Game 11: AT University of Pennsylvania, Saturday, December 10th, 2 PM, NO TV

[Petey Buckets]

Digging through some stats and it looks like Penn is going to be tough. A couple things jump out:

- They're turning opponents over on almost 20% of possessions. As a comparison, Northern Iowa is top five in the country at 22.7%, and we had to survive 18 turnovers against them. This'll be quite a test for Otis and the crew.

- They are a decent rebounding team with a 30% ORB rate/50% TRB rate. Those numbers aren't great, but they've played much tougher competition, so they might be able to cut into our rebounding advantage. Related - I didn't realize how good we are here. Our opponent total rebound rate is a shade under 45%, 31st in the country.

- 44% of their shots are threes. They don't shoot very well as a team, but they've got two guys shooting lights out on heavy volume (Matt Howard 12/26, 46%, Caleb Wood 16/38 42%). If they get hot we might be in trouble, but otherwise they aren't a very efficient scoring team.

- One thing that works in our favor is that they hardly get to the line at all. They are 343rd in the country out of 351 teams in free throw rate.

We'll need to keep them off the line, keep their shooters in check, and limit turnovers to have a fighting chance in this one. Kicking myself for not making plans to go. Safe travels and scream loud to all the Mason fans attending.

 

[GMUgemini]

Penn has mostly routine wins and pretty close losses (to good Miami and Temple teams.) Their only blowout loss was to Villanova. I would imagine RPI forecast sees this as a tossup talent wise and gives them the edge for homecourt.

As well as we have played the last three games, the first three of the win streak were downright ugly. W/L record this early in the season doesn't always tell the tale. I'd rather by underdog on Saturday because we're gonna be massive favorites in the two after.

Are they a significantly better team than the one who couldn't handle Moore, Otis, and Grayer last year?

I think everyone is right that we shouldn't just expect to win any game, not with this team, but it's surprising to me that we'd be an underdog in this game.

 

[MasonSAE4]

Are they a significantly better team than the one who couldn't handle Moore, Otis, and Grayer last year?

I think everyone is right that we shouldn't just expect to win any game, not with this team, but it's surprising to me that we'd be an underdog in this game.

I don't be know enough about them to comment. I know teams are up and down but if they can run a team that (apparently) massacred us in preseason to the wire then I assume they'll be able to compete with us at home. But again, not familiar enough with them to say for sure.

 

[Mason2006Patriot]

If George Mason keeps playing at a high level, we will make the 2017 NCAA Tournament.

 

[Pablo]

Mason Basketball ‏@MasonMBB 2h2 hours ago
Friday afternoon practice at the Cathedral of College Hoops

#GetPatriotic

 

[undertherock]

If George Mason keeps playing at a high level, we will make the 2017 NCAA Tournament.

Don't get blinded by the win column just yet, the strength of our opponents isn't very good outside of UNI and PSU. We lost at home to a subpar Towson team and an awful MSM team. Albeit this is a different team now, I think we'll have a better guage of where we are midway through A10 play.

 

[Patriot8]

Mason Basketball ‏@MasonMBB 2h2 hours ago
Friday afternoon practice at the Cathedral of College Hoops

#GetPatriotic

I can't imagine the Miles Tate-Kam Murrell-DeAndre Abram-Danny Dixon squad is doing too well...

 

[masonjoe]

If George Mason keeps playing at a high level, we will make the 2017 NCAA Tournament.

Ok after seeing this and your Nike thread if you're not a 9 year old I would be astonished...

 

[MasonSAE4]

If George Mason keeps playing at a high level, we will make the 2017 NCAA Tournament.

You were put on this board as a punishment for our sins

 

[GreenLantern]

Not even in my wildest dreams does this team make the NCAA Tourney in 2017. I just want to avoid the freakin play in game!

 

[MasonGrad01]

Ok after seeing this and your Nike thread if you're not a 9 year old I would be astonished...

Pretty sure those are the same guys that run the ByGeorge account

 

[Pikapppatri8]

If George Mason keeps playing at a high level, we will make the 2017 NCAA Tournament.

I am starting to like Carolina


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Herndon]

I have literally only ever seen one post of his. Quickest Ignore of all time, and I don't regret it for an instant.

 

[GMUgemini]

I have literally only ever seen one post of his. Quickest Ignore of all time, and I don't regret it for an instant.

But what if he starts a thread with the quality of Miley Cyrus has Native American heritage?

 

[Herndon]

But what if he starts a thread with the quality of Miley Cyrus has Native American heritage?

I figure I will just have to miss out. I'm thinking the averages will work out in my favor here.

 

[psyclone]

Kenpom: Currently Penn is a 3 pt favorite, Mason with a 38% chance of winning. The spread has moved around a bit---originally 4 before the Penn St game to 2 right after, then back to 4 this morning.

Rpiforecast: Penn a 5.7 pt favorite, Mason with a 32% chance of winning.

Vegasinsider: Penn favored by 4

 

[Washingtonian]

Not even in my wildest dreams does this team make the NCAA Tourney in 2017. I just want to avoid the freakin play in game!

And avoid playing Fordham in the A-10 tourney would be nice too.

 

[Pablo]

Penn's game notes - see https://penn-platform-api-prod-origin.silverchalice.co/v3/files/584abf96e4b08f3a7de6f068:

"• The University of Pennsylvania participated in the first intercollegiate 5-on-5 basketball game in history? On March 20, 1897, the Quakers were defeated by host Yale, 32-10. (Perhaps it’s a coincidence, given the margin of defeat, but Penn would wait nearly five years before playing its next intercollegiate game.)

• Penn entered the 2016-17 season tied for 16th on the NCAA Division I list of all-time winningest programs? The Quakers had 1,734 victories in program history at the start of the season.
1. Kentucky . . . . . . . 2,205
2. Kansas. . . . . . . . . 2,186
3. North Carolina . . 2,173
4. Duke. . . . . . . . . . . 2,087
5. Syracuse . . . . . . . 1,943
6. Temple. . . . . . . . . 1,870
7. Notre Dame. . . . . 1,819
8. UCLA. . . . . . . . . . 1,818
9. St. John’s. . . . . . . 1,803
10. Indiana . . . . . . . . 1,783
11. Louisville . . . . . . . 1,778
12. BYU . . . . . . . . . . . 1,764
13. Utah . . . . . . . . . . 1,759
14. Illinois . . . . . . . . . 1,744
15. Texas. . . . . . . . . . 1,739
16. Penn. . . . . . . . . 1,734
Washington. . . . . . 1,734

• From 1970-79, Penn went 223- 56 overall, a .799 win percentage? The only schools with better win percentages during that decade were UCLA (273-27, .910) and Marquette (252-40, .863). UNC was fourth (.786), while Kentucky was fifth (.764).

• Penn’s 1970-71 team holds a unique distinction in the annals of college basketball? That Quaker squad went 28-1 overall, losing in the NCAA Tournament East Regional final to Villanova. The Wildcats would later vacate the win due to the use of an ineligible player in the game. Thus, in the NCAA’s eyes, Penn’s record that year is 28-0—making them the only “undefeated” team in history to play in the NCAA Tournament but not win it. (There have been undefeated teams that did NOT play in the NCAA Tournament, most notably Kentucky in 1953-54 and N.C. State in 1972-73.)

• Penn holds the second-longest conference winning streak in NCAA Division I history? The Quakers won 48 straight Ivy League games from 1992- 96, including three straight 14-0 seasons in 1992-93, 1993-94 and 1994-95. The overall record for conference wins is held by UCLA, which won 50 straight Pac-10 games from 1971-74.

• Penn is the only team to defeat the University of North Carolina in an NCAA Tournament game played in the state of North Carolina? On March 11, 1979, the ninth-seeded Quakers defeated the top-seeded Tar Heels, 72-71, in an East Regional second-round game played at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh. (That day is known by fans on Tobacco Road as “Black Sunday,” as second-seeded Duke also lost at Reynolds, to St. John’s.) UNC has played 33 other NCAA Tournament games in the state during its history, going 33-0."

 

[phoenix-arizona]

Lots of rhetorical questions in those Penn game notes ?

 

[MasonCrew]

Lots of rhetorical questions in those Penn game notes ?

I see what you did there?