The result of this year's March Madness certainly brought pride to the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The name to remember is "George." George Mason, Georgetown and George Washington all made it to second round of play in the NCAA tournament.
Although George Washington fell to Duke in the second round (and there's nothing shameful about losing to Duke), George Mason's and Georgetown's success offers hope for AU's future prospects for the NCAA tournament. Both teams not only represent the D.C. area, but also have made it to this year's Sweet Sixteen despite last year's much more humble results.
Last year Georgetown did not even qualify for the NCAA tournament, but fell to South Carolina in the quarterfinals of the National Invitational Tournament. This year the Hoyas drew attention to themselves all season with the strong coaching of John Thompson III and a commanding record.
Their success this season as a team seems to reflect the improvement of a single player, center Roy Hibbert. The sophomore went from averaging 5.1 points last year to averaging 11.6 points this year. This is a good sign for AU because it has several promising freshmen who will be able to step up next year as sophomores.
As a school, Georgetown is not too different from AU. They have about the same number of undergraduate students and about the same level of diversity. This means our campus would also be capable of supporting a successful basketball team. Although AU does need to step up the student support, as the Eagles improve, so will the students' morale.
So what AU can learn from Georgetown is that it is capable of supporting an NCAA tournament-bound team, and even just one player's drastic improvement can cause significant improvement and a boost to the team's momentum throughout the season.
Next there is the Cinderella story that is George Mason. The Patriots were never considered to be a powerhouse team. Last year they lost to North Carolina-Wilmington in the first round of the Colonial Athletic Conference tournament.
This year is a completely different story. They have made it to the Sweet Sixteen after pulling off two major upsets. First they beating Michigan State, then they pulled off an astonishing upset of North Carolina.
George Mason has a much larger and more diverse student population than AU. The Patriots also humiliated the Eagles with a 40-point blowout at the BB&T Classic in December. But what AU can learn from them is that no matter how low expectations are, a team can always rise above them.
Bradley is another team that was never expected to make the Sweet Sixteen. The Braves went into the tournament with a No. 13 seed. But after pulling off victories over Kansas and Pittsburgh, they are expected to put up a good fight against Memphis.
Bucknell, representing the Patriot League, fell to Memphis in the second round. Although the Bison lost by 16 points, they proved that there is life for PL competitors after first-round play.
It seems that having a strong regular season, in combination with the momentum that can follow an underdog team, is the key not only to making the NCAA tournament, but also making it past the first round.
