Hoyas roar into Final Four

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Georgetown's long-awaited restoration as a national power is complete.

The Hoyas, a chic pick two weeks ago for a deep run in the NCAA tournament, fulfilled the hype yesterday as they rallied from a double-digit deficit to defeat North Carolina 96-84 in overtime and earn the school's first Final Four berth since 1985.

It was the 19th victory in 20 games for the Hoyas (30-6), who listened the last two days as memories were conjured of the team's 1982 NCAA title-game loss to the Tar Heels.

This time, Georgetown turned the tables on North Carolina (31-7) to earn a trip to the Georgia Dome in Atlanta to meet South Region champion Ohio State (34-3) in the first national semifinal on Saturday.

"It feels pretty good. I'm so proud of these guys," coach John Thompson III said. "They've kind of played the year out in many ways as I thought it would. I knew we'd get better as the year went on. I knew we had a chance to be a very good team when this time of year rolled around. ... They believe in us, [and] that's special."

The vestiges of the Hoyas' glory days were apparent all weekend at Continental Airlines Arena -- and all season for Georgetown.

John Thompson Jr., the larger-than-life coach who constructed a program into a national power, won a title in 1984 and sent a flurry of players to the NBA, was courtside broadcasting games for Westwood One.

Patrick Ewing, the powerful center on Final Four teams in 1982, 1984 and 1985, was in the building throughout the regional.