Some random thoughts based on yesterday:
- This is now three straight games where the team has shot under 70% from the FT line. Since GW is one of the most FT reliant teams in the country, they need to be more consistent converting the free shots moving forward. They were pretty good before that, so not sure if it is just adjusting to being on the road.

- I'm not sure why this team has to struggle against full-court pressure before CC emphasizes it in practice (not saying they haven't already, but GW looked unprepared). Yes, the team is different from the Maryland Eastern Shore game from two years ago but it feels like CC hasn't adjusted from that game. One pass along the sidelines and a long pass that wasn't well executed. Luckily, ODU didn't really make GW pay for the poor passes but seriously every CBB team should run that football play in every late game situation when the game is within two possessions. I've yet to see it fail.

- Coming into the game, we knew both Durugordon and Walker were strong rebounders. The fact that nobody put a body on them and boxed them out was a major red flag. The defensive rebounding was horrendous, although better after halftime.

- Defensively, I do think this GW team is a bit tougher, however guarding penetration continues to be a major issue. Too many times yesterday ODU just coasted to the rim without much resistance.

- Jacoi and Rafael have no chemistry on the court whatsoever. The start of the ODU game was no different from the AU one. Hutchinson threw the ball at Castro's legs on one play before he was even ready to accept the ball, and on another tried to lob a pass to him in traffic that had no chance of being made.

- Speaking of Jacoi, he should not be taking ten shots in a game he's having a tough time making shots. Unfortunately, the way he is shooting the 3 so far this year is what I thought we'd see when he entered the college ranks as that was not a strength of his when I watched his HS games. Hopefully it's just a slump, but in general I'm not seeing anywhere close to a 40% three point shooter. Some of his attempts are no where close to going in. The zero assists and four missed FTs were uncharacteristic. Just a tough game from him.

- As for Rafael, he needs to be more involved in the offense. One field goal attempt? The past two games have looked more like Akingbola on that end, which is not a good thing. Jun generally passes back out to the perimeter, but maybe a big-to-big connection can help him get going in games. Otherwise, he is relying on put-backs to be productive which are tougher to come by.

- Good to see Gerald get some shots to go from distance in the second half. His shot selection is generally good, but his execution - especially inside could stand to improve. He was getting rejected by the rim more than anything ODU was doing. Also did a great job on FTs at the end - something that had been shaky for him thus far.

- Trey (Moss) has been a disappointment from an efficient scoring + shot selection perspective, but I think CC could have used him at the end of the game. He is one of the better FT shooters on the team, so I don't understand why he couldn't see the floor at all in the final minutes. Also I did like that he attempted to crash the boards when in the game. One of the few GW players actually going for the ball.

- Jun did not have the best game. He is a tough cover when going downhill, but as I mentioned in the preview Mike Jones is familiar with his game from VT and sent two guys down low to prevent him from getting all the way to the hoop in half-court situations. The next step in Buchanan's development is extending his range. That includes midrange shots, free throws, and threes. Unfortunately, he took three shots from deep and missed all of them again. Additionally, the coaching staff is very uncreative with how they use Jun. Every time he's driving from the top of the key. How about having him post up more often and have him receive the ball closer to the hoop/different parts of the court? This doesn't happen nearly enough.

- I realize CC is big on the "rim & 3" looks, but even as someone who believes in analytics this team is not consistent enough from 3, and hasn't had the cleanest of looks at the rim either. ODU showed that sometimes an open shot (even if in the midrange) can be a good one. Of course whether the team can even make the midrange ones consistently is a different question.

- Expanding on the Jun point above, if it wasn't already clear GW needs to be running off misses and playing in transition. The execution in the half-court has been pretty poor. I think the AU game was an anomaly in terms of execution in transition. For whatever reason, in every game they only start to play more uptempo after halftime.

- Once again, the Revs averaged 10 ppg more after halftime than before, in line with their season averages. It looks like two different teams each game.

- CJ just continues to impress game after game. Some of his moves into the lane and attempts from 3 yesterday looked JB-like. He's active defensively (even though he had zero steals yesterday) and makes good decisions with the ball.

- This was easily Sean's best game as a Rev. He stayed with his man defensively and wasn't afraid to shoot the ball. Also, the play where he finds cutters getting to the hoop is far and away the best offensive play that GW has run all season. He'll never be a high usage guy, but hopefully we can find around 5 attempts for him a game.

- Trey (Autry) was solid. He did not commit as many silly fouls defensively which was good to see.

- The team most importantly pulled out the win and managed to cover which is what matters, but I agree with others that there is a lot to figure out before conference play rolls around. At times, it looked like GW was the team that had a first year coach and not ODU due to poor execution offensively.

- Last year, the team played its best ball in the first month of the year. If I remember correctly, they were around 137th in KenPom so not too different from now. However, despite playing equally weak competition in December they just didn't play to the same level. This was also before the injuries started to really become an issue (although I know they were battling illness). Hopefully this team does not go down the same route. You play these buy games to boost the metrics and get some of the bench guys some run.

- Are we going to see more of Dayan? If he doesn't take the floor in the UVA-Wise game that will be a bit concerning. Hopefully he can stay healthy, otherwise CC might as well redshirt him. International guys need time to adjust to CBB, but so far Benny, Dayan, and Zam haven't really made much of an impact.

- As mentioned by previous posters, GW has struggled against Patriot League competition, so a convincing win against Army and/or Lafayette would provide some confidence moving forward.

While watching the last 2 games I asked a few questions:
1) Why is our rebounding so abysmal? Is it because Buchanan, Hansen, and Castro find themselves 30 feet away trapping a guard while leaving the opposition at a 4:3 advantage with a wide open lane?
2) Why aren’t the best foul shooters and ball handlers on the floor at the end of game when the other team is pressing and fouling? How bout Moss,Autry,Jones,Hansen,plusCastro as the bailout lob to biggest man on floor?
3)  I know I’ll take heat for these questions but here’s one more…was that showboat dunk by Buchanan necessary? Was it even legal? Taunting? Or a thing of beauty and good sportsmanship. Wonder what Coach Caputo thought, or what Coach K or Few would say. Makes sense as an exclamation for a grand performance, but for a game that was still blowable?

Suggest new starting line up just so the 2nd quarter of each game has to be dedicated to catching up: Autry, Jones, Jacoi, Jr and Hansen. I don't worry about the center jump as much as the first 5 turnovers. The coach has to get Jacoi to play at 33 1/3 and not 45. He doesn't have to try every lob or long pass. It is ok to turn the offense over, or run out the clock to get an open shot.
Hint to Gerald and Moss, you will make more layups, if you learn the James Bishop trick, use the other side  of the rim. The change gets you fouled if you don't make it.