Game 18: GMU (13-4 / 2-2) at GW (13-3 / 2-1) on Monday, January 15, at 2:00 PM.

[Patriotsince81]

The game is on CBS Sports Network.

The Revolutionaries were picked to finish 9th in preseason polls. James Bishop IV was chosen to be on the All-Conference first team. Maximus Edwards was chosen to the second team.

The Smith Center is a complete dump but it’s always nice to hit Foggy Bottom. Tonic at Quigley’s before the game is the place to be although I don’t understand their fascination/obsession with tater tots.

KenPom: Gives us a 62% chance of winning.
GMU - 92
GW - 177
NET:
Mason - 70
GW - 148

We are 10-21 (.323) against GW all-time.

GW is currently 13-3 on the season and 2-1 in A10 play. They are 10-1 at home, 1-1 on the road, and 2-1 at neutral sites.

Wins: Stonehill (89-44), William & Mary (95-89), Hofstra (71-60), New Hampshire (79-67), Ohio (99-94 2OT), Delaware (81-71), Navy (79-77 OT), Coppin St. (76-45), Bowie St. (88-73), Alcorn St. (79-75), UMES (69-63), vcu (84-82), Davidson (83-79 OT)
Losses: UIC (89-79), South Carolina (89-67), Fordham (119-113 3OT)

Schedule: https://gwsports.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule
Roster: https://gwsports.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster
Stats: https://gwsports.com/documents/2023/11/7/2023-24_Game_Notes_Part1.pdf

Stats from the OT Davidson win today have not been included on the GW page but you’ll still get the general idea. GW is led by 6’2” James Bishop IV (18.5 ppg), 6’7” Darren Buchanan (14.7 ppg & 5.9 reb), 6’8” Garrett Johnson (14.2 ppg), and 6’5” Maximus Edwards (13.3 ppg & 7.0 reb). 6’10” Babatunde Akingbola (4.4 ppg) rounds out their starting lineup. Averaging double figure minutes off the bench are 6’4” Trey Autry (6.6 ppg), 6’7” Benny Schroder (5.2 ppg), and 6’3” Jacoi Hutchinson (4.5 ppg).

GW averages 83.2 points per game while giving up 75.8. The Colonials shoot 47.1% from the floor and 38.5% from 3. Opponents are shooting 39.2% from the field and 31.9% from 3. The Colonials shoot 74.9% from the free throw line. They have out rebounded by opponents by .9 boards per game. They average 14.3 turnovers per contest.

My prediction: They are young as nine of GW’s players are freshman or sophomores. Bishop IV and Akingbola are the only true veterans. This will not be an easy task because they are talented and are playing very well at home. On top of that it’s hard to be optimistic given two straight poor performances. We lose 74 - 68 and fall to 2-3 in the A10. I take no pleasure in making such a prediction and hope that the team proves me wrong. We really need a W.

Discuss.

 

[undertherock]

The Smith Center is a complete dump but it’s always nice to hit Foggy Bottom

Never been to the Smith Center before so I'm looking forward to the new experience

 

[JimP]

Still too depressed to talk about this one. Go Mason. Yay.

 

[GMU79]

Never been to the Smith Center before so I'm looking forward to the new experience

I've been there several times. Seats, metal beams...everything a very nice Carolina Blue. Oh, that Smith Center.

 

[Jack Strop]

Metro through Roslyn is closed for repairs during the holiday weekend. Parking will be difficult. Might be best if you parachute in.

Stretch of Metro’s Blue, Orange and Silver Line shut down this weekend — here’s how to get around - WTOP News

There will be Metro closures for track work for the next four days, along with street closures on Monday for the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Parade in Southeast D.C.

wtop.com

 

[BGF]

Hello from a GW fan! Please excuse the incursion on to your board.

I’m the admin for the GW message board (https://GWHoops.Boardhost.com). I’d like to invite you to come visit us over the next couple of days to get a GW perspective on the game. We try to keep a positive and respectful board that allows for good debate and discussion.

Look for what I’m confident will be a comprehensive preview from one of our posters (dmvpiranha) by tomorrow morning.

You are correct that we are a young team. We play an uptempo style that occasionally causes way too many turnovers and our greatest weakness of late is offensive rebounding and free throw shooting.

Our students should be back in some numbers for this game, but with Monday’s snow I’m not sure how that will play out. For parking, with it being a federal holiday, campus garages and (free) nearby street parking should be easily available.

I’m going to have to respectfully disagree with your assessment of the Smith Center. It’s a 50-year-old building in a typical squeezed into a city block setting, But aside from the poor sound quality in the upper level, it’s a great place to see a game. I wouldn’t try to get concessions at halftime due to long lines, but if you do pick up some food, I recommend the pulled pork sandwich. Prices are very good for an arena setting.

Should be a very close game!

 

[Jack Strop]

Hello from a GW fan! Please excuse the incursion on to your board.

I’m the admin for the GW message board (https://GWHoops.Boardhost.com). I’d like to invite you to come visit us over the next couple of days to get a GW perspective on the game. We try to keep a positive and respectful board that allows for good debate and discussion.

Look for what I’m confident will be a comprehensive preview from one of our posters (dmvpiranha) by tomorrow morning.

You are correct that we are a young team. We play an uptempo style that occasionally causes way too many turnovers and our greatest weakness of late is offensive rebounding and free throw shooting.

Our students should be back in some numbers for this game, but with Monday’s snow I’m not sure how that will play out. For parking, with it being a federal holiday, campus garages and (free) nearby street parking should be easily available.

I’m going to have to respectfully disagree with your assessment of the Smith Center. It’s a 50-year-old building in a typical squeezed into a city block setting, But aside from the poor sound quality in the upper level, it’s a great place to see a game. I wouldn’t try to get concessions at halftime due to long lines, but if you do pick up some food, I recommend the pulled pork sandwich. Prices are very good for an arena setting.

Should be a very close game!

Thanks for stopping by.

The Smith Center is not bad if you have seats in the 100 level sections. Beyond that it's only limited view or obstructed view seats. For every row one ascends in the 200s, the near side of the court becomes increasingly obscured. Not too bad if one is in the first two or three rows. Go any higher up and nearly a third of the court is practically unviewable. Sitting behind either basket isn't much better because the backboard obstructs the view. Turrible... just turrible.

Good luck to anyone attempting to drive to Smith Center and find parking. It's a holiday. Meaning that most people who are already parked on the street aren't going anywhere—there will be no churn of parking spaces. Garage parking will likely cost $20 (I'm guessing). Unless one can take Metro to GW then the trip to Smith Center is getting expensive and a bit of a hassle (especially since Metro is closed on Monday at Roslyn). It's getting trickier to make a visit to GW happen.

I gotta say, pulled pork sammiches are certainly a large step up from the pasts' leftover street-vendor hot dogs, gummi popcorn, squashed DC gutter pigeon braised in Mambo sauce, icy Domino's® pizza, and stale peanut M&Ms. Last time I ate at Smith Center during a Mason win, I spent the next day on my couch with my head spinning and my bowels belching highly toxic farts (talk about one's "Foggy Bottom"!). I'll pass on the concessions.

Yeah, I'm salty—what of it? Mason has lost its last two games in which we had the tools to win. I'm looking for a pissed-off Mason squad to bop GW in the nose—we're mad as Patriots and we're gonna take it out on you!

Thanks for stopping by (just razzin' ya)!

 

[hoops10]

If you haven't read about Garrett Johnson of GW basketball then take the time to look up his story.
Kid from Oakton, Va who went to Episcopal HS.
He committed to Princeton but hardly played because of an ailing pain in his hip. At 6'8" his whole life was basketball, but he kept playing thru the pain. His mom took him to a chiropractor because of this tight knot in his hip. He said u need to go see a medical doctor. Well read his story including 9 treatments of chemo. GW and William & Mary gave him offers thru the portal.
His inspirational story is amazing. Today he is a dead eye 3 point shooter and is a main reason why GW has a stellar record. Chris Caputo hit the jackpot with Garrett. Incidentally he is a top line student.

 

[GMUgemini]

This is a game we are either going to lose by 10+ or win by 2. I expect it to be in the 80s or 90s for scoring.

Coin flip and it’ll depend on our 3 point defense on the outcome.

 

[undertherock]

Metro through Roslyn is closed for repairs during the holiday weekend. Parking will be difficult. Might be best if you parachute in.

Stretch of Metro’s Blue, Orange and Silver Line shut down this weekend — here’s how to get around - WTOP News

There will be Metro closures for track work for the next four days, along with street closures on Monday for the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Parade in Southeast D.C.

wtop.com

It mentions there will be shuttle service from Clarendon to Foggy Bottom. Metro is still looking like the best transportation option

 

[Pablo]

Another OT Thriller Makes GW a Winner, 83-79 - George Washington University Athletics

Through three conference games this season, the frenetic drama that is GW men's basketball has reached almost comical heights. Saturday at Smith Center the G...

gwsports.com

"All told now for the 2-1 (A-10) GDUB squad, they've seen four overtime sessions, 59 lead changes, 37 ties, a road win on the final possession, and countless gasps, ooh's and aah's early in A-10 play from the GW faithful that have turned out to support the cardiac Revolutionaries."

Time for GreenLantern to predict OT?

 

[nchocola]

They need to get off to a good start tomorrow. They cannot afford to have a slow start against GW.

I would like to see a lot of Billups against Bishop. If he is able to slow him down, we should have a chance to take this one.

 

[hoopsaddict]

Is it just me but I think Ronny Polite is hurting this team and that we need Devin Dinkins back soon? Or to give the starting spot to Baraka?

 

[psyclone]

Is it just me but I think Ronny Polite is hurting this team and that we need Devin Dinkins back soon? Or to give the starting spot to Baraka?

May be just you. For one, Dinkins isn't better than Ronnie and I'm guessing he's planning on a red shirt and/or transfer, given the amount of time he's been out. Certainly, you can't be basing this off of the Richmond game. 13 pts, 2-4 on 2's, 3-5 on 3's, 6 assists vs 2 TOs, and 1 steal.

For the year, his shooting percentages are competitive and often better than our other guards and the best in his 4 years at Mason. Although he doesn't get fouled as often as Baraka, he's hitting 96% of his FTs.

 

[BM-GW]

Caputo had a lot of nice things to say about GMU during his post-Davidson-game press conference. Around the 15 and 20 minute marks.

 

[GMU79]

Caputo had a lot of nice things to say about GMU during his post-Davidson-game press conference. Around the 15 minute mark.

Very nice. Caputo seems like a good guy.
Never heard him speak before.

 

[NewPatriot]

Is it just me but I think Ronny Polite is hurting this team and that we need Devin Dinkins back soon? Or to give the starting spot to Baraka?

I would say Darrius Maddox's inconsistent or poor shot selection in critical moments of the last 2 games is killing Mason.

The vcu games was horrific, he perimeter shot wasn't falling but he just kept shooting them instead putting the ball on the deck and going to the rack for an layup.

The Richmond game was better, he did follow up his missed but he threw a contested 18' footer fading right with hand in his face that clanked off the side if the rim. If you are contest then make the extra pass for a better shot.

Basketball 101

I would follow up that Mason offense overall is standing still too much. He needs to get players cutting and move the inside out and side to side....make the defense put in some effort into defending you. Wear them out with motion

 

[mkaufman1]

Very nice. Caputo seems like a good guy.
Never heard him speak before.

100% - he was always very approachable with many of the folks at Mason in many ways. I believe it was him and Huger who helped out a classmate of mine for our teamwork project my senior year as well.

If it wasn't for egos at the top when our mens basketball jobs opened, he really should have been coaching at Mason. I am going to keep it at that as its really history and I'm very happy with Tony.

As far as the game tomorrow, this has become an absolute must win for Mason to have any chance to continue to be in the hunt for a top 4 and have any chance to fall as far as 10th. GW wants their 3rd win and Mason desperately needs their 3rd win.

I will say that GW has not played anyone with a net ranking as high as mason in a while and won. They lost to South Carolina (54 in NET) and beat vcu, but vcu is at 101. Mason is at 77.

There definitely needs to be some adjustments from Tony and staff, because the last 2 games have definitely exposed what mason does on both sides of the ball. It was going to come eventually and hopefully with the short turnaround against GW, the guys will be ready. Its a big one tomorrow in many ways and 3-2 sounds a lot better than 2-3. Also losing to 3 rivals in less than a week would be..something.

As far as anyone going to the game tomorrow - if you are driving in (which is probably the easiest as traffic should be lighter), definitely take a look at spothero for parking garages and see what is nearby and more cost effective. I remember I found a $10 garage near the Verizon Center that was like a 7 minute walk compared to the $40 right next to the arena.

Edit: hat tip to @Pablo on the fact gw has 2 wins not 3

 

[Pablo]

As far as the game tomorrow, this has become an absolute must win for Mason to have any chance to continue to be in the hunt for a top 4 and have any chance to fall as far as 10th. GW already got their third win and Mason desperately needs their 3rd win.

GW is 2-1 in conference.

 

[Old Ram]

100% - he was always very approachable with many of the folks at Mason in many ways. I believe it was him and Huger who helped out a classmate of mine for our teamwork project my senior year as well.

If it wasn't for egos at the top when our mens basketball jobs opened, he really should have been coaching at Mason. I am going to keep it at that as its really history and I'm very happy with Tony.

As far as the game tomorrow, this has become an absolute must win for Mason to have any chance to continue to be in the hunt for a top 4 and have any chance to fall as far as 10th. GW wants their 3rd win and Mason desperately needs their 3rd win.

I will say that GW has not played anyone with a net ranking as high as mason in a while and won. They lost to South Carolina (54 in NET) and beat vcu, but vcu is at 101. Mason is at 77.

There definitely needs to be some adjustments from Tony and staff, because the last 2 games have definitely exposed what mason does on both sides of the ball. It was going to come eventually and hopefully with the short turnaround against GW, the guys will be ready. Its a big one tomorrow in many ways and 3-2 sounds a lot better than 2-3. Also losing to 3 rivals in less than a week would be..something.

As far as anyone going to the game tomorrow - if you are driving in (which is probably the easiest as traffic should be lighter), definitely take a look at spothero for parking garages and see what is nearby and more cost effective. I remember I found a $10 garage near the Verizon Center that was like a 7 minute walk compared to the $40 right next to the arena.

Edit: hat tip to @Pablo on the fact gw has 2 wins not 3

It’s still early. Outside of Dayton, a lot of top teams are going to have 4, 5 or 6 losses.