Game 21: GMU (15-5 / 4-3) at St. Joe’s (13-7 / 3-4) on Wednesday , January 31, at 7:00 PM.

[Patriotsince81]

The game is on ESPN+.

St. Joe’s was picked 5th in preseason A10 polls. Erik Reynolds II (1st team) and Cameron Brown (3rd team) earned preseason honors.

KenPom: Gives us a 37% chance of winning.
GMU - 99
St. Joe’s - 96
NET:
Mason - 82
St. Joe’s - 75 (Loss to Bonaventure not factored in yet, it may change)

We are 10-6 (.625) against St. Joe’s all-time.

St. Joe’s is currently 13-7 on the season and 3-4 in A10 play. They are 9-2 at home, 2-5 on the road, and 2-0 at neutral sites.

Wins: Lafayette (81-60), Penn (69-61), Stonehill (100-56), Sacred Heart (64-55), #18 Villanova (78-65), Temple (74-65), American (69-53), Princeton (74-70), Iona (83-58), Loyola Maryland (97-56), La Salle (82-62), Duquesne (71-69), UMass (79-78)
Losses: Texas A&M Commerce (57-54), #17 Kentucky (96-88 OT), College of Charleston (89-82), Rhode Island (78-74), St. Louis (88-85), Loyola Chicago (78-75), St. Bonaventure (92-71)

Schedule: https://sjuhawks.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule
Roster: https://sjuhawks.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster
Stats: https://sjuhawks.com/sports/mens-basketball/stats/2023-24?path=mbball

St. Joe’s is led by 6’2” Erik Reynolds II (17.9 ppg), 6’2” Lynn Greer III (11.6 ppg & 5.3 reb), 6’2” Xzayvier Brown (11.2 ppg), 6’9” Rasheer Fleming (10.9 ppg & 7.3 reb), and 6’6” Cameron Brown (10.8 ppg). 7’0” Christ Essandoko (8.4 ppg), 6’8” Kacper Klaczek (4.6 ppg), and 6’6” Anthony Finkley (2.3 ppg) have all started at various times and average double digit minutes.

St. Joe’s averages 77.5 points per game while giving up 69.2. The Hawks shoot 45.4% from the floor and 37.1% from 3. Opponents are shooting 40.0% from the field and 31.6% from 3. The Hawks shoot 73.1% from the free throw line. They have out rebounded opponents by 2.0 boards per game and average 11.5 turnovers.

My prediction: It’s never easy winning on the road in the A10. They have been inconsistent in league play to say the least. A few good wins and some head scratching losses makes this a tough one to predict. That being said we manage the road win. GMU 77 - Annoying Flapping Mascot 74.

Discuss.

 

[Where's the party?]

Just going with the flow now. Winning away in A10 is a bitch, but we seem to be able to play with anyone.

Pats - 80
Stupid bird mascot team - 77

 

[tblack33]

Joes is probably the second most talented team in the league, coached by the second worst coach in the league. Hard to predict but tough to beat out talent on the road, think Joes takes this in a close one. If we win this we’ll be putting ourselves in the drivers seat to finish top 4.

 

[hoopsjunkie75]

Okojie is amazing. And to think, he was originally slated as 2024-25 freshman.

Question is, did his performance at Homecoming game warrant a start this upcoming Wednesday?

I'm thinking it may be time for him and Ronny to switch places. Ronny may be better suited off the bench as a situational player. Super cold today.

 

[GMUgemini]

Joes are going to take a crapton of 3s. If they are on we are screwed. If they are ice cold the game will come down to being able to limit Reynolds from getting to the rim at will. I don’t think they’ll be able to defend Maddox, Hall, Okojie, or Kelly that well so I feel like it’s going to be another high scoring affair.

 

[Pablo]

https://atlantic10.com/standings.aspx?path=mbball

2023-24 Men's Basketball Standings

SCHOOL	CONF	CPCT.	OVERALL	PCT.	STREAK
Richmond	7-0	1.000	15-5	.750	W10
Dayton	6-1	.857	16-3	.842	L1
Loyola Chicago	5-2	.714	13-7	.650	L1
vcu	5-2	.714	13-7	.650	W5
George Mason	4-3	.571	15-5	.750	W2
UMass	4-4	.500	13-7	.650	W1
George Washington	3-4	.429	14-6	.700	L3
Saint Joseph's	3-4	.429	13-7	.650	L1
St. Bonaventure	3-4	.429	12-7	.632	W1
Fordham	3-4	.429	9-11	.450	L1
Rhode Island	3-4	.429	9-11	.450	L4
Davidson	2-5	.286	12-8	.600	L1
Duquesne	2-5	.286	11-8	.579	W2
La Salle	2-5	.286	11-9	.550	W1
Saint Louis	1-6	.143	8-12	.400	L4

 

[psyclone]

https://atlantic10.com/standings.aspx?path=mbball

2023-24 Men's Basketball Standings
II

SCHOOL	CONF	CPCT.	OVERALL	PCT.	STREAK
Richmond	7-0	1.000	15-5	.750	W10
Dayton	6-1	.857	16-3	.842	L1
Loyola Chicago	5-2	.714	13-7	.650	L1
vcu	5-2	.714	13-7	.650	W5
George Mason	4-3	.571	15-5	.750	W2
UMass	4-4	.500	13-7	.650	W1
George Washington	3-4	.429	14-6	.700	L3
Saint Joseph's	3-4	.429	13-7	.650	L1
St. Bonaventure	3-4	.429	12-7	.632	W1
Fordham	3-4	.429	9-11	.450	L1
Rhode Island	3-4	.429	9-11	.450	L4
Davidson	2-5	.286	12-8	.600	L1
Duquesne	2-5	.286	11-8	.579	W2
La Salle	2-5	.286	11-9	.550	W1
Saint Louis	1-6	.143	8-12	.400	L4

I would expect that Richmond will get some votes in the national rankings while Dayton will drop some (but not out of the rankings). Would be good if both of them in the top 25. Richmond has a couple of away games coming up (Fordham and vcu)--I think they would need some big wins there to get into the top 25, and maybe some of the bottom 10 of that group to help out by losing a couple of games.

 

[Earl the Squirrel]

Joes is probably the second most talented team in the league, coached by the second worst coach in the league. Hard to predict but tough to beat out talent on the road, think Joes takes this in a close one. If we win this we’ll be putting ourselves in the drivers seat to finish top 4.

I posted something to this effect at the beginning of the season, but I really thought they had more than enough talent to win the league, if Lange would just get out of their way.

Fast forward 3 months...Rasheer Fleming's better, but not quite yet the difference-maker I thought he might be (he's an NBA talent). Cam Brown and Greer have been very inconsistent, and Lange can't seem to figure out how to make sure his most talented offensive player, Reynolds (also an NBA talent) gets 20+ shots a game. As good as he is, Reynolds can disappear for long stretches, and seems content to defer to teammates.

Essandoko is talented and can shoot the ball from deep, but he's ponderously slow on defense and inconsistent. Essandoko missed a bunch of games and SJU played very well without him (I think they were something like 6-1 w/o him and 7-6 with him. SJU's defensive stats were pretty good prior to his return. Other than Xzavier Brown, SJU really has no bench to speak of.

As we all know they chuck up lots of threes and when they are falling, like any team, they willl be tough to beat. But we are much better coached, quicker defensively, and more well-rounded on the offensive side of the court. I really like our chances. They are going to put Fleming on Hall, I would think, which will be a challenge for Key, but Billups is going to make things hard for Reynolds. That leaves Maddox and Kelly against Cam Brown and Essandoko, and this is where we have an advantage. I'm also curious to see how our super frosh, Okojie, does against theirs, Xzavier Brown.

Should be a good game and am looking forward to it.

 

[GMU1983]

Worried people can hit threes against us...

 

[mkaufman1]

another big one. St Joes had preseason hype but not surprisingly to me they’ve been mediocre during the year. Loaded with talent but a coach who just can’t get it done. Joes has Erik Reynolds who’s very talented amongst others who are talented.

wont be easy and Mason needs this one to stay ahead for a chance at top 4. We generally play okay against St Joes although we lost last year (should have won).

excited to see how this and the next week unfolds.

 

[GunstonsGhost]

We can't come out flat shooting perimeter shots like we have been and end up trying to claw out of a hole on the road. We need to punch em in the nose from the jump and make em play at our tempo. Okojie is the man for the job. It might mix up their scouting report to have him start as well and give us a slight edge. He's the future of the program, give him the keys.

 

[TweederGMU]

Really depends on what St. Joe's team shows up, they are Jekyll and Hide this year.

They have 2 really great guards and can go off on us in a heartbeat so we need to play some great team defense to pull this one out.

Need to take care of the ball all around and make some 3's and we can pull this one out.

Goodguys 71
Annoyingst mascot ever 67

 

[psyclone]

Really depends on what St. Joe's team shows up, they are Jekyll and Hide this year.

They have 2 really great guards and can go off on us in a heartbeat so we need to play some great team defense to pull this one out.

Need to take care of the ball all around and make some 3's and we can pull this one out.

Goodguys 71
Annoyingst mascot ever 67

Not much mention of this on the boards about this, but only 2 turnovers against URI ! Maybe that's why Rhody is last in the conference in defense!

 

[GMU79]

Not much mention of this on the boards about this, but only 2 turnovers against URI ! Maybe that's why Rhody is last in the conference in defense!

Now THAT'S more like it!!

 

[thebiasedannouncer]

I'm hoping that I knock off this head cold so I can attend Wednesday have a good seat too

 

[Pikapppatri8]

Joes are going to take a crapton of 3s. If they are on we are screwed. If they are ice cold the game will come down to being able to limit Reynolds from getting to the rim at will. I don’t think they’ll be able to defend Maddox, Hall, Okojie, or Kelly that well so I feel like it’s going to be another high scoring affair.

This is truth - but working the odds - rare to be hot on threes in both halves. Keep from getting inside and reduce penetration - I like our chances. We focus on penetration and grinding in the post - we will dictate play, force fouls, and get free throws.

I'm hoping that I knock off this head cold so I can attend Wednesday have a good seat too

Bourbon, coffee, and decongestant. Get in there!

 

[undertherock]

We focus on penetration and grinding

That's what she said

 

[psyclone]

I'm hoping that I knock off this head cold so I can attend Wednesday have a good seat too

You do know that this game is in Philly, right?

 

[GMU79]

Awesomeest green fist ever!

 

[GMUgemini]

You do know that this game is in Philly, right?

I think he currently lives in PA?

By the way, Netty Pot. It’s really weird pouring water through your nose, but it really works. Also please don’t just heat up tap water! Your sinuses will hate you forever if you do.