Men’s basketball unveiled its 14-game nonconference schedule for the 2018-19 season Monday.
The Colonials will play just three teams from last season’s nonconference slate, half the number of familiar opponents the team saw between the two previous seasons. Ten of the 11 remaining teams will be first-time matchups for this season’s roster.
GW went 7–6 in nonconference play last season before it was booted from the Atlantic 10 tournament in the second round.
Before the Colonials officially tip off their season, the team will host Division III opponent Catholic for an exhibition game on Oct. 28.
GW will open nonconference play with back-to-back home games – against Stony Brook on Nov. 6 and Siena on Nov. 8 as part of the Hall of Fame Tip-off Tournament. The Colonials barely edged out Siena during their last matchup in 2016, winning 77-75 in a contest that was decided in its final minutes. GW won the program’s only matchup against Stony Brook during the 2005-06 season, when the Colonials were ranked No. 16 by the Associated Press.
GW will face a tough run following its two-game home stand, where the Colonials could play three straight games against teams coming off of NCAA Tournament appearances.
The Colonials will travel to Charlottesville to face Virginia, a team that went 31–3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference last season but was knocked out of the NCAA Tournament in the first round. The game will be the first time the teams have met since 2016, when the unranked Colonials stunned No. 6 Virginia in a 73-68 upset at the Smith Center.
Michigan will pose GW’s most challenging non-conference matchup when the teams meet in Connecticut as part of the tournament. Michigan – last year’s NCAA Tournament runner-up – went 33–8 in the Big 10 conference last season. The teams have not met since 1993.
The Colonials will then take on either Providence or South Carolina for GW’s final game in the Tip-Off Tournament.
Providence scored a decisive 90-63 win against A-10 opponent Saint Louis, but later lost to both Massachusetts and Rhode Island before making a first-round appearance in the NCAA Tournament last season. GW and Providence have met on the court four times before, with the Colonials’ lone victory coming in 2001.
South Carolina finished the 2017-18 season narrowly missing a bid to the NCAA Tournament. The all-time record between GW and the Gamecocks is split 5–5, but the two teams have not met since GW snagged a 77-71 decision in 1993. Former guard Jair Bolden – who transferred out of GW’s program in April – committed to South Carolina in June.
The Colonials will host Manhattan two days after Thanksgiving Day and stay at the Smith Center to take on Vermont Nov. 28, a team they haven’t seen in 10 years.
Heading into December, the squad will face familiar faces on the road at Princeton. The Colonials handily beat the Tigers 71-60 at home last season.
After a Dec. 5 contest against Towson in the Smith Center, the Colonials will stay put to host Valparaiso three days later. The last time the two teams met was at Madison Square Garden in 2016 when GW won its first NIT title, beating Valparaiso 76-60.
The Colonials will then play Howard and Harvard – two teams they defeated last season – before facing American for the first time since 2008 to round out their non-conference schedule.
The dates of the Colonials’ A-10 matchups have yet to be released, but the schedule pairings for conference games were released in June.
For its A-10 slate, GW will play Dayton, Massachusetts, Saint Bonaventure and Saint Louis at home and take on Davidson, La Salle, Rhode Island and Saint Joseph’s on the road. The team will play against Duquesne, Fordham, George Mason, Richmond and VCU both home and away.
Nonconference games
Oct. 28 vs. Catholic (exhibition game)
Nov. 6 vs. Stony Brook
Nov. 8 vs. Siena
Nov. 11 at Virginia
Nov. 17 vs. Michigan at Mohegan Sun
Nov. 18 vs. South Carolina/Providence at Mohegan Sun
Nov. 24 vs. Manhattan
Nov. 28 vs. Vermont
Dec. 1 at Princeton
Dec. 5 vs. Towson
Dec. 8 vs. Valparaiso
Dec. 14 vs. Howard
Dec. 22 at Harvard
Dec. 29 vs. American
