Their record earned them a bye in the first round of the 2001 Big East men's basketball tournament, but they lost to Seton Hall in the quarterfinals.

[3] Senior center and team co-captain Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje started all 33 games, but no longer was a primary scoring option as Georgetown's frontcourt offensive focus shifted to Sweetney and center-forward Lee Scruggs.

His playing time diminished as the year wore on, and he scored only a combined 30 points in the final 13 games of the regular season.

They fell to 20–6 overall and 7–6 in the Big East, and with only three games left in the regular season and 17th-ranked Syracuse coming to the MCI Center on February 24, 2001, the Hoyas' hopes of making the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament were in doubt.

Playing tough defense, grabbing three straight offensive rebounds, and using the clock well, the Hoyas built their lead to 12 points with 2:39 remaining.

Hunter, who had a 21-point game, scored on a slam dunk with 38 seconds remaining, after which Braswell dribbled out the clock to seal a 72–61 Hoya win.

[8] Georgetown won its final two regular-season games to give it a record of 23–6 overall, 10–6 in the Big East, and a second-place finish in the conference's West Division.

The Hoyas received a bye in the first round of the 2001 Big East tournament and in the quarterfinals met Seton Hall, a team they had beaten twice during the regular season.

Toward the end of the intermission, arena personnel were forced to dismantle a malfunctioning horn and light above one of the baskets, delaying the start of the second half for ten minutes; after the second half finally began, Georgetown's inside game improved, but Arkansas also began to score inside consistently, and the Razorbacks led 47–43 with about 10 minutes left to play.

A two-minute review by game officials ensued, and after they ruled that Burton's shot indeed had beaten the buzzer, Georgetown had a 63–61 upset victory.

After a frustrated Sweetney was called for an intentional foul, allowing the Terrapins to score four points and causing a six-point turnaround in the game, the Hoyas lost the lead.

Demetrius Hunter missed a dunk and Maryland began to collect a number of offensive rebounds, off one of which they scored at the buzzer to take a 38–36 halftime lead.

Early in the second half, Maryland extended its lead to nine points, with center Lonnie Baxter scoring six of them on his way to a 26-point, 14-rebound performance for the Terrapins.

Although Braswell shot only 3-for-22 (13.6%) from the field, he and Scruggs led the Hoyas to a comeback that allowed them to close to 59–56 with under five minutes to play and a 67–62 deficit with 3:17 remaining.

[3][4][8] Sweetney averaged 10 rebounds a game during the NCAA Tournament,[2] while Boumtje-Boumtje completed his Georgetown career as the school's fourth all-time shot blocker, behind only Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning, and Dikembe Mutombo.