Ben Krimmel, a senior majoring in international affairs, is a Hatchet columnist.
With a 32-point lead less than three minutes into the second half of the game Saturday night, complacency crept over the GW players. The Colonials’ — and all of the 2,644 in attendance — were confident that another GW victory was well in hand.
It would be hypocritical of me to chide Mike Lonergan’s squad, as I was fighting to stay awake during the second half myself.
But there will be no time for complacency on Tuesday night as head coach Shaka Smart’s VCU rolls into the Smith Center.
While it seems that every game this season has been a referendum on the GW season, the first of two games against VCU will offer the best indicator as to where GW stacks up against the top teams of the Atlantic 10.
The concern for Foggy Bottom fanatics is that Smart’s full-court press and “havoc” defense — which leads college basketball with 13 steals per game — will spell the end of the Colonials’ unbeaten home record.
And if I was a betting man, I’d bet GW will face death by turnovers Tuesday.
Compared to last season, ball handling hasn’t been as big as a concern for head coach Mike Lonergan. But when under pressure, young guards Joe McDonald and Kethan Savage, as well as the experienced Maurice Creek, struggle with turnovers.
Just last week, the Colonials were bit by “fumble-itis,” as Lonergan put it. They racked up five first-half turnovers against La Salle, as balls bounced and ricocheted off players’ fingers and out of bounds.
When facing the full-court press of Maryland, Creek and Savage had five turnovers each and the team had their season high of 19. The press allowed for the Terps to overcome a 14-point second half deficit before Creek’s last second heroics won it for GW.
McDonald, the Colonials’ predominant ball handler, has struggled against speedy, pesky guards and VCU might have the peskiest in all of college basketball in the form of Briante Weber. In last season’s matchup in Richmond, McDonald had eight turnovers and Weber had three steals.
A nagging hip injury seems to have hampered McDonald’s offensive production over the last six games certainly hurts a guard that is not that fleet of foot to begin with.
The easiest way to prevent VCU from setting up their pressure defense and forcing quick turnovers is to stop the Rams from scoring and grab every defensive rebound — something GW did well in each of their first A-10 games but will have difficulty doing as the competition gets more steep.
GW managed to keep La Salle close in the opening half despite a poor offensive performance because GW outrebounded the Explorers 20 to 11. Against the URI, the Colonials stingy man-to-man defense limited their visitors to 24 percent shooting built a 37-13 halftime lead.
However, GW’s defense play will be a moot point if the Colonials’ continues to struggle from behind the arc. In the last four games, GW has shot an abysmal 18.2 percent (10-55) from three-point range.
If GW is to have any chance at defeating the Rams they will need to maintain calm in the face of the press, make their open jumpers and cash-in on another stellar performance from sixth man Patricio Garino.
Garino has returned from his injury to become GW’s most important player, scoring in the double-digits in three straight games. Lonergan is relying on Garino’s ability to convert offensive rebounds into easy scores and set the Colonials’ tone on defense
With a victory, GW will gain a good amount of confidence and I will eat crow. But a loss, which seems more likely, will lead many to wonder if the Colonials squandered their hot start.
