WASHINGTON — No. 12 seed Georgetown is one and done, losing big to no. 5 seed Colorado in the first round of the NCAA tournament, 96-73.
It had been six seasons since the Hoyas last made it into March Madness, and they had faced their largest halftime deficit in an NCAA tournament game ever, down 23-47 at the midway point.
The Buffaloes now move on to face the winner between 4-seed Florida State and 13-seed UNC Greensboro.
The Big Ten tournament title that earned them a spot in the Big Dance proved to be the bright spot of coach Patrick Ewing's Hoyas, as they finish 13-13 on a year filled with adversity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Georgetown's late-season surge was all but over throughout the game as the Buffaloes took control with a commanding 11 3-pointers in the first half, and cruising to the win over the Hoyas.
Freshman Jabari Walker had a career-high 24 points to lead Colorado, which went 16 for 25 from long range — that's 64% — was 34 of 56 from the floor. Colorado also had 27 assists. D’Shawn Schwartz had 18 points and made four of his five 3s in the first half to put Colorado into cruise control.
Georgetown made the tournament with a four-wins-in-four-days streak through the Big East tourney, but was no match for CU.
Saturday is the second full day of the NCAA Tournament. Georgetown started it by kneeling during the national anthem. The Hoyas locked arms and took a knee during “The Star-Spangled Banner” ahead of the opening game just after noon.
No. 1 seeds Gonzaga and Michigan will also be in action Saturday.
Friday’s slate featured three big upsets — pulled off by No. 12 Oregon State, No. 13 North Texas and No. 15 Oral Roberts. Two of the upset victims — Ohio State and Purdue — were from the Big Ten.
This is a breaking news story that will be updated. The Associated Press contributed.
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