Men’s basketball released its 14-game 2019-20 nonconference schedule Wednesday.
The Colonials will see six familiar faces from last season’s docket and take on four teams coming off postseason appearances. The squad holds the historical edge in half of its nonconference matchups.
In their worst nonconference performance in 12 years, the Colonials mustered four wins, and fewer than 10 points separated three of those victories. The team opened its nonconference slate on a five-game losing streak and ended its nonconference skid with nine total losses.
The team will match up on Nov. 1 against Division III foe Hood College in an exhibition game at the Smith Center. In the last decade, GW has edged its exhibition competition, keeping its preseason record spotless.
The season will open on the road on Nov. 5 at Towson. The squad marginally defeated the 10–22 Tigers in last year’s matchup.
In three straight games, the Colonials will spend a week at home defending the Smith Center against Howard, American and Morgan State.
The Nov. 9 home opener against Howard will kick off the homestand. The Colonials, who hold an 8–1 historical edge, bested the Bisons by six points last season. The Bisons reached the postseason but exited in the first round of the Roman College Basketball Invitational Tournament.
Three days later, the team will host crosstown rival American for the pair’s 45th meeting. The Colonials nabbed an overtime win against the Eagles in last year’s campaign. American reached the Patriot League quarterfinals and ended its season 15–15.
A Nov. 16 matchup with Morgan State rounds out the homestand. The squad posts a perfect 4–0 record against the Bears, who finished the 2018-19 season 9–21.
The Colonials will then embark on a three-game trip to the Bahamas to compete in The Islands of The Bahamas Showcase.
The tournament tips off on Nov. 22 with the program’s first meeting against the University of Missouri-Kansas City. The Roos rounded out their 2018-19 campaign 11–21 after being booted from the Western Athletic Conference quarterfinals.
The Colonials and the Roos will be joined by East Carolina, Evansville, Milwaukee, Morgan State, Rice and 2019 NCAA Tournament participant Liberty.
Three days after Thanksgiving, the Colonials will remain on the road, visiting South Carolina. The matchup kicks off a three-game series with the Gamecocks, bringing the teams to the Smith Center in 2020 and sending the Colonials back to Columbia, S.C. in 2021.
The Gamecocks trounced the Colonials last year, beating them by 40 points and holding the squad to just 27.6 percent from the field.
The Colonials then return home for four straight games against Boston University, Delaware, Harvard and Longwood.
In that stretch, Harvard, the 2018-19 Ivy League runner-up, is the only team to hold a winning record at 19–12. The Crimson ended the Colonials’ nonconference season on a sour note last year with a 75–61 loss.
The final game of the Colonials’ nonconference slate could prove to be the toughest. The squad will hit the road for a New Year’s Eve matchup against Vermont.
Vermont edged GW last season by 16 points. The Catamounts were 14–2 in America East Conference play, nabbed the conference title and competed in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Dates and times for Atlantic 10 Conference matchups have yet to be released, but schedule pairings were unveiled in June.
The Colonials are scheduled for home-and-home series with Duquesne, Fordham, St. Bonaventure, Richmond and George Mason.
On its home court, the squad is slated to take on Davidson, La Salle, Rhode Island and Saint Joseph’s. Dayton, Massachusetts, Saint Louis and VCU are on the docket for the Colonials’ road schedule.
Nonconference games
Nov. 1 – Hood College (exhibition)
Nov. 5 – Towson
Nov. 9 – Howard
Nov. 12 – American
Nov. 16 – Morgan State
Nov. 22 – University of Missouri- Kansas City*
Nov. 23 – TBD*
Nov. 24 – TBD*
Dec. 1 – South Carolina
Dec. 4 – Boston University
Dec. 7 – Delaware
Dec. 21 – Harvard
Dec. 28 – Longwood
Dec. 31 – Vermont
*Islands of the Bahamas Showcase
