ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Saturday, March 16, 1996               TAG: 9603180030
SECTION: SPORTS                   PAGE: B2   EDITION: METRO 
DATELINE: RICHMOND 
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK STAFF WRITER

HOYAS SOCK MISS. VALLEY

Well, it wasn't the shoes.

For every NCAA Tournament game like Princeton-UCLA, there's one like Friday's East Region opener between Georgetown and Mississippi Valley State.

``It was a whole different environment for Mississippi Valley,'' said Georgetown coach John Thompson after his fourth-ranked Hoyas ripped the Delta Devils 93-56.

Thompson was talking about the bright lights of television, ``The Show'' of the tournament, and the sellout crowd at the Richmond Coliseum.

There were bigger differences between the Big East runner-up and the Southwestern Athletic Conference champion, too - like the Hoyas' big and beefy front line, and a lithe backcourt led by Allen Iverson, who scored 31 points not far from his neighborhood just down I-64.

The Hoyas moved into Sunday's second round against New Mexico, and will be plenty rested. Thompson got 89 of his team's 200 minutes from the bench.

Mississippi Valley (22-7) probably was a 15th seed only because San Jose State, with a losing record, won the Big West and squeezed into the field.

One question that went unanswered is how can a team from Jerry Rice's alma mater not be able to catch the ball? However, the Devils' feet did look good, thanks to their NFL star.

When Rice learned this week that Mississippi Valley was the only team trying to dance in the Large Limbo without a shoe deal, he made arrangements through Nike's football side for some hoop shoes.

The only person on the floor with any real swoosh, however, was Iverson. And when Georgetown (27-7) made a 22-3 run in the first half and built a 46-17 lead, the question wasn't how the Devils could lose to a Division II team (Jacksonville State), but how did the Hoyas lose this season, period.

Mississippi Valley, the smallest SWAC school with an enrollment of 2,400, shot less than 30 percent for the game and committed 13 of their 20 turnovers in the first half.

``I think we were nervous about the game,'' Thompson said of a condition that couldn't have lasted long. ``I'm sure Mississippi Valley is a lot better than they played today.''

see microfilm for box score

LENGTH: Medium:   51 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:   AP Georgetown's Allen Iverson tries a reverse layup 
          against Mississippi Valley State.
KEYWORDS: BASKETBALL