Many felt Georgetown could be in trouble because of VCU’s helter-skelter tempo, but the Hoyas were rested coming into the game.

With VCU having just played USC just to get into the second round just days earlier, the Hoyas were the fresher team.

It certainly didn’t look that way, as the Hoyas really fell apart in the second half and a close game turned into a rout.

The return of Chris Wright didn’t seem to help the Hoyas, who once again struggled to score points.

Chris Wright tried his best, but in the end, nothing the Georgetown Hoyas did Friday night could stave off the end of their season.

Wright returned after missing four games with a broken left hand, but Georgetown had no answer for Virginia Commonwealth in a 74-56 defeat in the second round of the NCAA tournament Southwest region in Chicago.

Wright, who the Hoyas hoped would jolt Georgetown out of a miserable late-season funk, scored six points on 3 of 13 shooting. Hollis Thompson led the Hoyas, seeded No. 6 in the Southwest, with 26 points.

No. 11 seed VCU held Georgetown to 38.5 percent shooting from the field, and the Hoyas were an abysmal 5 of 26 (19.2 percent) fromm 3-point range. Ahead 19-18, the Hoyas were outscored 17-5 to close the first half, and the Rams never let up in the final 20 minutes.

The Hoyas end the season at 21-11, losing five in a row and six of their last seven following an eight-game winning streak. It’s the third consecutive time the Hoyas have been eliminated from the NCAAs by a double-digit seed.

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Without Chris Wright for the stretch run, the Georgetown Hoyas were anything but right.

The Hoyas’ point guard, sidelined for the past four games with a broken hand, has been cleared by the school to play in the NCAA tournament. But how quickly the talented Wright can regain his effectiveness will play a big role in whether the Hoyas’ NCAA stay ends quickly.

The Hoyas take on the winner of Southern California and Virginia Commonwealth in their first NCAA game on Friday in Chicago. And all eyes are on Wright. If he can return to form quickly, the Hoyas are much better than they’ve shown of late.

Neither team the Hoyas could face will be an easy opponent to defeat. Southern Cal had won five out of six before falling to No. 15 Arizona 67-62 in the Pac-10 semifinals. VCU ended George Mason’s 16-game winning streak in the Colonial Athletic Association tournament before falling to Old Dominion in the title game.

Regardless of the opponent and regardless of whether Wright is on the floor, the Hoyas need to turn things around. Georgetown has lost four games in a row, falling 79-62 to eventual Big East Conference champion Connecticut in the conference tournament last Wednesday.

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It certainly is not the way the Georgetown Hoyas envisioned starting the postseason.

Already having lost three games in a row to close the regular season, the Hoyas went one and done in the Big East tournament. Suddenly hot Connecticut bounced the Hoyas on Wednesday, beating Georgetown 79-62 at Madison Square Garden to move into the quarterfinals.

While the Huskies move on, the Hoyas are left to figure things out. Georgetown, ranked No. 22 in the nation, was 20-5 on the season and looking like a serious contender for the Big East title before losing to the Huskies 78-70 on Feb. 16. After a win over South Florida three days later, Georgetown closed the regular season with losses to Cincinnati, Syracuse and Cincinnati again.

Losing guard Chris Wright to a broken left hand in that first matchup against Cincinnati has hurt. Georgetown hopes it will have Wright back on the court when it tips off play in the NCAA tournament next weekend. Despite the skid at the end of the season, the Hoyas figure to earn an at-large bid to the big dance.

Jason Clark led the Hoyas with 23 points Wednesday. Austin Freeman added 20 points. Georgetown, eighth in the nation in field-goal percentage at 48 percent, shot just 42.3 percent against the Huskies.

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Sixth place in the Big East Conference is nothing to sneeze at this season, especially considering the team currently occupying that spot is ranked No. 17 in the nation.

The Georgetown Hoyas are 3 ½ games behind Pittsburgh in the conference standings, but figure to be one of several Big East squads that will dance on into the NCAA Tournament.

The Hoyas are 21-8 on the season but are one of eight Big East teams in the top 19 in this week’s ESPN/USA Today rankings. Georgetown has lost three of its past four games, but still is a dangerous team capable of running the table at the Big East Tournament next week in New York City.

Georgetown owns victories over five ranked teams this season, and an eight-game winning streak through the heart of its conference schedule showed just how dangerous the Hoyas can be.

Georgetown lost 58-51 to No. 20 Syracuse on Saturday. The Hoyas end the regular season Saturday at Cincinnati.

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Georgetown scored only 22 points in the first half, yet their defense allowed them to take a six-point lead into the locker room.

They extened the lead to double-digits in the second half, but then saw the Cardinals turn things up a notch or two.

Louisville got home from behind the arc and started to really ratchet up the full-court pressure, causing Georgetown to get out of sync.

The Hoyas recovered just in time to get some big buckets and stops down the stretch to pull out their fifth straight win.

It was a matchup of some of the top guards in the conference, if not the country, and Pittsburgh came away on top.

The Hoyas fell behind 24-9 to start the game, and they were in catch-up mode the rest of the way.

Chris Wright lead the Hoyas with 14 points but didn’t get much help from his backcourt teammates.

Georgetown has lost its first three conference games on the year, which is their worst start since 1999.

After a 0-11 showing last season, it would be nice if the early-season schedule would be kinder to the Georgetown Hoyas.

But instead, the schedule doesn’t do the Hoyas any favors. Georgetown, which finished last in the Patriot League a season ago, opens with three games in a row away from home, and plays at home just once before Oct. 9.

The 2010 season starts Sept. 4 at Davidson, followed by the Patriot League opener at Lafayette and a visit to Yale. The home opener is vs. Holy Cross on Sept. 25, followed by a visit to Colgate Oct. 2.

The Hoyas finally return home Oct. 9 against Wagner, then welcome in Bucknell the next week. A pair of road games come next: Oct. 23 at Sacred Heart and Oct. 30 at Fordham. Following the bye week, the Hoyas finish the regular season Nov. 13 at Lehigh and Nov. 20 at Marist.

Georgetown finished 0-6 in the Patriot League.

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Monroe really played well down the stretch after a disappointing start to the year, but then finished on a down note with the team’s upset loss in the NCAA tournament.

The center said that he does plan on hiring an agent, which means he would be unable to return to school even if he withdrew his name from the draft.

Monroe said playing in the NBA is what he really wants to do and that he believes he is ready after working with the school’s coaches for two seasons.

The star is likely to be a lottery pick in the NBA Draft, and the Hoyas probably aren’t surprised one bit that they will not have him back for next season.

Every season, at least one lower seed in the NCAA Tournament will play the best game of its season. Everything will go right for the upstart.

Georgetown experienced what that was like from the other side on Thursday in the opening round of the Midwest Regional.

Tiny Ohio University hit 13 3-pointers and the Hoyas just couldn’t keep pace, their stellar season coming to a disappointing end with a 97-83 loss in Providence, R.I.

Georgetown (23-11) survived a rugged Big East regular-season schedule and appeared to be peaking at the right time, having won three straight games in the Big East tournament before falling to West Virginia in the championship game. But the Bobcats came out gunning, building a 12-point halftime lead and keeping the Hoyas at bay the rest of the night.

Chris Wright led Georgetown with 28 points. Greg Monroe scored 19 points with 13 rebounds, and Hollis Thompson added 16 points.

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