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Georgetown Basketball History: Championship Week |
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From a 1999 article on HoyaSaxa.com, here are recaps of four key games in Georgetown history, all of which took place during the Final Fours of 1982, 1984, and 1985:
March 29, 1982: North Carolina 63, Georgetown 62
It's hard to describe how unique this game really was, whether to those who weren't there or to those who never saw it live on TV. It was an era when Georgetown was the underdog, the school people cheered for, not against. Its sky-blue uniforms and sky-high enthusiasm permeated the nation that weekend, with as many as one-third of its student body on an unofficial spring break to the French Quarter. Some alumni even came to the game in formal wear, as if to recognize a gala performance. With five future NBA all-stars on the floor and two coaching legends on the sidelines, the game did not disappoint. It came down to the team with the last good shot at the ball, a shot taken by a freshmen named "Mike" Jordan. And while some of us still can't watch the last 15 seconds of the game on tape, we remember with pride a game that redefined the sport, and which set a standard of excellence that was fulfilled just two years later. The box score:
NORTH CAROLINA (63)
fg ft
min m-a m-a rb a pf tp
Doherty 39 1-3 2-3 3 1 0 4
Worthy 38 13-17 2-7 4 0 4 28
Perkins 38 3-7 4-6 7 1 2 10
Black 38 1-4 2-2 3 7 2 4
Jordan 34 7-13 2-2 9 2 2 16
Peterson 7 0-3 0-0 1 1 0 0
Braddock 2 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0
Brust 4 0-0 1-2 1 1 1 1
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TOTALS 200 25-47 13-22 28 14 11 63
GEORGETOWN (62)
fg ft
min m-a m-a rb a pf tp
E. Smith 35 6-8 2-2 3 5 5 14
Hancock 8 0-2 0-0 0 0 1 0
Ewing 37 10-15 3-3 11 1 4 23
Brown 29 1-2 2-2 2 5 4 4
Floyd 34 9-17 0-0 3 5 2 18
Spriggs 30 0-2 1-2 1 0 2 1
Jones 10 1-3 0-0 0 0 0 2
Martin 5 0-2 0-0 0 0 1 0
G. Smith 7 0-0 0-0 0 0 1 0
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TOTALS 200 27-51 8-9 20 16 20 62
External links to the game: March 31, 1984: Georgetown 53, Kentucky 40 "Georgetown had played a lackluster first half, falling behind 15-8 after 11 minutes, and Ewing was on the bench with three fouls. Then Kentucky surged as the Hoyas sagged without their All-American, and it was 27-15 at the 3:06 mark. "Then the onslaught began. Kentucky was held without a field goal for 13 minutes. While the Wildcats missed their first 11 shots of the second half, Georgetown scored 12 points, and a Ewing tip-in gave the Hoyas a 30-29 lead with almost 11 minutes remaining. Finally, Kentucky forward Winston Bennett scored at 10:05 to cut the lead to Georgetown lead to 34-31, but the Wildcats again missed 11 straight shots and the Hoyas increased their lead to 14, at 45-31. Indeed, the performance was so startling that Sam Bowie looked at the clock and said, "'Didn't we have 29 points at the half? Have I been falling asleep or just not paying attention?'" The game was nothing short of amazing. Kentucky All-Americans Sam Bowie and Melvin Turpin (each of which were top-five NBA draft picks) were a combined 0 for 12 in the second half, the starting five an amazing 0 for 21. The Wildcats' second half shooting --3 for 33-- is a defensive marvel that may never be equaled. No wonder that the sight of Kentucky's Joe B. Hall heading back to his hotel that day was of someone who was utterly lost--a game where his #3-ranked Wildcats were confounded by the greatest defensive performance in NCAA tournament history. The box score:
GEORGETOWN (53)
fg ft
min m-a m-a rb a pf tp
Wingate 25 5-8 1-2 3 2 0 11
Dalton 17 0-1 0-0 4 0 1 0
Ewing 29 4-6 0-0 9 1 3 8
Brown 11 0-1 0-1 2 1 4 0
Jackson 33 4-9 4-6 10 3 2 12
Smith 17 2-4 1-2 2 1 2 5
Martin 5 1-4 0-0 1 0 1 2
Graham 33 4-6 0-2 6 1 3 8
Williams 18 1-7 0-0 3 2 3 2
Broadnax 12 2-4 1-2 1 0 0 5
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TOTALS 200 23-50 7-15 43 11 19 53
KENTUCKY (40)
fg ft
min m-a m-a rb a pf tp
Bowie 34 3-10 4-4 11 1 3 10
Walker 29 1-3 2-2 3 1 3 4
Turpin 27 2-11 1-2 5 1 2 5
Beal 35 2-8 2-2 1 4 4 6
Master 23 2-7 2-2 1 0 1 6
Bennett 24 1-8 0-0 7 0 5 2
Blackmon 22 2-5 1-2 1 2 3 5
Bearup 4 0-0 2-2 0 0 0 2
Harden 2 0-1 0-0 2 0 1 0
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TOTALS 200 13-53 14-16 33 9 22 40
April 1, 1985: Villanova 66, Georgetown 64 Well, this game has been overhyped for years. Villanova's 9-10 (90%) second half shooting is often cited, though the Cats shot a no less respectable 13-18 (72%) in the first. For their part, the Hoyas shot 55%. A lot of "what if"'s remain from the game and the entire season. If Michael Graham had kept up his studies, would the 84-85 Hoyas have ever lost a game? After three strong recruiting classes, was the Class of '88 (Perry McDonald, Grady Mateen, Ronnie Highsmith, Kevin Floyd) a net loss from the leadership of Fred Brown and Gene Smith the year before? And how did Patrick Ewing never go sent to the foul line once the entire game? There are really no answers to those questions. Like 1999's 37-2 Duke team, did all the hard work come down to one game that spoiled a more fitting legacy? The boxscore:
VILLANOVA (66)
fg ft
min m-a m-a rb a pf tp
Pressley 40 4-6 3-4 4 1 1 11
McClain 40 5-7 7-8 1 3 3 17
Pinckney 37 5-7 6-7 6 5 3 16
Wilbur 5 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 0
McLain 40 3-3 2-2 2 2 2 8
Jensen 34 5-5 4-5 1 2 2 14
Plansky 1 0-0 0-1 0 0 1 0
Everson 3 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
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TOTALS 200 22-28 22-27 17 14 12 66
GEORGETOWN (64)
fg ft
min m-a m-a rb a pf tp
Martin 37 4-6 2-2 5 1 2 10
Williams 29 5-9 0-2 4 2 3 10
Ewing 39 7-13 0-0 5 2 4 14
Jackson 37 4-7 0-0 0 9 4 8
Wingate 39 8-14 0-0 2 2 4 16
McDonald 2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0
Broadnax 13 1-2 2-2 1 2 4 4
Dalton 43 0-1 2-2 0 0 1 2
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TOTALS 200 29-53 6-8 17 18 22 64
April 2, 1984: Georgetown 84, Houston 75 "Looking at the National Championship Banner in McDonough [Gym], it becomes difficult to remember the entire season. Oh, everybody remembers the elation and excitement which follows the victory in the NCAA finals; after all, it was a first for GU, but how many remember the season that led to the victory? "How may have more than a fuzzy sense of flashing images when they look back at the Hoyas drive for the championship? Images of Patrick and Akeem, the fiery Michael Graham. Before that it was the comeback versus Kentucky...the low scoring cliffhanger with SMU, the Big East Championship vs. Syracuse, and before that, well, before that the team lost a couple but they really weren't important, were they? "Yes, the Hoyas had a tremendous season,but you look at it carefully to see that it wasn't all a bed of roses. Michael Jackson injured his shoulder in the pre-season, and there was considerable concern over when he would be in shape to play with the team. Patrick Ewing's mother passed away. Ralph Dalton's mother passed away. David Wingate's mother became terminally ill...there was the tempest in Boston when Georgetown "abridged constitutional rights" by escorting a female reporter out of the locker room where the team was changing. There were accusations that the basketball program at Georgetown was afflicted with a [disorder] called "Hoya Paranoia". There were the momentum breaking losses to Villanova (by one basket in double overtime) and St. John's (a home game where the Hoyas trailed by 21 points at the half). "Had the Hoyas not been successful last year, had they in any way fallen short of the brass ring, the pundits, at least the charitable ones, would have acknowledged that the distractions would have been great enough to excuse the failure. The other side of the coin that the distractions overcome were great enough to enhance the success."--from 1984-85 program So much has been written on the team and the game, so this space cannot do it justice. To complete this article, below is an excerpt from The HOYA's 80th anniversary issue commemorating the game: "The story of the game was Georgetown's ability to spread the ball around, evidenced by the five different Hoyas who scored in double figures. It was really heart that won this game for Georgetown, just as it had all season long for the heartbreak Hoyas. The moment that will live in the hearts of Georgetown fans everywhere was when Head Coach John Thompson embraced Freddie Brown as a member of the national champion Hoyas, exactly two years after Thompson hugged Brown after he had thrown the ball away to James Worthy to set up Michael Jordan's heroics that stole the 1982 national championship from Georgetown. The national championship trophy that Thompson and Ewing raised skyward can still be seen on campus, sitting in the McDonough lobby as a testament to the unforgettable Hoya basketball season of 1984 when Georgetown was king of the basketball world." Here is the the box score from the game:
GEORGETOWN (84)
fg ft
min m-a m-a rb a pf tp
Wingate 32 5-10 6-9 1 3 4 16
Dalton 13 0-0 0-0 2 0 1 0
Ewing 30 4-8 2-2 9 3 4 10
Brown 15 1-2 2-2 4 4 4 4
Jackson 35 3-4 5-5 0 6 4 11
Graham 24 7-9 0-2 5 0 4 14
Williams 26 9-18 1-2 7 3 2 19
Broadnax 8 2-3 0-0 0 0 2 4
Martin 16 3-6 0-0 2 0 0 6
Morris 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
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TOTALS 200 34-60 16-22 33 19 25 84
HOUSTON (75)
fg ft
min m-a m-a rb a pf tp
Winslow 33 0-1 2-2 6 3 4 2
Young 37 8-21 2-3 5 1 3 18
Olajuwon 32 6-9 3-7 9 0 4 15
Franklin 38 8-15 5-6 2 9 3 21
Gettys 29 3-3 0-0 1 7 2 6
Anders 10 2-2 0-2 0 0 0 4
Clark 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Anderson 6 1-1 0-0 2 0 0 2
Dickens 6 2-3 1-2 0 0 5 5
Thomas 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Giles 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Weaver 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Orsak 1 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 2
Alexander 1 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 0
Belcher 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
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TOTALS 200 31-56 13-22 26 20 21 75
Some links to the 1984 final: |
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"People will talk about this final for as long as they talk about great NCAA tournament games. Both teams shot better than 52 percent. Not once in the final 33 minutes were these two teams separated by more than four points... The 61,612 paying customers in the New Orleans Superdome, plus the millions of television viewers across the country, saw probably the most awesome display of talent ever by a freshman in an NCAA title game. Patrick Ewing, the Hoyas 7-foot center, let it all hang out for the entire country to see. Ten of 15 from the field, three of three from the line, two blocks, three steals, and five awe-inspiring goaltends later, he had established himself as perhaps college basketball's most dominating force."--Excerpt from the Georgetown Basketball Media Guide, 1982-1983