1977–78 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team

1977-78 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball
National Invitation Tournament, Fourth Place
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 20
1977-78 record	23–8
Head coach	John Thompson, Jr. (6th season)
Assistant coach	Bill Stein (5th season)
Assistant coach	Bob Grier (1st season)
Captain	Derrick Jackson (1st year)
Home arena	McDonough Gymnasium
Seasons ← 1976–77 1978–79 →

1977–78 NCAA Division I men's basketball independents standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
#3 DePaul		–			–			27	–	3		.900
#18 Detroit		–			–			25	–	4		.862
Illinois State		–			–			24	–	4		.857
#8 Marquette		–			–			24	–	4		.857
Texas–Pan American		–			–			22	–	4		.846
VCU		–			–			24	–	5		.828
Fairfield		–			–			22	–	5		.815
North Texas State		–			–			22	–	6		.786
Syracuse		–			–			22	–	6		.786
Rhode Island		–			–			24	–	7		.774
Providence		–			–			24	–	8		.750
Utah State		–			–			21	–	7		.750
Georgetown		–			–			23	–	8		.742
#6 Notre Dame		–			–			23	–	8		.742
Holy Cross		–			–			20	–	7		.741
Northeast Louisiana		–			–			20	–	7		.741
UNC Wilmington		–			–			19	–	7		.731
St. Bonaventure		–			–			21	–	8		.724
UNLV		–			–			20	–	8		.714
Virginia Tech		–			–			19	–	8		.704
James Madison		–			–			18	–	8		.692
Maine		–			–			17	–	8		.680
Army		–			–			19	–	9		.679
Dayton		–			–			19	–	10		.655
St. Francis (NY)		–			–			16	–	9		.640
Iona		–			–			17	–	10		.630
William & Mary		–			–			16	–	10		.615
Air Force		–			–			15	–	10		.600
Loyola (IL)		–			–			16	–	11		.593
Mercer		–			–			16	–	11		.593
Oklahoma City		–			–			16	–	11		.593
Boston College		–			–			15	–	11		.577
Butler		–			–			15	–	11		.577
Saint Francis (PA)		–			–			15	–	11		.577
South Carolina		–			–			16	–	12		.571
Siena		–			–			13	–	10		.565
Navy		–			–			14	–	11		.560
Milwaukee		–			–			15	–	12		.556
Niagara		–			–			14	–	12		.538
Northeastern		–			–			14	–	12		.538
Southern Mississippi		–			–			13	–	12		.520
Portland State		–			–			14	–	13		.519
Stetson		–			–			14	–	13		.519
Oral Roberts		–			–			13	–	14		.481
Xavier		–			–			13	–	14		.481
Cleveland State		–			–			12	–	13		.480
Tennessee State		–			–			11	–	12		.478
Catholic		–			–			12	–	14		.462
Georgia Southern		–			–			12	–	15		.444
Northwestern State		–			–			12	–	15		.444
Connecticut		–			–			11	–	15		.423
Old Dominion		–			–			11	–	15		.423
Vermont		–			–			11	–	15		.423
Boston University		–			–			10	–	15		.400
Hardin–Simmons		–			–			10	–	16		.385
Campbell		–			–			9	–	15		.375
Centenary (LA)		–			–			10	–	17		.370
Denver		–			–			10	–	17		.370
Colgate		–			–			9	–	17		.346
East Carolina		–			–			9	–	17		.346
Long Island		–			–			8	–	18		.308
Saint Peter's		–			–			8	–	18		.308
Charleston Southern		–			–			8	–	19		.296
Samford		–			–			8	–	19		.296
Canisius		–			–			7	–	19		.269
Houston Baptist		–			–			7	–	19		.269
New Hampshire		–			–			7	–	19		.269
Wagner		–			–			7	–	19		.269
Evansville		–			–			1	–	3		.250
Fairleigh Dickinson		–			–			6	–	18		.250
Valparaiso		–			–			6	–	19		.240
Robert Morris		–			–			4	–	19		.174
Richmond		–			–			4	–	22		.154
Hawaii		–			–			1	–	26		.037
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1977–78 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University during the 1977-78 NCAA Division I college basketball season. John Thompson, Jr., coached them in his sixth 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 23-8. Knocked out of the ECAC South-Upstate Region Tournament in the semifinals, the team missed an NCAA Tournament bid for the second consecutive season. The Hoyas instead appeared in the 1978 National Invitation Tournament (NIT), their second straight NIT appearance, and finished in fourth place.

After going 2-2 to open the season, the 1977-78 Hoyas set a new school record for most consecutive victories, winning 13 games in a row between December 7, 1977, and January 28, 1978. Senior guard and team captain Derrick Jackson led the way, continuing a streak of scoring in double figures begun the previous season that stretched to 44 straight games before ending this year. Early in the season, Jackson surpassed Jonathan Smith as the top Hoya scorer of all time; by mid-season, he had become the first Hoya to score more than 1,500 points in his career.

During the streak, Georgetown played in the ECAC Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden in New York City, winning both games, one of which was an upset of No. 12-ranked Holy Cross on December 27; sophomore guard John Duren averaged 22 points per game in the two games and was declared the tournament's Most Valuable Player. Duren would go on to score in double figures in 27 of the season's 31 games. In the second game of the tournament, against Alabama on December 29, junior forward Steve Martin scored 18 points.

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