Allen Iverson Georgetown High 40 pts FULL Highlights vs Arizona ! (1996)

Georgetown Coach John Thompson, whose team had just lost its first game of the season, was smiling. Georgetown point guard Allen Iverson, who had just scored a career-high 40 points, was not.

Those exemplified the Hoyas' mixed reaction to their 91-81 loss to No. 19 Arizona Friday night in the Preseason NIT championship. If the fifth-ranked Hoyas (3-1) thought they would achieve greatness in November, they were wrong. With no teams in the current Associated Press top 25 on the schedule until January, the Hoyas will have something to keep them humble during the next month.

"I feel like the guy in the shaving commercial: Thanks, I needed that,' " Thompson said, giving himself a slap in the face. "That's the way I feel about this game: Thanks, I needed that."

If Thompson wanted an excuse to "fuss" at his team, he got it. He says he only gets on players when they have talent and don't use it, and that was the case with several players Friday. Center Othella Harrington had four points and no rebounds in 16 foul-plagued minutes. Jerome Williams had nine rebounds, but only seven points, and Victor Page, Georgetown's leading scorer entering the game, had six points.

There's not much Thompson can say to Iverson, other than "get well soon." Iverson got knocked all over the court and picked up a bruised right elbow to go with the jammed left thumb he received Wednesday night -- in addition to the eight stitches over his left eye he received last week. He also kept the Hoyas in the game almost single-handedly, which earned him the tournament most valuable player award.

"I'd rather have the victory than the MVP," Iverson said. "We're just going to go back to practice and listen to Coach Thompson and the rest of the coaching staff and I think we'll be all right."

When the Hoyas return to practice for Wednesday's home game against Southern University, they will likely go back to basics: defense. Arizona shot 60 percent against a Georgetown team that had held opponents to 39 percent shooting in the first half. Arizona's intelligent offense kept working the ball inside, and fired only nine three-pointers.

"We weren't helping each other out on defense," Iverson said. "We weren't talking like we usually do."

Iverson did plenty of talking during the game, however.

"He was pumping up his teammates, telling them they could come back and {saying}, I've seen it happen before with these guys,' " said Arizona guard Miles Simon, who scored 17 points. "But this is a different team."

The Wildcats (4-0) came to New York seeking respect. Even though they have the nation's best winning percentage since 1988 (.830), they are notorious for their first-round NCAA exits: three in the past four years. Last season's loss to Miami of Ohio in the opening round quickly made people forget Arizona's trip to the Final Four in 1994.

The Wildcats took it as an insult when they weren't included in the preseason AP rankings after owning a spot in 141 straight polls. They also played their second game at Arkansas, while all of the other Preseason NIT semifinalists got to play two games at home. Arizona entered at No. 19 after beating the Razorbacks and will climb even higher following its victories over Georgetown and No. 16 Michigan in New York.