WASHINGTON — Georgetown will be a No. 12 seed when they take on No. 5 seed Colorado in the men's NCAA tournament, and the seeding for the Hoyas statistically shows that they have a good chance of making the next round on the tourney.
The iconic No. 5 vs No. 12 matchup is one that even the NCAA knows has a historic past that has produced upsets through the years.
There have been 50 upsets by 12-seeds since the NCAA tournament field expanded in 1985. That means the lower seed is 50-90, equating to a 35.71 win percentage, according to the NCAA in an article.
According to the NCAA, there have only been five years (1988, 2000, 2007, 2015 and 2018) that a 12 seed has not beaten a 5 seed in the men's tournament.
"While more than 50 percent of the 12-seeds who won in the first round fail to advance past the second round, 21 of the 50 teams have indeed made it to Sweet 16," said the NCAA in its story.
The Hoyas entered the season with nine new players, so it took some time before they started to click. After a 3-8 start, a COVID-19 outbreak forced Georgetown to postpone four games, keeping them off the court for 17 days in January. But they came back stronger, and in one month went from last to first.
They won the title on the 49th anniversary of Thompson’s hiring at Georgetown, something that made Saturday’s win extra special for Ewing.
It was on this day, March 13, that he was hired, and on this day, we won the Big East championship. They had us ranked last, and I keep talking about that Drake song, started at the bottom and now we’re here. We started at the bottom and now we’re number one,” Ewing said.
The last time Georgetown won an NCAA tournament game came during the 2014-15 season.