Great moments in recent Georgetown NCAA Tournament history

While the Syracuse Orange’s recent Final Four runs have given us a lot of joy around here, there’s one thing that’s rivaled those rollicking rides through March: the repeated failures of the Georgetown Hoyas.

Since 2008, Georgetown has been upset in the first two rounds of the NCAAs five different times. They also fell to Utah. That’s fun because they lost, but it was less surprising than the other games. We revel in the other defeats below.

5. No. 11 NC State 66, No. 3 Georgetown 66 (2012)

State managed a three-point lead at halftime, then hold on to vanquish the Hoyas in this less-lauded upset. Four different Wolfpack players scored in double digits, while just two managed to do so for Georgetown. Lorenzo Brown played hero for the Pack, with three free throws in the final 10 seconds to seal the victory for NCSU.

4. No. 10 Davidson 74, No. 2 Georgetown 70 (2008)

At one point, the underdog Davidson Wildcats were down by a staggering 17, but with Steph Curry leading the way, they clawed all the way back for the four-point victory. Davidson outscored Georgetown by 15 in the second half (including 25 from the future NBA MVP). For the few who weren’t super familiar with Curry already, this was his formal introduction. Georgetown turned the ball over 20 times.

3. No. 11 VCU 74, No. 6 Georgetown 56 (2011)

The Rams shot the lights out from three (48 percent), while Georgetown never showed any ability to keep up. Hollis Thompson was virtually the only Hoya player to show up, scoring nearly half (26 points) of Georgetown’s output on his own. Maybe an 11-vs-6 upset doesn’t seem overwhelming, but this win certainly was. VCU ran the Hoyas off the court from start to finish.

2. No. 14 Ohio 97, No. 3 Georgetown 83 (2010)

The heavily-favored Hoyas were supposed to roll through the lesser Bobcats. Instead, Ohio rolled out to a 12-point lead at halftime and never let up. They shot over 56 percent both from three and overall from the floor. Armon Bassett and D.J. Cooper combined for 10 made threes on their own. You probably don’t remember those names because of how random this resounding victory was.

1. No. 15 Florida Gulf Coast 78, No. 2 Georgetown 68 (2013)

This final score fails to capture the wonder and joy that was Dunk City’s arrival on the national stage. Though the Eagles carried a slim lead into halftime, a 21-2 run in the second put this one away with plenty of time left. The Hoyas chipped away and made the loss look as respectable as possible. But still, this game was so much more rewarding than just any Georgetown loss. We earned a 700-comment thread from it. Innumerable gifs that are never going anywhere. And enough salt to propel our own Orange to the Final Four that same year too. It was the perfect confluence of events the likes of which Hoya fans still haven’t recovered from.

Thank you, Andy Enfield, Sherwood Brown, Bernard Thompson and the Dunk City faithful for making this one of our favorite NCAA Tournament memories.

BONUS MOMENT: No. 4 Syracuse 55, No. 3 Marquette 39 (2013)

Syracuse cuts down East Regional nets at (then) Verizon Center, Georgetown’s home court to cap off its time in the Big East.