Maryland, Georgetown strike chord for renewing rivalries
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Awakened in a flash and invigorated by a finish that came down to the final seconds, the long-dormant Maryland-Georgetown rivalry lives on.
Tuesday night marked a sign of competitive progress and in a way fits with a growing push against conference realignment’s unfortunate side effect, the painful severing of long-standing rivalries.
Though their competitive hiatus was by choice, long preceding their relocation to new leagues, Georgetown and Maryland gave a gift that was 22 years in the making to the people who occupy the 11 miles between their campuses and beyond the Beltway.
And it returns next season, too, the back end of a home-and-home series the schools agreed to as part of the Gavitt Tipoff Classic.
Beyond that, it’s unclear. But both coaches recognize and value regional rivalries.
“It’s important,” Georgetown coach John Thompson III said after his team's 75-71 loss. “Not just Georgetown-Maryland but Georgetown-Syracuse, Georgetown-UConn. There’s a lot of history there. It’s important to play these games. As bad as we feel right now, hopefully in the long run this will help us out.
“I do think it’s important for the sport — not that we’re doing this for the good of the sport, because it’s good for Georgetown, (too).”
Indeed, Georgetown has taken the lead in rescheduling rivalry games lost to realignment. Its series against Syracuse was announced soon after the duo split, Syracuse to the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Hoyas to the revamped Big East. Georgetown is also playing a home-and-home with Connecticut this year and next.
College football’s bitter rivals could learn a little something from their hoops brethren. Ahem, Backyard Brawl. Cough cough, Border War.
“Today was definitely good for college basketball, and good for basketball in this area,” Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said. “This is a game we’re going to be talking about for awhile. … It was really cool. I don’t think you could have written a better script — Georgetown would have liked to change the outcome. But it was played at a high level; it came down to the wire.”
And the stars came through in the clutch, too. Maryland’s guards were terrific late, with Duke transfer Rasheed Sulaimon draining the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:20 to play and preseason all-Big Ten point guard Melo Trimble scoring 17 of his 24 points in the second half, including four free throws in the final 13 seconds to ice the game.
This is undeniably one of the best on-campus environments in the country. The Maryland students waited nearly three hours to get into the Xfinity Center for the 9 p.m. tip. They displayed their best heckling, including a “Georgetown was my safety” school sign and a reverberating “George-town sucks!” chant early in the second half with the game tied.
Maryland promoted the game with multiple video board montages highlighting the historical nature of the rivalry, which Maryland now leads 37-27. At halftime, the Terps honored players from past teams that had beaten Georgetown.
“Wow,” Turgeon said. “What a great game. That’s why it’s called a rivalry game, I guess. Georgetown was tremendous. We’re lucky to win it.”
Turgeon admitted afterward that the day wasn’t a fun one for him. The late tip, combined with his team ranked No. 3 in the nation and the importance of reviving the rivalry after decades … it all made for a pressure-packed runup for the Terps coach.
“I didn’t talk about it a lot; I thought the guys felt enough pressure,” Turgeon said. “I’m not going to lie to you, it’s been a big relief. It had been so long. If we’d been playing six years in a row, we might not have been so uptight. We played uptight.”
It’s too early to look too far ahead, but it would be silly not to make this an annual event beyond the two-year series — particularly for a sport that’s done its fans a service by valuing what they value.
“We really haven’t thought past the Gavitt games, this year and next year,” Georgetown athletic director Lee Reed told Paste BN Sports on Tuesday. “But it’s a great game for college basketball and D.C. sports fans. I’m sure the coaches will get together and talk, but right now they’re just so in the moment.
“As a fan and someone who works for Georgetown, I would love to see it. It’s great for the community.”
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