Metro Madness

Three college hoops teams have the Washington, D.C. Metro-area buzzing as March Madness approaches. George Washington University, George Mason University, and Georgetown University have all excelled in their conferences and will likely all head to the 65-team tournament in March.

Since the MCI Center is one host for the Sweet-16 and Elite-8 rounds, it's not that far-fetched that one of these schools could be playing in front of a home crowd while they try to get to the Final Four.

Who's #1 in D.C.??

The George Washington Colonials are an amazing 24-1 with an unblemished mark in the Atlantic-10. They are ranked #6 in the nation. Led by Pops Mensah-Bonsu, they have their sights on a top 3 seed and could definitely do some damage in the NCAAs.

The George Mason Patriots are the surprise team in the area with a 22-6 record and 15-3 in the Colonial Athletic Association. They recently dropped out of the Top 25 after being ranked #25 last week.

The Georgetown Hoyas have excelled in the new-look Big East tallying 19 wins to their 7 losses. They are currently ranked #20 in the nation. They also handed the top-ranked Duke Blue Devils their only loss of the year in a stunning 87-84 upset win at the MCI Center.

With all the success these DC area teams have had, you'd think that rivalries would be intensified or started. Unfortunately, they're not. These schools don't even play each other!

It's absolutely absurd that with so many quality D1 programs in a small area like DC there aren't annual head-to-head matchups.

Can you imagine a 5-team round robin tournament held annually in the Metro area? It would be insane!

Take the three previously mentioned teams, throw in powerhouse University of Maryland and perfectly located American University, and you'd have some SICK games that would rival Philadelphia's Big 5 in terms of excitement. Northwest, Foggy Bottom, Georgetown, College Park, and Fairfax would be hopping.


How come this isn't already in place? Could you imagine the bragging rights and quality games that would be going on?

It's no wonder that the DC area is going crazy with basketball fever. Unfortunately it probably won't last. After Pops goes to the NBA and coach Karl Hobbs moves on to bigger and better things, GW will drop back down to earth. Likewise, George Mason's magic will run out eventually, and G'Town will have its ups and downs. On the flip side, the Terps will rise again to prominance and American couldn't possibly be a doormat forever.

That's when the tournament would really mean something. When there's nothing to play for but ruining an opponent's chance at an at-large bid, that's when rivalries mean the most.

Let's see if these schools can get their acts together and make it happen.