GW MBB takes on George Mason

By: Jake Sichel and Daniel Stettin

The George Washington Colonials (15-13, 7-8) welcome the George Mason Patriots (18-10, 8-7) to the Charles E. Smith for the second installment of the Revolutionary Rivalry this season after defeating the Patriots 87-68 in the January 25th matchup in Fairfax, Virginia. Just one game separates the two in the standings, as both are aiming to potentially finish in the top 5 of the A10 standings.

Mason has lost two in a row to Dayton and Rhode Island ending their four game winning streak. Against Dayton, Mason was plagued with turnovers, committing 17 turnovers leading to 29 points off those. Star Senior Guard Marquise Moore was responsible for three of those turnovers, but still nearly had a double-double putting up 12 points and 9 rebounds. Despite being just 6-2, Moore leads the Patriots in rebounds at 10.5 per game (that also leads all guards nationally). Moore really struggled in the first matchup this season despite getting a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, he shot just 5-15 from the floor.

The key’s to victory for GW are to Hit the three ball, force Mason to play outside, and to get physical. GW is one of the best three point shooting teams in the conference and in the first matchup this season, Mason saw how good GW can be from downtown hitting 11-19. Jordan Roland and Tyler Cavanaugh were responsible for 8 of the 11 threes so we will see if they continue to shoot well against Mason. On the other end, Mason is the worst team in the conference from downtown, with just 160 triples on the season compared to GW’s 224. If GW is able to force Mason to take outside jumpers, they will struggle to put points on the board. Finally, GW must play physical and get to the line. Two Mason players fouled out in the first matchup and GW went to the line a whopping thirty times. If GW can continue to outmuscle Mason, then they will help in winning.

Despite George Mason’s superior record overall and in conference play, GW is a team that they have struggled with since joining the A10 and have yet to beat the Colonials as A10 members. Similar to the first matchup, I see Mason getting close at points throughout the game, but GW will pull away to get to .500 in conference play.

GW: 81

GMU: 70