What: Men’s basketball (17-7, 7-4 Atlantic 10) vs. No. 20/22 VCU (18-6, 8-3 A-10)
When: Saturday, Feb. 14 at 2 p.m.
Where: Smith Center
On the heels of a 16-point loss at Duquesne on Wednesday when the Colonials conceded a season-high 78 points to the Dukes, GW returns home for a rematch against VCU on Valentine’s Day.
The Colonials met the Rams last month, dropping the contest 72-48 on the road. VCU’s “havoc” defense was able to hold GW to just 26.9 percent shooting from the field in the dominant victory and will look to maintain the same kind of pressure at the Smith Center on Saturday.
But this time around, VCU – which shares the top spot in the Atlantic 10 with Dayton – will be without senior guard Briante Weber, who suffered a season-ending knee injury Jan. 31. Senior swingman Treveon Graham is also nursing an ankle injury and will see limited playing time against GW, if it all.
The case for VCU:
Coming off two straight losses to middle-of-the-pack A-10 teams, the Rams will be hungry to get back on the winning side.
Despite losing Weber, who led Division I basketball with 3.90 steals per game, VCU’s defense is familiar with the Colonials and still may find a way to stymie the GW passing game.
Offensively, Graham led the team and ranked eighth in the A-10 with 16.2 points per game. But sophomore JeQuan Lewis and junior Melvin Johnson have stepped up, averaging 17.7 and 13.7 points, respectively, in the Rams’ last three games.
Additionally, Weber and Graham combined for only 13 points in last month’s contest. Expect Lewis, Johnson and freshman guard Terry Larrier, who combined for 36 of the Rams’ points against GW last time out, to pose a formidable offensive threat.
The case for GW:
With Weber out, GW should be able to handle the ball a bit more easily and get more open looks, something they struggled with in the teams’ last meeting.
Despite going 31.9 percent from the field against Duquesne, the Colonials are shooting a respectable .439 field goal percentage on the season to VCU’s .426 percent. If GW’s core four can solve the Rams’ defense early and shoot well at home, they will be looking at their 18th victory of the season.
Led by junior forward Kevin Larsen, ranked ninth in the A-10 with 7.4 boards per game, the Colonials also hold a clear rebounding edge. With a conference-best +4.5 rebounding margin compared to VCU’s margin of -2.7, the Colonials will most likely command the boards, but must capitalize on second-chance points if they want the win.
GW’s biggest advantage, however, may be its home court. The Colonials are a perfect 10-0 in front of a Smith Center crowd that hasn’t seen a loss in Foggy Bottom since Feb. 15, 2014. Up against an injured but ranked VCU squad, look for GW to play with heart and go toe to toe with the 20th best team in the nation.
