1995–96 Georgetown Hoyas Men's Basketball Team
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The 1995–96 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented
Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
in the 1995–96
NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...
college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...
season. John Thompson, coached them in his 24th season as head coach. They played their home games at
USAir Arena The Capital Centre (later USAir Arena and US Airways Arena) was an indoor arena in the eastern United States, located in Landover, Maryland, a suburb east of Washington, D.C. Opened in late 1973, it closed in 1999, and was demolished in 200 ...
in
Landover, Maryland Landover is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 25,998. Landover is contained between Sheriff Road and Central Avenue to the so ...
. They were members of the Big East 7 Division of the
Big East Conference The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and M ...
, were the regular-season champions of the Big East 7 Division, and finished the season with a record of 29–8, 13–5 in Big East play. Their record earned them a bye in the first round of the 1996 Big East men's basketball tournament, and they advanced to the tournament final before losing to
Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
. They were awarded a No. 2 seed in the East Regional of the
1996 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 1996 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 14, 1996, and ended with the championsh ...
– Georgetowns 17th NCAA Tournament appearance in 18 years – and advanced to the East Regional Final before losing to No. 1 seed
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
. They were ranked No. 4 in the seasons final
Associated Press Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...
and No. 7 in the postseason
Coaches' Poll The Coaches Poll is a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football, Division I college basketball, and Division I college baseball teams. The football version of the poll has been known officially ...
.


Season recap

This was the Big Easts first season in which it organized its teams into divisions; the two divisions were the Big East 6 and Big East 7 divisions. Georgetown would play as a member of the Big East 7 Division for three seasons before the conference scrapped its divisional structure after the end of the 1997-98 season. For its first year in the Big East 7 Division, Georgetown fielded a powerhouse team that included four future
National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
(NBA) stars and began the season ranked fifth in the country. Sophomore
guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...
Allen Iverson Allen Ezail Iverson (; born June 7, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "the Answer", he played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) at both the shooting guard and point guard positions. Iver ...
led the team with a dominant season. The previous year, he had averaged 20.4 points per game despite shooting only 39 percent from the field, 23 percent from three-point range, and 19 percent in three-point shots during Big East play; this year he shot 48 percent from the field and 36.6 percent in three-pointers, with impressive results. In the second game of the year against
Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
in the
Preseason NIT The NIT Season Tip-Off is an annual college basketball tournament that takes place in November of each year, toward the beginning of the season. The first two rounds are held at campus sites, while the semifinals and the finals are held during the ...
, he shot 50 percent from the field, scored 24 points, and had a career-high 10 rebounds. In the tournaments third game four days later, he scored 23 points against 25th-ranked
Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...
, and two days after that he completed the tournament with a career-high 40-point game against 19th-ranked
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
. In an early Big East game against
Rutgers Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was a ...
, he scored 21 points despite playing only 20 minutes. In the last 25 games of the season, Iverson led the team in scoring 21 times, including another 40-point game against
Seton Hall Seton Hall University (SHU) is a private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesa ...
, 39 against St. John's, 34 against
Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...
, and 30 against 23rd-ranked
Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...
. Senior
center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...
and team co-captain
Othella Harrington Othella Harrington (born January 31, 1974) is an American former professional basketball player. After he finished his high school career at Murrah High School, he played in college at Georgetown University where he teamed with future NBA supers ...
had had a standout
freshman year A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...
, but his production had declined over the previous two seasons as Georgetown began to emphasize uptempo guard play rather than feeding the ball to the "big man" at center, and his
junior year A junior is person in the third year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In United States high schools, a junio ...
had been his least successful. He recovered this season, with a shooting percentage from the field (55%) and
free-throw In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the Key (basketball), restricted ...
line and an offensive rebound total (100) which all were more like those of his freshman year. He scored 25 points and had 12 rebounds against Duquesne, scored 23 at USAir Arena against 17th-ranked
Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...
– a team against which he averaged 17 points per game and three times scored 20 or more points during his four-year career – and had a 27-point, 10-rebound game against Memphis. Freshman
point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...
Victor Page Victor Martin Page (born February 19, 1975) is an American former basketball player who once played for the Georgetown University Hoyas and Sioux Falls Skyforce. He holds the freshman scoring record of 34 points in a game, breaking Allen Iverson' ...
joined the Hoyas this season. One of the nations top prospects, he played in all 37 games and started 33. In the first three games of the season, he scored a combined 71 points, including 25 in the Georgia Tech game. He averaged 12.5 points per game for the season. Senior forward and team co-captain Jerome Williams had another good year, averaging 10 points and 8.8 rebounds a game, shooting 58.8% from the field, and finishing second to Iverson in steals. He completed his two-year varsity career averaging 54.4 percent from the field. Sophomore center Jahidi White saw only limited action, but began to show his potential, including a 19-point, 11-rebound effort in only 17 minutes of play against Morgan State in December 1995. Two days after beating Memphis, the Hoyas faced third-ranked
Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
at USAir Arena. The Huskies came into the game with a chance to break the record for consecutive wins in Big East games set by the 1984-85 Hoyas. Before a national television audience and a sold-out arena, the Georgetown defense held Connecticut junior shooting guard
Ray Allen Walter Ray Allen Jr. (born July 20, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. He played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in ...
to two points in the first half and forced the Huskies to commit 20 turnovers. Hoya sophomore
forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...
Boubacar Aw scored 11 points and grabbed five rebounds, while Iverson scored 26 points, highlighted by a soaring dunk early in the second half that electrified the crowd, and had eight steals and six assists as the Hoyas upset Connecticut 77–65. Connecticut became the highest-ranked team that Georgetown had defeated since the 1987-88 Hoyas defeated second-ranked
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
in January 1988. The Hoyas closed out the regular season with a 106–68 win at USAir Arena over sixth-ranked Villanova, the sixth-largest margin of victory in Georgetown history and the schools largest margin of victory ever against a Top Ten opponent. Iverson played only 27 minutes but scored 37 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and had three steals. Georgetown finished the regular season as the first-ever Big East 7 Division champion, earning the Hoyas a No.2 seed in the 1996 Big East men's basketball tournament and a bye in its first round. The Hoyas beat
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, they faced ninth-ranked Villanova. The Wildcats got Iverson into foul trouble and held Harrington, Williams, and Aw to a combined 1-for-8 (12.5%) shooting from the field. Page responded by putting the Hoyas into a slowdown offense, focusing on quick scoring attempts as the
shot clock A shot clock is a countdown timer used in a variety of games and sports, proving a set amount of time that a team may possess the object of play before attempting to score a goal. Shot clocks are used in several sports including basketball, wat ...
ran down, grabbing nine rebounds, and shooting 12-for-19 (63.2%) from the field to score a career-high 34 points. Georgetown won 84–76 to advance to the tournament final the next evening. The final was another meeting with third-ranked Connecticut. Georgetown was ahead 74–63 with 4:46 left in the game when the Hoyas again began to play a delay game, trying to get the ball inside to Iverson for scoring opportunities just before the shot clock expired. Iverson, however, shot only 4-for-15 (26.7%) from the field for the evening, and Georgetown did not score again for the rest of the game. Connecticut closed the gap. With the Hoyas leading 74-73 and thirteen seconds remaining, Ray Allen barely beat the
shot clock A shot clock is a countdown timer used in a variety of games and sports, proving a set amount of time that a team may possess the object of play before attempting to score a goal. Shot clocks are used in several sports including basketball, wat ...
with an off-balance shot that scored to give the Huskies a 75–74 lead. Georgetown failed in two attempts to score in the final seconds, and Connecticut took its third Big East tournament championship. It was the fourth time the Hoyas had lost in the tournaments final game since
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. Page, however, became only the second player to receive tournament
Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...
honors without playing for the championship team. The loss prevented Georgetown from receiving a No. 1 seed in the 1996 NCAA tournament, but the Hoyas were seeded No. 2 in the tournaments East Region. The Hoyas defeated
Mississippi Valley State Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU, The Valley or Valley) is a public historically black university in Mississippi Valley State, Mississippi, adjacent to Itta Bena, Mississippi.New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
in the second round, and Harrington scored 23 points as Georgetown beat eighth-ranked
Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...
in the East Region semifinal. The Hoyas thus advanced to an NCAA regional final (the "
Elite Eight In the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship or the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship, the "Elite Eight" comprises the final eight teams, representing the regional finals, or national quarterfinals. In Division I and Divis ...
") for the first time since
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to face the regions No. 1 seed, top-ranked
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
. Although Harrington scored 13 points, Iverson shot only 6-for-21 (28.6%) from the field against the Minutemen, and Massachusetts won 86–62 to knock Georgetown out of the tournament. Despite his poor tournament performances against Connecticut and Massachusetts, Iverson finished the year having scored 926 points, breaking the previous single-season record by 124 points, and also setting single-season records for
field goals A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...
(312), field goal attempts (650), three-point shots (87), three-point attempts (238), steals (124), minutes played (1,214), and scoring average (25.0 points per game), and he ranked seventh in the United States in average points scored per game for the season. Citing a need to earn money for his family with which to pay one of his sisters medical bills, Iverson opted after the season to forgo his remaining two years of college eligibility and leave school to enter the NBA draft, the first Georgetown player to do so since John Thompson became head coach in
1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...
. The move was controversial, as Georgetown fans had come to expect the teams great players to fulfill a full four-year commitment to play for the school. His departure presaged a decline in Georgetowns basketball fortunes over the next decade. The team finished the year ranked fourth in the
Associated Press Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...
and seventh in the
Coaches' Poll The Coaches Poll is a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football, Division I college basketball, and Division I college baseball teams. The football version of the poll has been known officially ...
.


Roster

Junior reserve guard
Brendan Gaughan William Brendan Gaughan (born July 10, 1975) is an American professional racing driver who has competed in off-road and stock cars. He is the grandson of Vegas gaming pioneer Jackie Gaughan and son of Michael Gaughan, a hotel and casino magnate. ...
later became a successful
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driver. Source


Rankings

Source


1995–96 Schedule and results

SourcesOfficial Basketball Box Score Georgetown vs Syracuse 2/10/96 2:00 p.m. at Carrier Dome, Syracuse, NY
/ref> * All times are
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, - !colspan=9 style="background:#002147; color:#8D817B;", Preseason , - !colspan=9 style="background:#002147; color:#8D817B;", Regular Season , - !colspan=9 style="background:#002147; color:#8D817B;", Big East tournament , - !colspan=9 style="background:#002147; color:#8D817B;", NCAA tournament


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1995-96 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball seasons
Georgetown Hoyas The Georgetown Hoyas are the collegiate athletics teams that officially represent Georgetown University, located in Washington, D.C. Georgetown's athletics department fields 23 men's and women's varsity level teams and competes at the National C ...
Georgetown
Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team The Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball program represents Georgetown University in NCAA Division I men's intercollegiate basketball and the Big East Conference. Georgetown has competed in men's college basketball since 1907. The current head co ...
Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team The Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball program represents Georgetown University in NCAA Division I men's intercollegiate basketball and the Big East Conference. Georgetown has competed in men's college basketball since 1907. The current head co ...