The 1920–21 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

during the 1920–21 NCAA

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season. John O'Reilly coached the team in his seventh season as head coach. Georgetown was an independent and played its home games at

Ryan Gymnasium Ryan may refer to: People and fictional characters *Ryan (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Ryan (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) Places Australia * Division of Ryan, an electo ...

on the Georgetown campus in

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The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Home Courts
/ref> and finished the season with a record of 10–4.

Season recap

On-campus Ryan Gymnasium, where the Hoyas had played their home games since the 1914–15 season, had no seating, accommodating fans on a standing-room only-basis on an indoor track above the court. This precluded the accommodation of significant crowds, providing the self-sustaining Basketball Association with little revenue with which to fund the teams travel expenses, and Georgetown averaged no more than three road games a year from the 1918-19 season through the 1926–27 season in order to keep travel to a minimum. The 1920–21 teams only road trip outside of Washington was to play schools in

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at the end of the season. The Hoyas home winning streak at Ryan Gymnasium reached 34 games at the end of this season, dating back to a victory against Bucknell on the last day of the 1916–17 season; it would reach 52 before finally coming to an end during the 1923–24 season. Highlights of the home season at Ryan included Georgetowns upsets of

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and

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, two of the most highly regarded teams in the

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at the time.The Georgetown Basketball History Project: 1910s Seasons
/ref>
/ref> Georgetown also defeated crosstown rival

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

twice this season, giving the Hoyas a 14-game winning streak against George Washington – 10 of the wins at Ryan Gymnasium – dating back to 1915. Junior

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Jack Flavin was the teams highest scorer, scoring about a third of the teams points. An excellent shooter, he averaged 12.5 points per gane, and scored a total of 175 points.The Georgetown Basketball History Project: The Top 100: 82. Jack Flavin
/ref> Junior

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Andrew "Andy" Zazzali played in all 14 games, averaging 4.8 points per game and scoring a total of 65 points. He played an excellent defense during the season; over a stretch of five games that included games against nationally renowned St. John's, North Carolina, and Georgia Tech, his defense played a major role in holding opponents to an average of less than six points in the first half.The Georgetown Basketball History Project: The Top 100: 84. Andrew Zazzali
/ref> Sophomore forward Paul Florence was the only new player on the team, which had finished with a 13–1 record the previous season. He was a very accurate shooter, and despite being surrounded by veterans led the team in its season-opening 10-game winning streak. He finished second in scoring, appearing in 12 games, scoring 72 points, and averaging 6.0 points per game for the season.The Georgetown Basketball History Project: The Top 100: 91. Paul Florence
/ref> The team won its first 10 games, nine of them at home and one across town against George Washington. It then finished the season by losing all four games on its only road trip to end with a 10–4 record. O'Reilly fell ill after this season and was unable to coach the Hoyas for the next two seasons. He returned to the head coaching position in time for the 1923–24 season.

Roster

Sources Georgetown players did not wear numbers on their jerseys this season. The first numbered jerseys in Georgetown mens basketball history would not appear until the 1933–34 season. Senior

Bill Dudack later served as the Hoyas head coach during the 1929–30 season.

1920–21 schedule and results

Sources It was common practice at this time for colleges and universities to include non-collegiate opponents in their schedules, with the games recognized as part of their official record for the season, so the January 24, 1921, game against a

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team from Camp A. A. Humphreys in

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counted as part of Georgetowns won-loss record for 1920–21. It was not until 1952, after the completion of the 1951–52 season, that the

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(NCAA) ruled that colleges and universities could no longer count games played against non-collegiate opponents in their annual won-loss records. , - !colspan=9 style="background:#002147; color:#8D817B;", Regular Season

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1920-21 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball seasons Georgetown Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team