Georgetown aiming for marked improvement in fourth year of Ed Cooley's tenure

Ed Cooley is back for his fourth year with the Hoyas and looking to finally break through. Georgetown has not made the NCAA Tournament under Cooley and has not made the tournament since the 2021 season. Cooley is 42-57 (he was suspended for one game, a win) during his three years with the program.

Vyctorius Miller joins the team as a transfer from Oklahoma State, where he averaged 10.8 points and shot 37.5% on 3-pointers. … Jaland Lowe, who will run the show for Cooley, is another transfer in the backcourt. He joins Georgetown after a year at Kentucky in which he played only nine games due to a shoulder injury. In his last year with Pittsburgh in the 2024-25 season, he averaged 16.8 points and was a third-team All-ACC selection. …Caleb Williams, who made 33 starts a year ago for the team, returns along with his 37.7% clip from 3-point range.

The Hoyas will rely on a handful of transfers, notably Miller and Lowe, in the backcourt. Elmarko Jackson, a transfer from Kansas, could fit in well as a defensive stopper. Three starters are projected to play in the backcourt. ... Cole Machot transfers in from College of Charleston after averaging 8.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. ... Georgetown will have to replace its top two scorers from last season, KJ Lewis and Malik Mack, who transferred to USC and Providence, respectively.

Georgetown opens the season on Nov. 2 against Loyola-Maryland. Notable non-conference games are Maryland on Nov. 7 and at Clemson on Nov. 13. They’ll also play Texas, then either Saint Mary’s or UCLA, in the Rady Children’s Invitational on Nov. 26 and Nov. 27. A home matchup against North Carolina on Dec. 12 cpmes ahead of the Big East opener Dec. 19 against Seton Hall. A road game against last year’s runners-up, UConn, is on Dec. 23.

Georgetown was one of the worst scoring teams in the Big East last year, ranking ninth in the conference with just 73.6 points per game – they were also second-to-last in 3-pointers made per game. … The Hoyas have won just three NCAA Tournament games since making the Final Four in 2007, and have made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament just three times since then.

Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here , visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full men’s basketball coverage here