Game 24: GMU (15-8 / 4-6) at Davidson (13-9 / 3-6) on Saturday, February 10, at 2:30 PM.

[Patriotsince81]

The game is on USA.

KenPom: Gives us a 48% chance of winning.
GMU - 98
Davidson - 131
NET:
Mason - 89
Davidson - 128

We are 3-8 (.273) against Davidson all-time.

Davidson is currently 13-9 on the season and 3-6 in A10 play. They are 7-4 at home, 4-4 on the road, and 2-1 at neutral sites.

Wins: Washington & Lee (86-63), Maryland (64-61), Boston University (69-45), Charlotte (85-81), Wright St. (82-73), Campbell (62-50), Miami Ohio (79-61), Lynchburg (98-63), USC Upstate (62-59), Ohio (72-69), Fordham (79-69), St. Louis (84-61), Duquesne (72-59)
Losses: Clemson (68-65), East Tennesse St. (70-68), St. Mary’s (89-55), Dayton (72-59), Rhode Island (79-74), GW (83-79 OT), Richmond (69-64 OT), vcu (63-58), Loyola Chicago (76-63),

Schedule: https://davidsonwildcats.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule
Roster: https://davidsonwildcats.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster
Stats: https://davidsonwildcats.com/sports/mens-basketball/stats/2023/pdf

Likely Starters:
6’4” Grant Huffman (13.5 ppg & 5.0 reb) - Senior
6’5” Connor Kochera (10.9 ppg) - Senior
6’10” Reed Bailey (10.4 ppg & 5.3 reb) - Sophomore
6’3” Angelo Brizzi (6.0 ppg) - Redshirt Sophomore
6’10” Sean Logan (2.9 ppg) - Sophomore

* Important note. David Skogman - 6’10 Redshirt Senior - who had 17 starts injured his foot against vcu. No timetable for his return. Was averaging 13.3 ppg and 4.9 rebounds.

Reserves averaging double figure minutes:
6’7” Bobby Durkin (9.5 ppg) - Freshman - also has 5 starts
6’4” Achile Spadone (3.0 ppg) - Sophomore
6’7” Hunter Adam (2.7 ppg) - Redshirt Freshman - has 1 start

Team Stats:
Davidson averages 71.8 points per game while giving up 67.8.

The Wildcats shoot 43.6% from the floor and 32.7% from 3.
Opponents are shooting 42.5% from the field and 34.1% from 3.

The Wildcats shoot 71.7% from the free throw line.

They have out rebounded opponents by .8 boards per game and average 12.6 turnovers per contest.

My prediction: As much as I hate to say it we remain the not ready for prime time players. We’ll find a way to lose. We take yet another dangerous step toward the PIG.

Discuss.

 

[Mason2005]

Mason has to win 5 more games to avoid the PIG and they must beat Davidson/GW/Fordham/DUQ/URI.

 

[HoopsAdmin]

Here kitty, kitty.

 

[GreenLantern]

Us 74
Them 72
OT
meh

 

[tblack33]

Another game we absolutely should win, but I don’t know if we’ll pull off. Heart says a 6 point win, head says 3 point loss. If we drop this the wheels have fallen off.

 

[Where's the party?]

Social season has begun. Wishful thinking guess ...

Us - 75
Them - 73

I've even lost the desire to come up with clever names for our opponents ..... what a bad fan I've become

 

[GMUgemini]

A note in the note: Skogman out for the rest of the season.

 

[Leesburg Chankenstank III]

Definitely disappointing conference performance so far.

But hopefully the team sees every game as another opportunity to get better. Given our close losses (sans GW), we are the kind of team that could make a run in the A10 tourney.

Just get better, fix our issues and prepare ourselves and hopefully stay out of the PIG.

As always I’ll be watching and supporting because hey, that’s all I can do.

Being optimistic is a much better way to go through life than the opposite.

GO MASON!

 

[PDGL Hoops]

I guessing they have looked at enough film over the past 2 weeks to see where the issues are. Just need to execute. Feeling optimistic here:

Mason 75
Davidson 71

 

[gmulion]

Going to this one in person. Hoping they pull out a win.

 

[mkaufman1]

Next two are very important to where Mason is going to be seeded. Davidson and GW are at 6 losses already but have 1 less win. For Mason to stay ahead of them and keep pace with the 5-5 crowd, they need to beat both programs. 2-0 would give Mason a 6-6 record and position themselves much better than 4-8 or 5-7.

Davidson has been struggling this year, but like most road games it won't be easy at all. Somehow we have to get back to our basics of what we do. Take care of the ball, PLAY DEFENSE, and just generally play good basketball.

Hopeful we can get a road win and everyone can take a deep breath.

 

[hoops10]

Really depends on which players show up. For me we need better play from Amari Kelly. He has had some really good games and others where he just isn't aggressive. He has issues passing the ball. too many turn overs. We need him for 15+ points and ten rebounds.
Ron Polite also needs to be more aggressive on offense. He tends to drift on the outside just passing the ball. Need him to make drives to the basket. Excellent free throw shooter. He had a really nice left hand layup against Loyola. Player who can make a difference is Newton. Make those outside shots but mix it up more underneath. at 6 9 he can do more with offensive rebounds. Overall eliminate the turn overs. Seventeen turn overs is a losing formula. We can win but our team needs to be more determined, and play tighter D. One of the upper classmen needs to take over and become a vocal leader. I m not sure but Maddox has all the experience and ability. However, he seems to have a laid-back personality. Any thoughts?

 

[gmubrian]

Going to this one in person. Hoping they pull out a win.

I and the two other fans traveling with me should be in the area by about 11-11:30 if you or anyone else wants to try to get together somewhere to pre-game.

 

[Pablo]

Me and the two other fans traveling with me should be in the area by about 11-11:30 if you or anyone else wants to try to get together somewhere to pre-game.

I won't be there, but if I may make a suggestion - https://brickhousetavern.com/

 

[jruby]

I'm going to give Mason the edge and say they find a way to win this one. Polite has a solid game, I don't see Davidson guards being able to take him out of the game like the more Athletic guards do. Feeling a shocker to the fans coming, mason by 12 just so there's more questions on who this team really is? I'm not giving up on what Tony can do. Think he finds a way to right the ship. Sadly this could be a defining moment for the rest of the season though. This truly feels like a must win game or they really are headed for the dreaded Wednesday night exit. Win, get some momentum and who knows what happens in NY.

I think with this team, when playing well they can beat anyone in A10, I also think they can lose to just about anyone as witnessed by the loss to Loyola. I don't care what Loyola's record is they are not a great basketball team. They are coached well and play a system but nothing about it screams excellent talent. They just play hard. Mason has to find that in them, that dog mentality and they can win every game outside Dayton but they are college kids at the end of the day and maybe it's as simple as they just need someone to step up and be that guy! Let's not forget Maddox was on that VT team that absoulety shocked the ACC by winning the tournament.

 

[Patriotsince81]

Patriots and Wildcats Claw It Out Saturday in North Carolina - George Mason University Athletics

The George Mason University men's basketball team (15-8, 4-6) hits the road for a Saturday afternoon contest at Davidson (13-9, 3-6).

gomason.com

 

[Mason2005]

I'm going to give Mason the edge and say they find a way to win this one. Polite has a solid game, I don't see Davidson guards being able to take him out of the game like the more Athletic guards do. Feeling a shocker to the fans coming, mason by 12 just so there's more questions on who this team really is? I'm not giving up on what Tony can do. Think he finds a way to right the ship. Sadly this could be a defining moment for the rest of the season though. This truly feels like a must win game or they really are headed for the dreaded Wednesday night exit. Win, get some momentum and who knows what happens in NY.

I think with this team, when playing well they can beat anyone in A10, I also think they can lose to just about anyone as witnessed by the loss to Loyola. I don't care what Loyola's record is they are not a great basketball team. They are coached well and play a system but nothing about it screams excellent talent. They just play hard. Mason has to find that in them, that dog mentality and they can win every game outside Dayton but they are college kids at the end of the day and maybe it's as simple as they just need someone to step up and be that guy! Let's not forget Maddox was on that VT team that absoulety shocked the ACC by winning the tournament.

Getting a team to play hard the entire game tough. This won't be a simple fix for Mason.

 

[GMUYoda]

I'm not convinced this will be a win. This team doesn't seem to have the heart they had back when they could come out in the 2nd half, play tough defense and run correct offensive plays.

Davidson 72
Mason 64

 

[GMUgemini]

I'm not convinced this will be a win. This team doesn't seem to have the heart they had back when they could come out in the 2nd half, play tough defense and run correct offensive plays.

Davidson 72
Mason 64

They’ve also been giving up too many points at the end of the first half. Lost three games as a direct result of lackadaisical play to close out the first half.

 

[GunstonsGhost]

It certainly feels like some of these tough games have fractured the psyche of the team. It's easy to be a cohesive team when things seem to be organically falling into place, but when things aren't quite working I think it's stuck in their head. Throughout the season when there's a mistake on the court Hall's frustration with his teammates seems to be written all over him in his body language, throwing up his arms in disgust and hanging his head. I think this is what coach Skinn was referring to on Wednesday. This attitude has persisted off the court. I understand he's carrying a lot of the offense, but we need players to rise above the moments and big each other up. I'm not saying he's the only one with this attitude, it just seems like he's purposefully broadcasting it sometimes.

Obviously things have fallen apart from the potential they showed up until the vcu game. I'm just hoping they can keep the wheels on at this point and end the season in a healthy way and make some noise in the conference tourney. This game will be very telling if they're willing to pull it together and turn the corner or if they're just mentally done.