The 1990–91 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...
in the
1990–91 NCAA Division I
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...
college basketball
College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...
season.
John Thompson, coached them in his 19th season as head coach. They played their home games at the
Capital Centre in
Landover, Maryland
Landover is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 25,998.
Landover is contained between Sheriff Road and Central Avenue to the ...
. They were members of the
Big East Conference
The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...
and finished the season with a record of 19–13, 8–8 in Big East play. Their record earned them a bye in the first round of the
1991 Big East men's basketball tournament, and they advanced to the final before losing to
Seton Hall
Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizab ...
. They were the No. 8 seed in the West Region of the
1991 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
The 1991 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 14, 1991, and ended with the champion ...
– the 13th of 14 consecutive Georgetown
NCAA tournament appearances – and advanced to the second round before losing to West Region No. 1 seed
Nevada-Las Vegas. They were ranked No. 23 in the final
Coaches' Poll
In the United States, the Coaches Poll is a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I (NCAA), Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football, Division I (NCAA), Division I college basketball, and Division I college baseball teams. ...
of the season.
Season recap
Georgetown radio voice
Rich Chvotkin, who had broadcast every
Georgetown men's basketball game since his debut in the
1974-75 season, missed most of this season after mobilizing for six months of
United States Army Reserve
The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed ...
service during the
Gulf War
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shortly after calling the December 5 game against
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
. He would resume his Georgetown broadcasting duties the
following season.
In the season opener at
Hawaii Loa, senior
center
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...
and team captain
Dikembe Mutombo
Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo (June 25, 1966 – September 30, 2024) was a Congolese-American professional basketball player. He played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Mount Mutombo ...
had 32 points, 21 rebounds, and 11 blocked shots, only the second recorded
triple-double
In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...
in Georgetown history. Eight days later he played against his older brother Ilo Mutombo in a game against
Southern Indiana
Southern Indiana is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern third of the U.S. state of Indiana and borders the states of Illinois to the west, Kentucky to the south, and Ohio to the east. Spanning the state's southe ...
, scoring only six points and pulling down nine rebounds, while Ilo had 14 points and 11 rebounds against him.
In the fourth game of the year, Mutumbo had 13 rebounds and junior center
Alonzo Mourning
Alonzo Harding Mourning Jr. (born February 8, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player who has served as vice president of player programs and development for the Miami Heat since June 2009. Mourning played most of his 15-year ...
scored 22 points and pulled down 10 rebounds against
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
in the seasons fourth game. The Hoyas held Duke freshman
forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
*Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Smal ...
Grant Hill
Grant Henry Hill (born October 5, 1972) is an American professional basketball executive and former player who is a co-owner of the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and a part-owner of Orlando City SC of Major League ...
, sophomore
point guard
The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game.
A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...
Bobby Hurley
Robert Hurley (born June 28, 1971) is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Arizona State Sun Devils. He was previously the head coach at the University at Buffalo.
As a college senior, ...
, and junior center
Christian Laettner
Christian Donald Laettner (, ; born August 17, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player. His college career for the Duke Blue Devils men's basketball, Duke Blue Devils is widely regarded as one of the best in National Collegi ...
to a combined 9-for-42 (21.4%) shooting effort from the field, the Blue Devils as a whole shot only 32% from the field, and Georgetown won 79–74. Toward the end of the game Mourning injured the arch of his foot, forcing him to miss the next nine games. Averaging 22 points per game through the first four games, he returned to action in mid-January 1991, but recovering from the injury reduced his performance until early March. He then returned to form, averaging 18.6 points and 9.5 rebounds per game over the last six games of the season. He finished the year third in scoring on the team with an average of 15.8 points per game and shooting 52.2 percent from the field and 79.3 percent from the
free-throw
In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the restricted area. Free throws ...
line.
Mournings injury problems after the Duke game meant that Mutombo had an opportunity to build on his success of the last two seasons and come to the fore as Georgetowns "big man." Previously scoring mostly on dunks, he began to take more difficult shots. Although this caused his shooting percentage from the field to drop to 58%, he led Georgetown in points scored. Against
Jackson State
Jackson State University (Jackson State or JSU) is a public historically black research university in Jackson, Mississippi. It is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research ac ...
, he shot 13-for-16 (81.3%) from the field and a perfect 8-for-8 from the free-throw line to score a career-high 34 points. In 16 straight games from December 1990 through mid-February 1991, he led the team in rebounds. He finished the season averaging 15.2 points per game.
Freshman
Robert Churchwell
Robert Churchwell (born February 20, 1972, in South Bend, Indiana) is a retired American basketball player. He played collegiately for the Georgetown University.
A , guard/forward, he played 4 games for the National Basketball Association's Gol ...
joined the team, succeeding
Jaren Jackson
Jaren Walter Jackson Sr. (born October 27, 1967) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Incarnate Word Cardinals of the Southland Conference. A shooting guard born in New Orleans, Louis ...
at small forward. He started all 32 of the teams games, averaging 8.4 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. In Big East conference play, he scored in double figures eight times and shot 47% from the field, including a 10-for-11 (90.9%) outing against
Providence
Providence often refers to:
* Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion
* Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in some religions
* Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...
.
Another newcomer was freshman
guard
Guard or guards may refer to:
Professional occupations
* Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault
* Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street
* Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning
* Prison gu ...
Joey Brown. The teams point guard, he also started all 32 games and had a combined 31 points and 19 assists in the first three games of the season. He led the Hoyas in both assists and steals and, although he shot only 18-for-78 (32.1%) from
three-point range over the season as a whole and only 26% from the field at any distance during the last seven games of the year, he scored in double figures 13 times, including a season-high 21 points at
Villanova.
With a bye in the first round of the
1991 Big East tournament, Georgetown faced
Connecticut
Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
in the quarterfinals. Although shooting only 28% from the field, the Hoyas managed to win 68–49, with Mutombo scoring 13 points and pulling down 27 rebounds and Mourning shooting 15-for-16 (93.8%) from the free-throw line.
Georgetown then defeated Providence in the semifinals to advance to the championship game, which the Hoyas lost to 21st-ranked
Seton Hall
Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizab ...
74–62 despite Mournings 22-point, 13-rebound effort. It was Georgetowns first loss in the Big East tournament final in seven appearances.
Mutombo had scored a combined 34 points and collected a total of 44 rebounds during the tournament.
The Hoyas were the No. 8 seed in the West Region of the
1991 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
The 1991 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 14, 1991, and ended with the champion ...
– the 13th of 14 consecutive Georgetown
NCAA tournament appearances – and defeated
Vanderbilt in the first round. In the second round, they lost to West Region No. 1 seed
Nevada-Las Vegas, the second consecutive year in which they had been knocked out of the tournament in the second round. They had fallen out of the
Associated Press Poll Top 25 by the end of the season, but were ranked No. 23 in the final
Coaches' Poll
In the United States, the Coaches Poll is a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I (NCAA), Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football, Division I (NCAA), Division I college basketball, and Division I college baseball teams. ...
.
Mutombo had spent his freshman year playing intramural basketball and had not joined the varsity team until his
sophomore year
In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...
, and he therefore had a year of collegiate eligibility left after the end of the season. However, he opted to forego a fifth year at Georgetown to graduate on time in May 1991 and move on to a 15-season professional career in the
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
.
During his three seasons with the Hoyas he had averaged one block for every six and a half minutes he had played, and he left with the third-highest career blocked-shot total in school history and averaging 9.8 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. Despite having both Mutombo and Mourning on the team during those three years, Georgetown had not returned to the
Final Four
In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...
, largely because an unusually high number of scholarship players – 11 of 23 – transferred from Georgetown between
1987–1988 and
1992–1993, preventing the team from building a core of veterans to play with its two dominating centers. Without that core of veterans, the Mourning-Mutombo teams were unable to replicate the success of the veteran-filled
Patrick Ewing
Patrick Aloysius Ewing Sr. (born August 5, 1962) is a Jamaican-American basketball coach and former professional player who is a basketball ambassador for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he played most o ...
teams of the early 1980s, which had reached the Final Four – and indeed the national championship game – three times in four seasons.
Roster
Source
Junior guard
Ronny Thompson was the son of head coach John Thompson, Jr.
Rankings
Source
1990–91 Schedule and results
Sources
Waters, Mike, "A look back at the 13 times Syracuse basketball has set the attendance record at the Carrier Dome," syracuse.com, 31 January 2014, 12:30 p.m. EST
/ref>[Official Basketball Box Score Georgetown vs Syracuse 3/3/91 12:00 p.m. at Carrier Dome, Syracuse, NY](_blank)
/ref>
The 33,048 people in attendance at the Carrier Dome
The JMA Wireless Dome, originally the Carrier Dome (1980–2022), is a domed stadium in Syracuse, New York, United States. Located on the campus of Syracuse University in the University Hill neighborhood, it is home to the Syracuse Orange foot ...
for the Georgetown-Syracuse game of March 3, 1991, constituted what was then the largest on-campus crowd to witness a basketball game in National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
(NCAA) history.
* All times are Eastern
Eastern or Easterns may refer to:
Transportation
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*China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai
* Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways
*Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 192 ...
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!colspan=9 style="background:#002147; color:#8D817B;", Big East tournament
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:1990-91 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team
Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball seasons
Georgetown Hoyas
The Georgetown Hoyas are the collegiate athletics teams that officially represent Georgetown University, located at Washington, D.C. The Georgetown's athletics department fields 24 men's and women's varsity level teams and competes at the Natio ...
Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team
Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team