They were led by 11th year head coach John Thompson III, were members of the Big East Conference, and played their home games at the Verizon Center.

[8] Although Smith's performance had declined noticeably during the last few games before his suspension, he and Smith-Rivera were the only returning Georgetown players who had averaged in double figures for the 2013–2014 season.

[8] Arriving in the fall of 2014 30 pounds (13.6 kg) lighter than the year before and having undergone an offseason fitness regimen, Smith again was expected to serve as the centerpiece of Georgetown's offense.

[12][13] Robert Morris junior guard Rodney Pryor, who two years later would play for Georgetown during the 2016–2017 season, came off the bench for a team-high 16 points for the Colonials.

During warm-ups, the national anthem, and pregame handshakes, the entire Georgetown roster wore black T-shirts emblazoned with "I CAN′T BREATHE" in white lettering, which Joshua Smith explained to reporters was an expression of sympathy to the family of Eric Garner, whose death while being arrested by New York City police officers in July 2014 was a matter of national controversy in the United States after a grand jury declined to indict the officers involved.

[20] The game had no flow, with 33 turnovers and 58 free throws taken by the two teams combined,[20] and both Jayhawk sophomore guard Brannen Greene and Georgetown's Mikael Hopkins had four fouls by midway through the second half.

Georgetown – picked pre-season by the Big East's coaches for the second season in a row to finish second in the conference[8] – opened the season with a visit to Xavier, where D'Vauntes Smith Rivera, who entered the game as the conference's fifth-leading scorer, was booed throughout the game because Xavier had recruited him heavily and he had chosen Georgetown instead.

Against the Blue Demons, D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera scored a game-high 25 points – including six of eight free throws he attempted in the final minute, part of a 26-for-32 (81.3 percent) Georgetown performance at the free-throw line – and Jabril Trawick added 11.

At 17–1 overall and 4–1 in the Big East, the Wildcats had won four in a row since suffering their only loss of the season in an overtime game at Seton Hall[34] 16 days earlier.

Peak, who had injured his left ankle in the Marquette game, sat out the first five minutes, allowing Isaac Copeland to make his first collegiate start.

[37] D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera scored 13 points,[37] Peak had 12, and Joshua Smith contributed 10,[38] but the Hoyas shot only 39 percent from the field and committed a season-high 17 turnovers,[39] six of them by Jabril Trawick, who started despite suffering a bruised right thigh against Marquette.

[37] Georgetown's winning streak ended at four, dropping the Hoyas into second place in the Big East at 6–3, albeit only percentage points behind Villanova and Providence, both 5–2 on the season.

24 in the AP Poll, the Hoyas began February by suffering a loss at home to Providence, which used a 20-6 run in the second half – with Georgetown going without a field goal for the final 7:41 of the game – to fuel a come-from-behind win that broke a 31-road-game Providence losing streak against ranked teams and a seven-game Hoya winning streak at home against the Friars.

[40] The Friars completed a season sweep of the Hoyas despite 21 points by D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera, 10 by Joshua Smith, and Tre Campbell and Isaac Copeland coming off the bench to score 10 each.

[42] The Wildcats wore 1985 throwback uniforms in celebration of Villanova's upset triumph 30 years earlier over the 1984–1985 Hoyas in the 1985 NCAA tournament′s national championship game.

[43] Losers of three out of four, the Hoyas fell back out of the Top 25, but they promptly embarked on a three-game winning streak with victories at Seton Hall and at home against St. John's and DePaul to improve to 18–8 on the season and 10–5 in the conference.

[48][49] Smith-Rivera made both free throws to extend the lead to 58–54,[48][49] then stole an inbounds pass by redshirt junior forward Austin Etherington with five seconds left,[48][49] drew a foul by Bulldog redshirt junior forward Roosevelt Jones,[48][49] and made two more free throws with four seconds left to seal a 60–54 Georgetown upset win.

Sidelined by heart arrhythmia since early in his freshman season in 2011, Georgetown senior center Tyler Adams had been relegated to the bench ever since under a medical hardship waiver that allowed him to remain on scholarship without counting against the school's scholarship total as long as he did not play, but he had been a steady presence and de facto assistant coach on the sidelines.

[52][53] Thompson immediately called a timeout and Adams exited the game,[52][53] but Georgetown played on to defeat the Pirates, sweeping the season series with them.

Under tie-breaking criteria, the Big East Conference considered Georgetown to have finished in second place in the regular season, and so the Hoyas received the No.

[55] Georgetown then went on a 15–1 scoring run, with Isaac Copeland contributing 11 points in a little over four minutes during the rally,[55] while the Musketeers, who led the Big East in free-throw shooting percentage, went 1-for-7 (14.3 percent) from the line.

[55] Xavier freshman forward Trevon Bluiett finally brought the Georgetown run to an end with a three-pointer that gave the Musketeers a 57–48 lead with 3:38 left to play.

During an interview on a national radio show the day before the game, Eastern Washington head coach Jim Hayford extolled the virtues of his team and promised that the Eagles, who were making only the second NCAA tournament appearance in school history and first since 2004, would beat the Hoyas in an upset.

[57][58] Joshua Smith got into early foul trouble and spent long stretches on the bench[58] while the Eagles spread the floor and played a fast game, attempting a barrage of three-pointers;[58] they made six of their first 12 three-point attempts, and they hit three of them in a row to take a 24–17 lead midway through the first half,[58] raising fears on the Georgetown team that they were destined to lose in another NCAA tournament first-round upset at the hands of a double-digit seed.

[60][59] He did not play after halftime,[60][59] but in no small part thanks to his efforts, as well as to the Hoyas sinking their share of three-pointers, Georgetown pulled out to a 43–33 lead at the half.

[56] After that, however, Utah scored on a three-pointer and a layup to take a decisive 66-59 lead with 1:40 remaining[56] and the Utes went on to upset the Hoyas 75–64, bringing Georgetown's season to a close.

[56] For the sixth straight time since their Final Four appearance in 2007, the Hoyas exited the NCAA tournament in its first weekend due to an upset by a lower-seeded opponent.

[66] Adams, sidelined for virtually his entire college career by his heart ailment, had made his real contribution through his support to the team during his four seasons on the bench.

Speaking publicly about his decision for the first time on April 30, 2015, Smith-Rivera explained that he initially had decided to enter the NBA draft out of an abundance of confidence in himself and comfort with his abilities as a player, but that his parents had convinced him that returning to Georgetown and completing his education was a wiser choice for the following season.

[70] With Joshua Smith back at center and playing the entire season, the 2014-15 Hoyas enjoyed success, finishing 22–11 overall and in second place in the Big East Conference, achieving a national ranking – No.