Arrived in beautiful Dayton, Ohio this morning. Couldn’t get a good flight into Cincinnati so we are staying in Dayton and driving the 55 miles to Cincy this afternoon. Media build up for this game is more impressive than most. In the Cincinnati Post, Pops is quoted as telling The Associated Press that he doesn’t care if they’re the number one team in the nation, they want to beat Xavier on the road.

So the Cincy crowd is also pretty excited about Dickie V doing the game. Apparently, this is only the second game he’s done at the Cintas Center.

“I’m hearing great things about him. Xavier is going to have to have a great game on the perimeter, because George Washington is outstanding,” Vitale said of Burrell and the matchup.

Very good point by Dickie V. GW’s perimeter defense, at times, has been lackluster. Early on in the year, mediocre opponents lit the Colonials up from beyond the arc.

But for GW, if there ever was a “must-win” it would be tonight. GW has a second chance to show that they deserve a No. 10 ranking in front of a national TV audience. Granted, the Maryland/UNC matchup on ESPN has the name value but the GW/Xavier game should be a hell of a show.

Quick plug for the GW athletic/spirit department. Go to the Smith Center tonight and watch the game. I know the administration was trying to get ESPN to send a camera man to do live cuts for TV of the audience at Smitty. This is what a lot of big-time schools do. Should be a lot of fun.

Stay tuned. I’ll be blogging more throughout the day from the Cintas Center. Post away and if you want to reach me directly try [email protected]. I’m reading emails all day.