What: Men’s basketball (15-5, 4-3 A-10) at George Mason (7-13, 1-6 A-10)
When: Sunday, Jan. 31 at noon
Where: EagleBank Arena, Fairfax, Va., NBCSN (TV)
Falling to Richmond in a thrilling double-overtime contest Thursday night, the Colonials took their first loss at the Smith Center in almost a year.
But with a quick trip across the Potomac River Sunday afternoon, men’s basketball looks to get back on track after a turbulent start to conference play, which has left them tied for fourth place in the Atlantic 10.
George Mason, however, sits at the bottom of the league with just one A-10 win, and six losses, under its belt thus far. The Patriots, under the direction of new head coach Dave Paulsen, have lost two straight and are in desperate need of a spark to turn their season around.
GW holds a 14-2 edge in the all-time series between its crosstown rival and won 67-51 in its last trip to Fairfax in 2015. Sunday’s game will be the first of two meetings between the programs this year, before the Patriots visit the nation’s capital on March 1.
The case for the Colonials:
Despite allowing a season-high 98 points in its loss to the Spiders, GW’s defense will face a much less formidable offense in the Patriots. Whereas Richmond had one of the most high-powered offenses in the conference, George Mason averages the second-least amount of points in the A-10 at 65.3 per game.
The Colonials’ offense also was not quiet during Thursday’s defeat. Led by seniors Kevin Larsen and Patricio Garino who had a team-high 17 points each, all five starters scored in double-figures against Richmond.
Redshirt junior forward Tyler Cavanaugh, the only GW starter the Patriots have not seen before, leads the Colonials with a team-best average of 17.0 points per game, while Larsen adds a team-high 8.2 boards per game.
The visitors are a significantly better shooting team than George Mason, which starts three freshmen guards. A more experienced, proficient GW roster seems poised to overpower its opponent from outside and in the paint and snag a crucial fifth A-10 victory.
The case for the Patriots:
While George Mason remains in somewhat of a rebuilding phase, bringing on Paulsen and six freshmen this past offseason, they have recorded a few notable wins already this season.
The Patriots won a 71-68 overtime decision over Oklahoma State on Nov. 20, while the 10-10 Cowboys went on to upset No. 3 Kansas earlier this month. On Jan. 17, the squad also took down Saint Louis 92-79 on the road, whereas GW lost to the Billikens in Chaifetz Arena just two weeks prior.
The team is led by junior guard Marquise Moore, who averages a team-high 12.6 points and 3.4 assists per game. Freshman guard Otis Livingston II and senior forward Marko Gujanicic also provide versatility on offense, despite a team field goal percentage of 41.3 percent, second-worst in the A-10.
One area of play the Patriots have dominated this year is rebounding. Six-foot-eleven-inch senior center Shevon Thompson far and away leads the league with an average of 10.2 rebounds per game, to guide an A-10-best team rebounding margin of 7.3 to GW’s second-best 6.2.
The bottom line:
George Mason will be able to keep it closer than expected if it can continue to own the glass and exploit a GW defense that may have lost some confidence after almost allowing Richmond to reach triple digits.
But this is the Colonials game to win. For a team that finished non-conference play at 11-2, but now finds itself at only 15-5, a strong response to yet another disheartening loss will be key to regaining its dwindling momentum down the stretch.
