play\-by\-Play – January 27, 2014 – ESPN](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/playbyplay?gameId=400504548) The Wildcats stretched their lead to as many as five points, but the Hoyas closed to 61–58 with 2:08 remaining before Villanova used free throws to close out a 65–60 victory. Markel Starks had 20 points for the Hoyas and Reggie Cameron had 12,[Villanova vs. Georgetown – Box Score – January 27, 2014 – ESPN](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=400504548) but the Hoyas went down to their fifth straight defeat, tying the longest losing streak of John Thompson III's ten\-season tenure at Georgetown set in [2011](/wiki/2010%E2%80%9311_Georgetown_Hoyas_men%27s_basketball_team "2010–11 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team"); it also was their third straight home loss, giving them their longest home losing streak since [2009](/wiki/2008%E2%80%9309_Georgetown_Hoyas_men%27s_basketball_team "2008–09 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team"). They had lost six of the seven games they played after Joshua Smith's departure and seven of their last eleven.

Georgetown's next game was a non\-conference affair against seventh\-ranked [Michigan State](/wiki/2013%E2%80%9314_Michigan_State_Spartans_men%27s_basketball_team "2013–14 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team") – its second Top\-Ten opponent of the year – at Madison Square Garden in New York City on February 1, 2014; preceded by a game between Marquette and St. John's, it was the second game of the "Super Saturday Hoops" doubleheader celebrating the following day's [Super Bowl XLVIII](/wiki/Super_Bowl_XLVIII "Super Bowl XLVIII") at [MetLife Stadium](/wiki/MetLife_Stadium "MetLife Stadium") in nearby [East Rutherford](/wiki/East_Rutherford%2C_New_Jersey "East Rutherford, New Jersey"), [New Jersey](/wiki/New_Jersey "New Jersey").[msuspartans.com "Michigan State Will Play In New York On Super Bowl Saturday," August 8, 2013\.](http://www.msuspartans.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/080813aab.html) The two teams had met only once previously, when the Spartans knocked the Hoyas out of the [1986 NCAA tournament](/wiki/1986_NCAA_Division_I_men%27s_basketball_tournament "1986 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament") in its second round.[Anonymous, "Georgetown shocks No. 7 Michigan State at MSG," Associated Press, February 1, 2014\. Retrieved June 30, 2018](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400504555) Michigan State came into the game with a record of 19–2 and was a heavy favorite despite playing with a front court weakened by injuries to senior center [Adreian Payne](/wiki/Adreian_Payne "Adreian Payne") and junior guard [Branden Dawson](/wiki/Branden_Dawson "Branden Dawson"). Trailing 30–29 at halftime, the Hoyas began the second half with an 11–2 run to take a 40–32 lead with 14:26 remaining in the game. Sophomore [guard](/wiki/Guard_%28basketball%29 "Guard (basketball)") [Gary Harris](/wiki/Gary_Harris "Gary Harris") scored a game\-high 20 points for the Spartans, and his [three\-pointer](/wiki/Three-point_field_goal "Three-point field goal") with 1:32 left reduced Georgetown's lead to 56–54\. Jabril Trawick then made two key plays, tipping in a missed shot to give Georgetown a 58–54 lead and soon afterwards scoring on a breakaway dunk to give the Hoyas a 63–55 advantage. The Hoyas, who shot only 2\-for\-12 (16\.7 percent) from three\-point range but 22\-for\-49 (44\.9 percent) from the field overall, held the Spartans to 39\.3 percent shooting from the field, and became only the fourth team to outrebound Michigan State during the season, 37–30\. Markel Starks led Georgetown with 16 points, D'Vautes Smith\-Rivera scored 12, Trawick had eight, and the Georgetown front court had a strong game with Lubick scoring eight points as Georgetown broke its losing streak with a shocking 64–60 upset of Michigan State and defeated a ranked opponent for the second time during the season.

The victory over Michigan State raised hopes that Georgetown's season would turn around, and it began a four\-game winning streak for the Hoyas, who returned to conference play and 
entered a stretch in which they played a number of the Big East's struggling teams.[Anonymous, "Georgetown beats Butler 71\-63," Associated Press, February 8, 2018](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400504562) First, they won at DePaul two days later – Georgetown's 14th straight win over the Blue Demons, a streak dating back to [January 22, 1994](/wiki/1993%E2%80%9394_Georgetown_Hoyas_men%27s_basketball_team "1993–94 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team")[Anonymous, "Georgetown takes down DePaul 71\-59," Associated Press, February 3, 2014\. Retrieved June 30, 2018](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400504557) – and then they came home to defeat Butler and Providence. Against DePaul, Markel Starks shot only 6\-for\-18 (33 percent) from the field, but he hit three three\-pointers and 11 of his 14 free throws (79 percent) to finish with a game\-high 26 points, while Trawick had 15 points, Nate Lubick grabbed 10 rebounds to go with his three points, and Smith\-Rivera – mired in a 4\-for\-24 (17 percent) shooting slump from the field in Georgetown's previous two games and an 0\-for\-5 showing in the first half against DePaul – went 3\-for\-6 in the second half and scored 17 points.[Georgetown vs. DePaul – Box Score – February 3, 2014 – ESPN Retrieved June 30, 2018](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=400504557) In the Butler game – in which Georgetown turned the ball over only seven times for the second straight game and won despite a career\-high 24 points by Bulldog freshman forward Andrew Chrabascz – Starks led the team with 19 points, Smith\-Rivera added 18, and Lubick scored 10 while pulling down nine rebounds. Despite 31 points by Providence senior guard [Bryce Cotton](/wiki/Bryce_Cotton "Bryce Cotton"), the Hoyas came from behind to deal the Friars their third consecutive loss as Smith\-Rivera, who had missed 17 straight three\-pointers going into the game, went 2\-for\-4 from beyond the arc and scored 22 points, Starks contributed 14, Reggie Cameron had 11, and Mikael Hopkins grabbed 11 rebounds and scored eight.[White, Joseph, "Georgetown tops Providence 83\-71, 4th straight win," Associated Press. February 10, 2014 – ESPN Retrieved June 30, 2018](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400504565) By the end of the Providence game, the Hoyas had evened their conference record at 6–6 – putting them back in contention for a possible bid to the [2014 NCAA tournament](/wiki/2014_NCAA_Division_I_men%27s_basketball_tournament "2014 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament")[Anonymous, "Edwin nets 21, Seton Hall sweeps Georgetown, 82\-67," Associated Press, February 20, 2014\. Retrieved June 30, 2018](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400504579) – although four of those wins had come against the two teams with the worst records in the Big East, Butler and DePaul.

Georgetown's hopes for greater success late in the season dimmed after two straight one\-sided road losses to St. John's and Seton Hall that followed the winning streak. Freshman guard Rysheed Jordan scored a career\-high 24 points against the Hoyas, who got into foul trouble, to lead the Red Storm to its eighth win in nine games, despite 15 points by Smith\-Rivera and 13 each by Starks and Trawick.[Anonymous, "Jordan scores 24, St. John's over Georgetown 82\-60," Associated Press, February 16, 2014\. Retrieved June 30, 2018](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400504574)[Georgetown vs. St. John's – Box Score – February 16, 2014\. Retrieved June 30, 2018](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=400504574) Four days later, the Pirates broke a three\-game losing streak, winning for only the fourth time in 12 games, and completed their first season sweep of the Hoyas since the [2002–2003 season](/wiki/2002%E2%80%9303_Georgetown_Hoyas_men%27s_basketball_team "2002–03 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team"), with Smith\-Rivera scoring 20, Starks 13, and Trawick 11 in a losing cause. It was only the third time since the creation of the original Big East Conference in [1979](/wiki/1979%E2%80%9380_Georgetown_Hoyas_men%27s_basketball_team "1979–80 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team") that Seton Hall had swept Georgetown in a season, and the back\-to\-back losses dropped Georgetown to 6–8 in Big East play, with a tougher part of their schedule looming to close out the regular season. The Hoyas never led during the two losses.[Anonymous, "Georgetown beats Xavier 74\-52; snaps 2\-game skid," Associated Press, February 22, 2014\. Retrieved June 30, 2018](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400504580)

The Hoyas bounced back for a 74–52 home win against Xavier in which they never trailed, ending up with their most decisive victory in a Big East game since a 61–39 defeat of [Syracuse](/wiki/2012%E2%80%9313_Syracuse_Orange_men%27s_basketball_team "2012–13 Syracuse Orange men's basketball team") on [March 9, 2013](/wiki/2012%E2%80%9313_Georgetown_Hoyas_men%27s_basketball_team "2012–13 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team"). Jabril Trawick made his first start since breaking his jaw on January 8 and scored 13 points, while Markel Starks had a game\-high 22\. However, another loss followed in a visit to Marquette five days later, as the Hoyas missed two layups in the final seconds and the Golden Eagles won 75–73, their fifth victory in six games.[Anonymous, "Marquette downs Georgetown 75\-73," Associated Press, February 28, 2014\. Retrieved June 30, 2018](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400504588) Starks led the Hoyas with 24 points against Marquette, while Smith\-Rivera had a 19\-point performance and Trawick contributed 16\.

Georgetown completed its regular season with games against two ranked conference opponents. The penultimate game was against No. 13 Creighton, with four Georgetown seniors playing in their final home game.[Anonymous, "Georgetown holds off Doug McDermott, No. 13 Creighton," Associated Press, March 5, 2014\. Retrieved June 30, 2018](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400504594) During halftime Georgetown announced that its new on\-campus athletic center would be named the John R. Thompson Jr. Intercollegiate Athletics Center, after [John Thompson Jr.](/wiki/John_Thompson_Jr. "John Thompson Jr."), the Hoyas' head coach from 1972 to 1999 and father of John Thompson III and of former Georgetown player [Ronny Thompson](/wiki/Ronny_Thompson "Ronny Thompson"). The Hoyas shot 54 percent from the field and Aaron Bowen and Mikael Hopkins limited the highest\-scoring college player in the United States, Bluejays senior forward [Doug McDermott](/wiki/Doug_McDermott "Doug McDermott") – averaging 26 points per game for the season – to 9\-for\-23 shooting (39 percent) in field goal attempts and 4\-of\-11 (36 percent) from three\-point range, and overall Creighton shot only 40 percent from the field and 10\-for\-29 (34 percent) in three\-point attempts. The Hoyas jumped out to a 42–28 advantage at halftime. and early in the second half widened their lead to 16\. Although McDermott scored 16 of his 22 points and made nine of his 12 rebounds – giving him a [double\-double](/wiki/Double-double "Double-double") – in the second half, the Bluejays never got closer than five points, closing to 66–61 with 1:42 left to play. After that, Georgetown pulled away again for a 75–63 upset victory. D'Vauntes Smith\-Rivera and Markel Starks had Georgetown's first double\-doubles of the season, Smith\-Rivera scoring 18 points and grabbing a career\-high 12 rebounds and Starks finishing with 17 points and a career\-best 11 assists, while Jabril Trawick had 15 points and seven rebounds and Mikael Hopkins contributed 10 points.[Creighton vs. Georgetown – Box Score – March 4, 2014 – ESPN. Retrieved June 30, 2018\.](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=400504594)

Hoping for a first\-round bye in the new Big East's championship tournament and to enhance its case for an NCAA Tournament bid, Georgetown traveled to meet No. 6 Villanova to close out the regular season. However, the Wildcats dominated the Hoyas,[Anonymous, "Darrun Hilliard powers No. 6 Villanova past G'town," Associated Press, March 8, 2014\. Retrieved June 30, 2018](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400504598) winning 77–59\. The 18\-point win was Villanova's largest over Georgetown since Villanova joined the original Big East Conference for the [1980\-1981 season](/wiki/1980%E2%80%9381_Georgetown_Hoyas_men%27s_basketball_team "1980–81 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team"); it also gave Villanova its first 16\-win conference season in school history. Markel Starks scored a game\-high 20 points, D'Vauntes Smith\-Rivera added 19, and Aaron Bowen came off the bench to score 13 against Villanova.[Georgetown vs. Villanova – Box Score – March 8, 2014 – ESPN. Retrieved June 30, 2018\.](https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=400504598) Georgetown finished the regular season in seventh place in the Big East, with an 8\-10 conference record and a 17–13 record overall. It was Georgetown's first losing conference record since the [2008\-2009 season](/wiki/2008%E2%80%9309_Georgetown_Hoyas_men%27s_basketball_team "2008–09 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team"), and the seventh\-place finish meant that the Hoyas would not get a bye in the first round of the conference championship tournament.


What would have happened if Villanova hadn't played so well?