ESPN Men's Basketball

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- With Georgetown enjoying a comfortable lead late against Belmont, one Bruins fan still believed the Hoyas would stumble the way they had the last two years against lower seeds.

“You got a lot of choke in you, Georgetown,” he screamed toward the end of Georgetown’s 74-59 victory over Belmont in the second round of the NCAA tournament at Nationwide Arena.

In 2010 and 2011, the fan would have been right. But he was wrong Friday.

The Hoyas avoided a third consecutive postseason loss to a lower seed with an easy win over the Bruins.

The 3-14 matchup quickly became a trendy upset pick on Selection Sunday based on Belmont’s 3-point shooting (8.8 per game, 10th in the nation entering Friday’s game) and Georgetown’s premature dismissals the previous two seasons.

In the 2010, the Hoyas fell against Ohio. In 2011, they lost to VCU in the second round.

They were determined, however, to avoid another one in Columbus. And their fast start proved it. With 8:55 to play in the first half, they had an 11-point lead.

“I think it was definitely a sense of urgency, not just for me, but for the whole team,” said guard Jason Clark, who scored 10 of his team’s first 14 points. “We’ve known what we’ve done in the past. So it was a big thing for us to get this win today.”

That boisterous Belmont fan summed up the perception that made the Bruins a popular upset pick in office pools around the country.

Center Henry Sims said he couldn’t escape the “Belmont over Georgetown” chatter entering the matchup.

“I can’t even tell you how many times I looked on Twitter and saw ‘I’m calling this upset, this 3-14 upset.’ I just wanted to prove people wrong,” he said.

Now, the Hoyas can look forward to a Sunday matchup against NC State, which beat San Diego State in the first game of the afternoon. The Wolfpack possess athleticism and length that Belmont clearly lacked.

The Bruins were down 36-27 at halftime after shooting 6-for-15 from the 3-point-line. The Hoyas, the best 3-point defenders in the nation, made every shot a tough shot for the Bruins.

And on offense, they just pounded the ball inside and exploited Belmont’s limited size.

Sims scored 15 points. Otto Porter finished with 16 points and eight rebounds. The Hoyas had a 44-20 scoring advantage in the paint by the end of the game.

And the Atlantic Sun champs didn’t have a defender that could stick with Clark, who recorded a game-high 21 points (9-for-12 from the field). Georgetown shot 61.2 percent overall.

After the Hoyas led 40-27 early in the second half, Belmont used a 9-2 run to cut Georgetown’s lead to six with 14:52 to play. But a Belmont goaltending call and turnover on its next possession helped the Hoyas regain a double-digit lead.

The 3-ball that had been so crucial throughout the season for Belmont was not as effective against the lengthy Hoyas. The Bruins were 4-for-12 from beyond the arc in the second half. Georgetown’s zone was effective throughout the matchup.

“It’s hard to shoot a 3 when it’s contested,” Sims said.

And now, the Hoyas feel like they can finally move forward.

“There’s no doubt, and I will be misleading if I were to say it was not a relief,” said coach John Thompson III.

Editor’s Note: To see our expert picks for each of the nation’s 12 top conferences, click here. To cast your vote in these races, visit SportsNation.

A quick look at the player and coach of the year races in the Big East:

Player of the year

Syracuse is far and away the best team in the Big East Conference.

Which is great when it comes to winning games, but a real problem when you’re trying to sort out player of the year trophies.

Usually you can at least find one obvious candidate from the best team in the conference. With the Orange, that’s impossible. Together they are unbeatable, but individually they almost cancel one another out. Is Scoop Jardine more valuable than Kris Joseph? Does Joseph do more than Fab Melo? How about Dion Waiters, the guy who comes off the bench to rank second on the team in scoring?

All four will get and deserve votes but Syracuse is truly a sum-of-its-parts squad, one where every piece is critical but none more than the others. Someone on this team could win Big East POY -- and if we were voting, we’d lean Waiters -- but it’s not likely.

So who are the obvious candidates? There are two front-runners – Marquette’s Darius Johnson-Odom and West Virginia’s Kevin Jones.

Johnson-Odom has been terrific for a team that has been rock steady all year. Second in the Big East (behind Jones) in scoring, he averages 18.4 points per game. He’s scored in double figures in every game he’s played in save one -- suspended for the first half against West Virginia, he had nine.

Jones, in the meantime, had to be great for coach Bob Huggins’ young team to survive -- and the senior forward has been great. Along with leading the league in scoring and rebounding (20 points and 11 boards), he’s put up 18 double-doubles this season.

Some other long shots to consider: Marquette's Jae Crowder, Notre Dame’s Jack Cooley, Georgetown’s Jason Clark and Seton Hall’s Herb Pope. St. John’s freshmen D’Angelo Harrison and Moe Harkless have been terrific but there’s another newcomer award for them.

It’s a tough pick between the two favorites and I waffle daily but I’d probably lean Johnson-Odom because he has not only been sensational, his team has been, too.

Coach of the year

Interesting test case here -- do you reward the guy who has steered the loaded roster to near perfection or do you celebrate coaches who have had surprising success?

Jim Boeheim is one trip to South Bend away from perfection, achieving such rarefied air despite dealing with the fallout from the Bernie Fine scandal in December. Outsiders might argue that a kindergartener could coach a team with so much depth and talent. What looks easy, though, isn’t always. Managing a team -- especially in this day and age, when premier players come in with premier egos -- is not easy.

And Boeheim hasn’t steered a team to near perfection in any old league. He’s done it in the Big East.

Mike Brey and John Thompson III, meantime, took the opposite run to success. Neither is supposed to be here.

The Irish were picked ninth in the league, and that was before Tim Abromaitis blew out his knee. After that? No one figured Brey’s team to be of any consequence.

But Brey, who memorably retooled his team two years ago after Luke Harangody’s injury, has done it again. Notre Dame is 12-5 in the league, vying for a top-four finish. Brey, who won coach of the year honors last year, has imbued his team with confidence, handing over the keys to the sophomore backcourt of Eric Atkins and Jerian Grant, and letting them run the show.

Thompson’s year at Georgetown has been equally impressive and equally surprising. The Hoyas were picked 10th in the preseason coaches’ poll after losing Chris Wright and Austin Freeman to graduation.

Instead, Georgetown is knotted with Notre Dame at 12-5. Henry Sims has been an eye-opener, the ideal point-center for the Hoyas’ Princeton style, and Otto Porter is arguably among the top freshmen in the conference.

Outsider choices: Mike Dunlap and Stan Heath. Dunlap is supposed to be an assistant, helping Steve Lavin. Instead, while Lavin recuperates from prostate cancer surgery, Dunlap has been running the show at St. John's, and running it with a roster stuffed to the gills with freshmen. Heath, meantime, has pulled himself off the hot seat and the Bulls into the conversation, taking South Florida to its best finish since joining the Big East.

This is another can’t-go-wrong choice. And hey, could you argue with Marquette's Buzz Williams winning it too? Not me.

My pick: Boeheim. The name of the game is winning, and no one in the league has done that better this year than the Syracuse coach.

Georgetown coach John Thompson III talks about his team's close win against Rutgers.

Should Georgetown fans be panicking? Because Georgetown fans seem to be panicking. At the very least, that was the reaction at Casual Hoya last night:

That was not a good loss. That was not an acceptable loss. That was a pathetic loss. Losing to West Virginia on the road is one thing, but losing to a mediocre Cincinnati team at home? That just sucks. Georgetown lost 68-64 to the Bearcats in easily the worst performance by both the players and coaching staff this season. [...]

I thought I had this team figured out. Our problems, before tonight, were ball security and guarding aggressive fours. But after tonight's performance, one that was eerily reminiscent of the last three years, I don't know what to think. Can we guard the perimeter? Can JT3 adjust? Will he stop playing favorites? Will we have poise at the end of games? Can we inbound the freaking basketball?

A 68-64 home loss to Cincinnati — which was going on right around the time you were marveling at the NFL defense that somehow stole Alabama's uniforms and wore them throughout the 2011-12 football season; man, are those dudes scary — won't necessarily send every fan base into a frenzy, but it seems to be doing the trick for Hoyas diehards.

Really, can you blame them? The Georgetown teams of recent seasons, whether last year's guard-oriented lineup or the 2010 team that featured NBA first-round pick Greg Monroe and notched a No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament, have seemed to share a common trait: late-season letdowns. The 2010 team lost four of its last six regular-season games and was upset by No. 12-seed Ohio in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The 2011 bunch lost four out of its last five regular-season games and was upset in the first round of the NCAA tournament by eventual Final Four member VCU.

In 2012, Hoyas fans have been pleasantly surprised — maybe "pleasantly blown away" fits better — by this mix of improved veterans like Hollis Thompson, Henry Sims and Jason Clark and immediately college-ready freshmen like the out-of-nowhere Otto Porter. It's been all good vibes thus far, an unexpected bonus, the sports fan equivalent of finding last night's leftover $20 in your jeans pocket on Saturday morning. But all it takes is the hint of a sudden downturn — the hint of the potential for collapse — to plant the seeds of panic. It's only human.

The Hoyas' loss Monday night was disconcerting in plenty of ways. Georgetown lost despite shooting the ball very well — its eFG% on the night was a robust 65.9 percent; the Hoyas went 6-of-10 from three and 26-of-44 from the field. Typically, when you shoot like that, you win. But when it counted, Georgetown couldn't even got a shot off. The Hoyas committed five turnovers in the final six minutes of the game. In that span, they hoisted a mere four field goals. You can shoot as accurately as you like, but if you can't get a shot in the first place, you're always shooting zero percent from the field. (Basketball wisdom! I can't believe you guys get this stuff for free.) A 16-6 Cincinnati run later, and Georgetown found itself with a surprising loss of its own.

There are a few mitigating factors to consider. For one, Cincinnati's defense was excellent in the second half, particularly down the stretch, and sometimes you just have to tip your cap. Mick Cronin's Bearcats appear to be coming along well despite their various setbacks and self-imposed challenges this season (hint: I'm talking about the Xavier brawl and resulting suspensions), and Cronin got a 27 points on 10-of-16 shooting night from Sean Kilpatrick. That's tough.

The good news for Georgetown? It's early, and it's Big East play. The conference isn't as tough in 2012 as in most seasons, but it is a grind nonetheless. Sometimes you're going to have bad nights. Sometimes you're going to fade down the stretch. It doesn't mean the season is over, or that this Hoyas team — one of the most impressive in the country to date — is suddenly set to reprise the second-half declines that have come to define this program in the past three seasons. It's just, well, a loss. Let's pump the brakes a bit. Georgetown's next four games — at St. John's, at DePaul, vs. Rutgers, at Pitt — should be telling. Those are all winnable affairs, but three are on the road. In January, the next big conference challenge comes fast and furious. How the Hoyas respond will be telling — both for analysts impressed by their early success and by Georgetown fans hoping against hope that this team can finish its 2012 campaign with all the promise of its start. In other words: We'll see.

1. The coach of the year race will be one of the most intriguing of any of the national awards. The candidates are starting to emerge, led by Indiana’s Tom Crean and Georgetown’s John Thompson III. Indiana was supposed to be improving but more of an NIT squad than one bound for the NCAA tournament. But it’s going to be hard to keep the Hooisers out of The Dance with two wins over Kentucky and Ohio State. Georgetown was picked for the lower half of the Big East but is a legit title contender after winning at Louisville. Others to consider now: Frank Haith (Missouri), Scott Drew (Baylor), Tommy Amaker (Harvard), Steve Prohm (Murray State), Steve Fisher (San Diego State), Dave Rice (UNLV).

2. Michigan State started with games against North Carolina on the USS Carl Vinson and against Duke in New York. The Spartans lost both. They’ve won 13-straight since, including at Gonzaga. The Spartans are getting productive play out of perhaps the deepest frontcourt in the Big Ten in Draymond Green, Adreian Payne, Branden Dawson and Derrick Nix. Keith Appling and Brandon Wood are getting along as guards better than the previous perimeters the previous two seasons. MSU could be tabbed as the new favorite in the Big Ten if OSU slips again.

3. Polls are snapshots and if you were to take one of the last week in college basketball, Gonzaga and New Mexico must be included in Monday’s two polls. Watch both teams against Xavier and Saint Louis, respectively, and it was clear that these are two of the best teams in the West and, of course, potential title contenders in the WCC and MWC, respectively.

1. Bob Huggins won his 700th career game when the Mountaineers knocked off Missouri State in overtime in Las Vegas on Thursday night. He is as much a character as there has been in college basketball, and truly a unique individual. But he is also a survivor -- literally after suffering a heart attack -- and of course through countless battles with an image issue and an administration at Cincinnati. Yet, Huggins continues to persevere, hopping from Kansas State for a year to his alma mater at West Virginia. His Final Four run two years ago was a justifiably climatic event. Huggins has been one of the more underrated game coaches throughout the past two-plus decades. He has been a winner wherever he walks the sideline. He is as independent as any coach has been in the profession. And the record win total is quite an accomplishment.

2. Georgetown swept two games from Memphis this season, a scheduling quirk with the Maui Invitational and a regularly-scheduled home game. But know this: John Thompson III thrives when there are lower expectations, while Memphis has had to deal with too much preseason hype and has not been able to win one of its high-profile games. The Hoyas are one of the surprises this season, and if this trend continues they will be a major factor to finish in the top three of the Big East. Memphis is headed for a fight for C-USA’s title after it was predicted to win in a walk.

3. Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun has to take his NCAA-mandated three-game suspension beginning with the next three Big East games (at South Florida Dec. 28, St. John’s Dec. 31 and at Seton Hall Jan. 3). Associate head coach George Blaney will be the one standing in his place on the bench. But with the expectation within the program that assistant Kevin Ollie may be Calhoun’s replacement in the future it would be interesting to see Ollie given a chance to be the interim head coach to see how he handles game stress and situations.

Shortly after Wednesday’s 91-88 overtime victory over Memphis at the Lahaina Civic Center, the Georgetown Hoyas went back to the Hyatt Regency, packed their bags and headed straight to the airport.

While other teams in the Maui Invitational extended their trip so they could spend Thanksgiving Day snorkling and sightseeing, the Hoyas were eager to get back to the mainland.

“We’re leaving tonight,” coach John Thompson III told ESPN.com by phone. “We’re going home.”

They should certainly expect a warm reception.

Even though the fifth-place medal isn’t as gaudy as the championship trophy it hoped to claim, Georgetown left Maui with plenty of reasons for encouragement following a strong showing in Monday’s 67-63 loss to No. 14 Kansas and a banner effort in Wednesday’s victory over the eighth-ranked Tigers.

“There’s reason for excitement when you come away with a win against a team of that caliber,” Thompson III said. “And the Kansas game was winnable, too. This team believes in each other and they believe in what we’re doing. Am I pleased with where we are? No, I’m not pleased, because this team has so much room for growth. But I’m not displeased, either.”

Nor should he be.

Georgetown lost its top two scorers (Austin Freeman and Chris Wright) from a squad that won 21 games last season. Also gone is reliable forward Julian Vaughn. That’s why no one really flinched when Big East coaches picked the Hoyas to finish 10th in the league standings this season. Ten of the 13 players on Georgetown’s roster are either freshmen or sophomores.

But it certainly didn’t show against Memphis on Wednesday.

The Hoyas played an intense brand of defense, committed just nine turnovers and showed incredible patience on offense. Unlike its opponent, Georgetown didn’t force shots or make poor decisions down the stretch. Instead, the Hoyas kept their poise, played with structure and came up big when it mattered most.

“Winning a game [in this fashion] was good for us because we’re so young,” Thompson III said. “For long stretches there I had three freshmen on the court at the same time. We’ve got to learn how to win and how to win together. In the Kansas game, we made mistakes down the stretch that we could’ve controlled. We could’ve won that game.

“Tonight we didn’t make mistakes. We controlled what we could. Will it help? Time will tell.”

Freshman Otto Porter, whom the Hoyas signed late, continues to be a huge spark. The versatile forward played 40 minutes Wednesday and contributed 9 points, 8 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 assists and 2 blocks.

“He is the most prepared freshman that I’ve coached,” Thompson III said. “Mentally, physically, emotionally ... just being prepared to compete at this level in a way that most freshmen are not. A lot of freshmen don’t understand how to compete at this level. But he walked in the door knowing how to compete.”

Forward Hollis Thompson (12 points, 7 rebounds) certainly caught the attention of the slew of NBA scouts seated courtside with his inside-out game. But the two most impressive players Wednesday were center Henry Sims and shooting guard Jason Clark, both of whom are seniors.

Sims scored a career-high 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting. He also had 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Sims has never averaged more than 3.6 points in a single season, but now that some of Georgetown’s key pieces are gone, the 6-foot-10, 245-pounder is stepping up.

“He had a terrific game,” Thompson III said. “He’s 6-10 and fairly athletic. He’s realizing that if he exerts the effort and the energy, good things will happen.”

Clark, who has been one of Georgetown’s top players the last two years, had a game-high 26 points. His 3-pointer with 50 seconds left in overtime gave the Hoyas an 88-86 lead and a momentum they would never relinquish.

In Tuesday’s win over Chaminade, Clark scored 28 points in 24 minutes. He had 15 points in Monday’s loss to Kansas. He made a remarkable 12 of 20 3-point attempts in Maui.

“The good thing about Jason is that he doesn’t take shots he shouldn’t take,” Thompson III said. “He knows where his shots are coming from. He doesn’t force anything. He lets it come to him. He takes the right shots. He’ll have [the best year of his career] if he doesn’t push or press anything.”

Actually, JT3 feels that way about his entire team. If the Hoyas continue to improve, there’s no reason they can’t be one of the top teams in the Big East -- or at least better than 10th.

“We lost a lot with Chris, Austin and Julian,” Thompson III said. “They were at the forefront of everything we did the last few years. But we have people that are willing to step up. Our team is much different now. As long as we believe in each other, we’ll be OK.

“There isn’t a false bravado. They know we have to get better. They know we’re not close to being where we should. This win isn’t going to change that.”

Overview: One day after a double-overtime victory against Tennessee, the eighth-ranked Memphis Tigers were forced into an extra period once again in Wednesday’s fifth-place game against Georgetown. This time the results weren’t as favorable for Josh Pastner’s squad, which fell 91-88 to the Hoyas.

While Memphis, which was thumped by Michigan in Monday’s opener, leaves Hawaii as the Maui Invitational’s biggest disappointment, Georgetown was arguably the event’s most pleasant surprise. The Hoyas' roster features 10 freshmen and sophomores, but they hardly played to their age Wednesday. Georgetown kept its poise while Memphis crumbled under pressure. Jason Clark scored 26 points and Henry Sims added 24 for the Hoyas, who improved to 4-1. Will Barton had 22 points to lead the Tigers.

Turning point: With his team trailing 86-85 in overtime, Clark buried a 3-pointer with 52 seconds remaining that gave Georgetown an 88-86 lead and momentum it would never relinquish. Clark made four of his seven 3-point attempts and was 9-of-17 from the field overall. Memphis had one last shot trailing 91-88, but Antonio Barton’s guarded 3 at the buzzer barely nicked the rim.

Why Georgetown won: The Hoyas' size and overall length was certainly a factor, as Memphis had trouble establishing any sort of presence in the paint. Georgetown also pestered the Tigers into 17 turnovers. But the biggest difference was the Hoyas’ patience on offense and overall shot selection late in the game. Both teams made about 49 percent of their field-goal attempts, but Georgetown was more disciplined during crunch time than the Tigers, who forced things and pressed when it mattered most.

Why Memphis lost: Early on, Pastner’s squad was terrible defensively. There’s no way such a young Georgetown squad should have 47 points at intermission. The other problem was that Memphis made a ton of bone-headed mistakes down the stretch that likely cost it the game. One of the most crucial errors came in final seconds of regulation with Memphis leading 78-76. Instead of letting some time run off the clock, point guard Joe Jackson penetrated into traffic just a few seconds into the shot clock and tried to force a pass to Wesley Witherspoon. Georgetown came up with an easy steal with 35 seconds remaining, and the Hoyas capitalized when freshman Greg Whittington got an easy put-back off Sims’ missed jumper to force a 78-78 tie with 18 seconds left.

More sloppiness ensued moments later, when Memphis couldn’t come up with anything close to a quality shot as time expired. Instead, Adonis Thomas was forced to throw up a 27-foot 3-pointer that didn’t even hit the rim. Also, despite calling a timeout, Memphis failed to get a good look on its final shot in overtime. With none of his teammates open, Antonio Barton had no other choice but to pump fake and shoot an off-balance 3-pointer that would’ve tied the game. The attempt was way off.

Other observations: The Hoyas signed a true gem out of Missouri in freshman Otto Porter, who had 9 points, 8 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 assists and 2 blocks off the bench Wednesday. ... Speaking of freshmen, Memphis’ Thomas (5 points, 1 rebound, 4 turnovers) isn’t progressing nearly as quickly, despite being more highly touted ... Memphis forward Stan Simpson, a juco transfer, came off the bench and hit some huge free throws late in Wednesday’s game. ... The slew of NBA scouts that made the trip to Maui this week surely developed a positive opinion of Georgetown’s Hollis Thompson, whose versatility was on full display Wednesday. ... Take away Nate Lubick’s 0-for-6 performance from the field, and Georgetown went 34-of-64 Wednesday. Pretty impressive ... I’ve been saying this for two years, but Hoyas guard Clark is one of the country’s most underrated players. ... Same goes for John Thompson III in the coaching category.

What it means: There’s no way Georgetown is the 10th-best team in the Big East. The Hoyas are big, versatile, athletic and well-coached. Their biggest flaws are a lack of an experienced, high-level point guard and their overall youth. But anyone who witnessed Georgetown’s games against Kansas and Memphis could see that their younger players are seasoned beyond their years. At this point Georgetown looks like a fringe top-25 team that could break into the rankings with a few more quality wins.

No one doubts Memphis’ talent, and the Tigers have certainly come a long way from last year in terms of maturity. Still, Pastner’s team doesn’t look crisp on offense and the intensity often seems to be lacking on the defensive end. But the bottom line Wednesday was that Memphis just didn’t play smart basketball when it mattered the most.

Up next: Georgetown hosts IUPUI on Monday before traveling to Tuscaloosa for a Dec. 1 tilt with Alabama. We’ll know a lot more about the Hoyas after that game, as the Crimson Tide will provide Georgetown’s toughest test of the season to date. As for Memphis, it hosts Jackson State (Monday) and Austin Peay (Saturday) next week before traveling to Miami for a tough road game Dec. 6.

Overview: As usual, ESPN analyst and American hero Bill Raftery said it best: "This good this early is impressive." He was talking about the quality of Maui's first-day finale, and he was entirely correct: Kansas and Georgetown played a brilliant 40 minutes Monday night. Both teams were tight, composed and clearly well-coached, and the Jayhawks were never comfortable in their 67-63 survival of a win.

Turning point: I'm not sure there was one, exactly. KU's biggest lead was six points, and the Hoyas steadfastly refused to go away. Georgetown had its chances in the final moments, however. Jason Clark hit a big 3 with 30 seconds remaining -- thanks to a clutch rebound by freshman Otto Porter -- that closed the Kansas lead to 65-63. But Georgetown's press couldn't turn the Jayhawks over, Travis Releford made his two free throws after a foul, and the Jayhawks' advantage lasted until the clock ticked to zero.

Why Kansas won: Its beautiful offense and well-drilled defense. The Jayhawks are always one of the best passing teams in the nation, and that trait was already on full display Monday night. Kansas moved the ball from side-to-side on the perimeter, creating creases in Georgetown's zone that led to open shots, penetrating drives or -- most frequently and most enjoyably -- thunderous Thomas Robinson dunks.

Why Georgetown lost: It never found its 3-point range. The Hoyas, like most Princeton-derivative teams, are at their best when everyone on the floor is a long-distance threat. Against Kansas, Georgetown made just seven of its 24 3-point field goal attempts, just 29.2 percent.

Star of the game: Thomas Robinson. There's a reason so many expect so much out of Robinson in his first year as a starter: He's a dominant force at the rim. His final line comprised 20 points on 7-for-14 from the field, 12 rebounds and two blocks. Five of those seven field goals, believe it or not, were dunks. The kid's a beast, folks.

What it means: Both teams have plenty of reason for optimism. For Kansas, the win is meaningful, but not nearly as much as the means by which it was achieved -- through gorgeous, pass-heavy offense and solid help-oriented defense. It means just as much for Georgetown, if not more; after losing Austin Freeman and Chris Wright to graduation this spring, the Hoyas were picked to finish No. 10 by the Big East coaches this preseason. That prediction deserves serious revision.

More observations: Robinson may be the most exciting player in the country. Even crazier is that he's just scratching the surface of his talent. The big man isn't great with the ball in his hands, he isn't an intuitive passer and he doesn't have much in the way of a traditional low-post game. Right now, he's simply very good at rim-running, rebounding and finishing with authority. Fortunately, Kansas is very good at utilizing its passing to get Robinson moving at the rim where he can catch the ball in easy scoring spots. But if he develops just a hint of polish, look out. He may well be unstoppable.

What’s next: Kansas moves forward to face UCLA in the second round, where it looks like an easy favorite to outwit and outplay the work-in-progress Bruins. Georgetown will have to settle for a trip to the consolation bracket, where it should easily handle Chaminade and move on to play the winner of Memphis-Tennessee. If the Hoyas bring this midseason form to the next two days of the tournament, they could well leave Maui with at least one quality win.

One of the scariest and craziest -- OK, the scariest and craziest -- moments of the offseason came during Georgetown's exhibition trip to China. You've no doubt seen the footage by now, probably more than once.

John Thompson III was worried for the safety of his players even after he got everyone off the floor. The Hoyas didn't shower or wait around after the game. The parking lot was an ominous scene; they left as quickly as possible.

Soon thereafter, Georgetown released a diplomatic statement regarding the fight. Thompson continued the tour and helped turn the entire ordeal into a teachable moment. Thankfully, all was well.

It wasn't always that clear-cut. Speaking with The Junkies, a D.C.-area sports talk show, the Georgetown coach revealed that the fight nearly turned into an international incident -- and some State Department officials worried that China could have arrested some of the Georgetown players. Gulp. From the Washington Post's Dan Steinberg:

“So that night was tense. And I’m in the conference room with our AD and a couple university officials and the sports information director, and we’re trying to figure out what type of statement to release. And representatives from the State Department and representatives from Vice President Biden’s staff come in and say you know I don’t know whether you know this, this wasn’t just a fight at the game, this is quickly turning into an international incident, so you better make sure we get this statement right.

“And then what scared me was a guy from the State Department said ‘Now you’re fine tonight because you’re here, the Vice President’s here, we have Secret Service everywhere. If they feel like they are losing face with whatever statement you release....it would not be out of the question, when you get to Shanghai, that you and some of your players get arrested, if you don’t get the statement right.’"

As Thompson said, the statement was handled well, the heat died down, and the Hoyas were able to continue with their trip. But any missteps could have landed a handful of Hoyas -- or even their coach -- in Chinese state prison. It may sound like a great premise for a TV show, but it does definitely does not sound like the kind of educational cultural experience you hope for on an exhibition trip. Phew!

When we remember Georgetown's 2011 trip to China -- assuming we remember it at all -- the first thing that will come to mind is the ugly brawl between the Hoyas and the Bayi Rockets during a competition billed as the "China-U.S. Friendship Basketball Match." Flying chairs, screaming fans, debris on the floor -- that slugfest was, for lack of a better word, insane.

But you have to give the Hoyas credit. They could have easily seen the China trip as a failed excursion. Or, in fear for their safety, Georgetown could have decided to skip the rest of their exhibition games and leave the country early. Instead, John Thompson III's team stuck it out. They finished their trip with an 84-63 win over Taiwan this week, and Thompson believes the experience will ultimately be a positive for his team. From the Washington Post's Gene Wang:

“It was a unique experience that I’m glad we did,” Thompson said of the trip after an 83-64 victory over Taiwan at a gym next to the team hotel. “Time will tell, but I do think that we will see the benefits of this trip come January, February, March.” [...] “Overall the trip has been great from a basketball perspective as well as just from a cultural perspective, getting a chance to see this country and learn about this country. It’s something that is invaluable.”

Even more admirable were Georgetown's attempts at reconciling with the Rockets, which Hoyas officials initiated a day after the melee:

The next morning, Thompson and players Jason Clark and Hollis Thompson met privately with the Rockets coach and two players for a reconciliation discussion that Georgetown officials initiated. The meeting at Beijing Capital Airport included an exchange of an autographed basketball and Thompson inviting Chinese kids to the Hoyas summer basketball camp next year.

In many ways, Georgetown had little control over the mess that ensued in the Bayi game. (Once people start hitting you with chairs, diplomacy tends to go out the window.) But Thompson could control his team's response. Rather than losing all the cultural and political value of the trip thanks to a few hotheaded decisions, the Hoyas regrouped, played out the rest of their obligations and made the symbolic first step toward cleaning up a mess for which they were only partially responsible.

At the very least, that deserves kudos. Georgetown's China trip didn't begin on a high note, but it certainly seems to have ended on one.

As Georgetown's game in Beijing on Thursday began to get heated, one particularly galling moment stood out before the Hoyas and Bayi Rockets began brawling. According to the Los Angeles Times, one Chinese player yelled at coach John Thompson III in English, "How can you let your players play like that?" It was the height of disrespect.

The world saw what happened soon after that, and reactions to the altercation ranged from speechlessness to bravado to commentaries about China and its changing place in the world.

But in the days following the international incident, the public did not hear a single disparaging word about the Chinese team from Thompson. He didn't just want to move on. He set an example for his young team.

"From that confrontation or from that conflict, you can learn," Thompson told reporters. "You can take away. You can grow. You can gain knowledge from that. The word of the day everyone wants to talk about -- diplomacy -- and I think that's just a fancy way in many ways of the lesson our guys learned that we're all the same.

"You realize that there aren't that many difference between us. We hope that this happens -- that out of that conflict a bond is formed, out of that conflict a oneness and a unity can be established between Georgetown University and that organization."

The day following the brawl, Thompson took teammates Jason Clark and Hollis Thompson with him to exchange pleasantries with the Rockets delegation. It had been Clark who had taken exception to a hard foul that touched off the fight, and the senior ended up in an infamous photograph of him on the floor being kicked.

Since then, the Hoyas have traveled to Shanghai and enjoyed all that China has to offer. They've gone sightseeing, tried the different foods, participated in clinics, won a game without incident, and represented the school with class.

"We wanted to come here to get some sense of who we are as a team," Thompson said. "I wanted to put ourselves in difficult, adverse, tough situations and see how they respond, see if they rally around each other, see if they support each other. And that clearly has happened."

Even when there was a snafu in Shanghai, Thompson was able to show his team how simply showing deference could turn frowns into smiles, according to the Washington Post.

The Hoyas had arrived at the venue to work out on their own for the first time in China, but as soon as they stepped into the gym, those plans changed because a youth team happened to be practicing there, too.

Thompson turned the unexpected meeting into an impromptu basketball camp, instructing the Chinese boys and teens on dribbling and layups and inviting them to join in drills with Georgetown players. The appreciative Chinese in this basketball-crazed country then watched the Hoyas practice for approximately 90 minutes.

Georgetown players presented the youths with elastic wristbands with the school name in English and Chinese and posed for pictures before departing.

Georgetown's basketball team had the best of intentions in making its trip to China. It really did.

Before leaving on its preseason tour of China, coach John Thompson III and his players sat down with a U.S. State Department official from the East Asian and Pacific Affairs bureau for a lesson on diplomacy.

The players took time to promote the trip by appearing in a series of humorous videos, one of which had them trying to order oolong tea on campus and pay with Chinese yuan.

Before the Hoyas' game on Wednesday in Beijing, Vice President Joe Biden and newly appointed Ambassador to China Gary Locke visited with the team after which freshman Jabril Trawick tweeted about Biden, "He's a real funny & good dude!"

Just one day later, though, there was ugliness in the form of a benches-clearing, chair-waving, bottle-throwing brawl between Georgetown and the Bayi Rockets. As video of the incident (courtesy of SportsGrid) showed, things got so completely out of control that Georgetown left the court for good.

It's undoubtedly an unfortunate episode for a Georgetown program that has a long history of international engagement. John Thompson, the father of the current coach, took his team to tour Taiwan in 1976 and Israel in 1993.

After the Hoyas lost in an exhibition to the Chinese national team in Washington in 1978, Thompson told the Washington Post, "The game program had a saying, 'friendship first, competition second,' and we took it literally."

Georgetown's game on Thursday didn't show signs of friendship.

But make no mistake about it: NCAA basketball will keep a presence in emerging basketball markets.

Duke is there right now showing off its new-look team in front of adoring fans and a television audience. So is Hawaii, which last week had a wild postgame scene of its own captured on video.

In this scene provided by Warrior Insider, the Hawaii players are treated like rock stars after they lost an exhibition game in the final seconds. Fans couldn't get enough of the Warriors -- pulling them aside for hugs and photos.

Indeed, American basketball players are typically respected in China, and one day, more Chinese players could be looking to play for American schools. Just this week, Fresno State announced the addition of a 6-foot-8 forward it believes to be the first Chinese player to make the jump to Division I before first getting acclimated at an American prep school or junior college. Hawaii, which has had Chinese players at its program in the past, wants to go even further.

“When the next Yao Ming is looking for a place to play college ball in America, we want the University of Hawaii to be the first place he thinks of," Hawaii coach Gib Arnold told Warrior Insider. "And getting our name out on a trip like this can only help toward that goal."

So after watching Thursday's international incident, let's keep it all in perspective. Whether the fighting was caused by cultural misunderstandings or downright overaggressiveness, college basketball's international appeal isn't going away in China, where the World University Games are currently being held.

It's sad if the brawl in Beijing leads anyone to believe that.

Georgetown players recently appeared in promotional videos learning to use chopsticks and asking in Chinese, "Where is the basketball court?"

In advance of an August tour of China that should give the team a head start on its season and also provide a path to cultural discovery, the Hoyas want it to be known that going to Beijing and Shanghai for exhibition games is a tremendous opportunity for their players to learn on multiple fronts.

"Our team is going to have a new core," coach John Thompson III said in a statement. "It's going to have a new group of guys that's going to be asked to produce. Getting the opportunity to go and have them start to mesh and to jell and to learn each other and to learn what's going to be expected of them is something that is important for this summer. But just as important if not more important is just the opportunity to go to Asia, to go to China."

In a trip that has been cited by the U.S. State Department as part of sports diplomacy, the team will meet with Chinese officials and participate in a basketball clinic besides getting an chance to prepare for the season.

For the school, it's a chance to promote itself abroad and strengthen its relationship with China, which has a history with Georgetown basketball as well.

In 1978, China sent its first national basketball team to the United States to play a series of games, the first of which was played against Georgetown at the D.C. Armory.

Of course, the Georgetown coach then was John Thompson, the father of the current coach.

"What we're hopeful for is on this trip, our current students will have an opportunity to experience the global quality and the global character in our world today in a way many of our alums have experienced," Georgetown president John J. DeGioia said in a statement.

A little ways back, the Washington City Paper's Dave McKenna wrote a story detailing what one source told him was an oncoming "bloodbath" in the Washington, D.C., college hoops recruiting scene. The story made plenty of sense: Maryland's hire of Dalonte Hill meant the Terps were looking to lock up D.C. and Baltimore talent. George Washington and Howard were even getting in on the act.

Which, of course, meant Georgetown couldn't be far behind. The rumors at the time involved the return of former Georgetown assistant and reputed (and now-unemployed) Binghamton scofflaw Kevin Broadus. This seemed just a teensy bit questionable: Broadus was an epic flameout in upstate New York, with a mass of players arrested, dismissed or suspended during his tenure, during which he built a reputation as, shall we say, apathetic toward academics. Broadus' tenure ended in a tidy buyout, but his name became briefly synonymous with scandal. Did John Thompson III really want to attach that name to his program?

The answer, apparently, is yes. From Georgetown's media relations release:

Georgetown University Head Men's Basketball Coach John Thompson III announced today that Kevin Broadus will join the basketball staff. "Kevin's title will be 'Special Assistant,'" Coach Thompson said. "He will not be on the road recruiting but will serve as my aide. I'm glad to have him back at Georgetown."

Broadus is known as a top recruiter, so it's a bit of a surprise to see Thompson keep him off the road. Will that be a permanent arrangement or a temporary one? What does a special assistant do, exactly? And are the other assistants jealous?

Anyway, how do Georgetown fans feel about this? Some may be thrilled, others uncomfortable. For what it's worth, the boys at Casual Hoya are already predicting great things. As is tradition.