1976–77 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team

1976-77 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball
National Invitation Tournament, First Round
Conference	Independent
1976-77 record	19–9
Head coach	John Thompson, Jr. (5th season)
Assistant coach	Bill Stein (5th season)
Captain	Larry Long (1st year)
Captain	Mike MacDermott (1st year)
Home arena	McDonough Gymnasium
Seasons ← 1975–76 1977–78 →

1976–77 NCAA Division I men's basketball independents standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
#4 UNLV		–			–			29	–	3		.906
#6 Syracuse		–			–			26	–	4		.867
#12 Detroit		–			–			25	–	4		.862
Old Dominion		–			–			25	–	4		.862
Providence		–			–			24	–	5		.828
Holy Cross		–			–			23	–	6		.793
St. Bonaventure		–			–			23	–	6		.793
#7 Marquette		–			–			25	–	7		.781
North Texas State		–			–			21	–	6		.778
Illinois State		–			–			22	–	7		.759
#10 Notre Dame		–			–			22	–	7		.759
Oral Roberts		–			–			21	–	7		.750
Army		–			–			20	–	8		.714
Milwaukee		–			–			19	–	8		.704
Georgetown		–			–			19	–	9		.679
Virginia Tech		–			–			19	–	10		.655
James Madison		–			–			17	–	9		.654
Northwestern State		–			–			17	–	9		.654
Texas–Pan American		–			–			17	–	9		.654
Connecticut		–			–			17	–	10		.630
UNC Wilmington		–			–			16	–	10		.615
Portland State		–			–			16	–	10		.615
Iona		–			–			15	–	10		.600
Dayton		–			–			16	–	11		.593
Fairfield		–			–			16	–	11		.593
Georgia Southern		–			–			16	–	11		.593
Richmond		–			–			15	–	11		.577
Saint Francis (PA)		–			–			15	–	11		.577
DePaul		–			–			15	–	12		.556
Northeast Louisiana		–			–			15	–	12		.556
Stetson		–			–			15	–	12		.556
Utah State		–			–			15	–	12		.556
Colgate		–			–			13	–	11		.542
Navy		–			–			13	–	11		.542
Oklahoma City		–			–			14	–	12		.538
South Carolina		–			–			14	–	12		.538
Valparaiso		–			–			13	–	12		.520
Catholic		–			–			13	–	13		.500
Fairleigh Dickinson		–			–			13	–	13		.500
Loyola (IL)		–			–			13	–	13		.500
Maine		–			–			13	–	13		.500
Niagara		–			–			13	–	13		.500
Rhode Island		–			–			13	–	13		.500
Saint Peter's		–			–			13	–	13		.500
VCU		–			–			13	–	13		.500
Butler		–			–			13	–	14		.481
New Hampshire		–			–			12	–	14		.462
Northeastern		–			–			12	–	14		.462
St. Francis (NY)		–			–			12	–	14		.462
Air Force		–			–			12	–	15		.444
Denver		–			–			12	–	15		.444
Southern Mississippi		–			–			11	–	16		.407
Siena		–			–			9	–	15		.375
Cleveland State		–			–			10	–	17		.370
Xavier		–			–			10	–	17		.370
Centenary (LA)		–			–			11	–	19		.367
Long Island		–			–			9	–	16		.360
Hawaii		–			–			9	–	18		.333
Vermont		–			–			8	–	17		.320
Boston College		–			–			8	–	18		.308
Charleston Southern		–			–			8	–	19		.296
Boston University		–			–			7	–	19		.269
Robert Morris		–			–			7	–	19		.269
Samford		–			–			7	–	19		.269
Mercer		–			–			6	–	19		.240
Hardin–Simmons		–			–			6	–	21		.222
Houston Baptist		–			–			6	–	23		.207
Buffalo		–			–			5	–	21		.192
Wagner		–			–			3	–	21		.125
Canisius		–			–			3	–	22		.120
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1976–77 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University during the 1976-77 NCAA Division I college basketball season. John Thompson, Jr., coached them in his fifth season as head coach. An independent, Georgetown played its home games at McDonough Gymnasium on the Georgetown campus in Washington, D.C., and finished the season with a record of 19-9. Knocked out of the ECAC South Region Tournament for the first time in the semifinals, the team missed an NCAA Tournament bid for the first time since 1974. The Hoyas instead appeared in the 1977 National Invitation Tournament (NIT), their first NIT appearance since 1970, and lost in the first round to Virginia Tech.

Junior guard and perennial high scorer Derrick Jackson shot 198-for-404 (49.0%) from the field during the season and scored 400 points, virtually duplicating his performance from the previous season, when he had shot 195-for-399 (48.9%) from the field and scored 406 points. This season, he scored in double figures in 27 of 28 games and finished first in five scoring categories for the team.

Promising freshman forward Craig "Big Sky" Shelton missed all but seven games because of a knee injury and would not emerge as one of the team's stars until the following season. His high school teammate, freshman guard John Duren, however, became a starter by mid-season and showed his talent as a point guard and shooter. His ability to lead the team as point guard and pass the ball contributed to Georgetown's team shooting percentage rising from 46% to 50% during the year. He scored a season-high 19 points against Boston College and averaged 15 points per game after becoming a starter.

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