Delaware Blue Hens

Date: Wednesday December 10th, 2025
Time: 7:00 PM ET
Venue: Charles E. Smith Center (Washington, DC)
TV: ESPN+
Ranks: 281st (KenPom), 271st (Bart Torvik), 288th (Haslametrics), 282nd (EvanMiya), 202nd (Sports Illustrated)
2024-25 Record: 16-20, 5-13 (12th in CAA)
2025-26 Projected Record: 9-22, 6-14 (12th in CUSA)

Head-to-Head: 9-6, and GW has won six of the last seven matchups in the series (going 4-0 at home during that span). The last time the two teams met was in 2023, but it was actually on a neutral site. GW came out on top 81-71 at the Baha Mar Hoops MTE in the Bahamas. Sadly, that tournament was also on FloHoops. Hopefully, GW can find a way to not be on FloHoops next year.

The Revs had to come from behind to win the game as they were down 13 at halftime after trailing by as much as 16 in the first period. That will happen when you shoot 30% from the field as a team. It looked like a completely different team after halftime. GW looked to go inside early and often, making an astounding 78% of their shots in the second half while taking just five threes. Delaware also shot the ball better in the second half, but could not quite get it going from three the entire game, finishing 4/24 from behind the arc. Truthfully, it wasn't the best performance from GW as they finished with just eight assists to 14 turnovers but they did enough to get the job done. JB led all scorers with 28 points, while Max had 24 off the bench (along with eight rebounds) and Jun finished with 13 points/8 rebounds. It's amazing how much of a difference a couple years make. I looked at the box score and chuckled when I saw Stretch Akingbola played 29 minutes and did not attempt a single shot (although he did have 5 blocks and 9 rebounds). Slim has really changed so much for the team after GW had gone years without a good post presence.

Offensive Efficiency: 247th (KenPom), 233rd (Bart Torvik), 266th (Haslametrics), 236th (EvanMiya)
Defensive Efficiency: 288th (KenPom), 292nd (Bart Torvik), 321st (Haslametrics), 319th (EvanMiya)
Pace: 261st (KenPom), 238th (Bart Torvik), 262nd (Haslametrics), 255th (EvanMiya)
Offensive Shot Quality Rank: 342nd
Defensive Shot Quality Rank: 260th
Rim & 3 Rate: 84% (174th)

Strengths (2024-25 Season):
Free Throw Percentage: 78.2% (16th; 1st in CAA)
Three Point Percentage: 37.2% (31st; 1st in CAA)
Effective Field Goal Percentage: 55.1% (38th; 1st in CAA)
Field Goal Percentage: 47.5% (43rd; 1st in CAA)
Fastbreak Points: 12.28 PPG (62nd; 2nd in CAA)
Three Pointers Per Game: 8.8 3PM/G (69th; 2nd in CAA)
Scoring Offense: 77.2 PPG (86th; 4th in CAA)

Weaknesses (2024-25 Season):
Free Throw Attempts Per Game: 17.3 FTA (266th; 9th in CAA)
Field Goal Percentage Defense: 45.5% (270th; 11th in CAA)
Three Point Percentage Defense: 35.1% (280th; 13th in CAA)
Scoring Defense: 77.9 PPG (317th; 14th in CAA)
Rebounds Per Game: 31.97 RPG (322nd; 13th in CAA)
Rebound Margin: -4.3 RPG (330th; 14th in CAA)
Bench Points Per Game: 14.03 PPG (331st; 12th in CAA)
Offensive Rebounds Per Game: 7.42 ORPG (343rd; 14th in CAA)

Projected Starting Lineup:
#0 G Christian Bliss (Junior; Queens, NY) - DNP at Virginia last two seasons
#4 G Justyn Fernandez (Senior; Richmond, VA) - 3.6 ppg, 1.4 rpg; 40% FG, 39% 3-PT, 83% FT per 10.1 mpg/24 GP at Providence last season
#5 F Macon Emory (Sophomore; Devon, PA) - 3.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg; 41% FG, 34% 3-PT, 76% FT per 15.5 mpg/34 GP at Delaware last season
#44 F Tyler Houser (Senior; Camp Hill, PA) - 4.8 ppg, 2.2 rpg; 41% FG, 34% 3-PT, 75% FT per 15.4 mpg/33 GP at Delaware during 2023-24 season
#21 F Nnanna Njoku (Graduate Student; Bear, DE) - 0.6 ppg, 2.1 rpg; 50% FG, 50% FT per 9.4 mpg/10 GP at Villanova last season

Key Bench Players:
#20 G Alex Kazanecki (Freshman; Morrow, OH)
#1 G Mason Ellison (Freshman; Edgewood, MD)
#11 F Jayden Taylor (Freshman; Newark, DE)
#15 F Houston Emory (Senior; Devon, PA) - 1.3 ppg, 1.4 rpg; 47% FG, 53% FT per 6.5 mpg/19 GP at Delaware last season
#55 G Jameel Brown (Senior; Philadelphia, PA) - 5.3 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 1 spg; 39% FG, 37% 3-PT, 80% FT per 15.8 mpg/8 GP at Temple last season
#3 G Cavan Reilly (Senior; Lovettsville, VA) - 12.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.3 spg; 48% FG, 36% 3-PT, 85% FT per 32.8 mpg/33 GP at Delaware last season

Key Losses:
John Camden (Transferred to California; Downingtown, PA) - 16.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.1 spg; 47% FG, 42% 3-PT, 79% FT per 34.2 mpg/36 GP
Niels Lane (Graduated; Freehold, NJ) - 13.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.1 spg; 53% FG, 34% 3-PT, 73% FT per 30.4 mpg/33 GP
Izaiah Pasha (Transferred to Virginia Tech; Harrisburg, PA) - 11.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 3.9 apg; 52% FG, 33% 3-PT, 77% FT per 29.8 mpg/34 GP
Erik Timko (Graduated; Audubon, PA) - 11.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.9 apg; 45% FG, 42% 3-PT, 88% FT per 29.7 mpg/35 GP
Trent Middleton Jr. (Transferred to North Carolina A&T; Philadelphia, PA) - 5.5 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.7 apg; 42% FG, 29% 3-PT, 86% FT per 17.4 mpg/32 GP

Preview:
Going back to the whole 'no one wants to be in the CAA' thing, that certainly applied to Delaware, who made the transition to Conference USA this offseason. The school always had FBS aspirations in football, and they've performed relatively well at the FCS level the last few years. Unlike the disaster that was UMass football this year, the Blue Hens actually went a respectable 6-6 in their first year of FBS ball and qualified for a bowl game against Louisiana. Still, I don't really get the sense that the CUSA is the long-term goal for the Blue Hens, especially based on how geographically spread out it is as a league.

It's way too early to assess just how good this move will be for them in basketball, but it's hard not to look at it and get Temple vibes from the situation. That probably comes from the fact that the American Conference and Conference USA are very similar in how spread out they are (I keep forgetting that Missouri State is in the CUSA now and not in the Missouri Valley). Just like how UConn struggled in their short stint in the American in basketball, it just feels like basketball recruits are not as enamored with playing schools that they don't have any connection to. While it takes time to build rivalries, it's just simply not the same as playing schools in your region. Temple will always have the Big 5 to fall back on during OOC play, but do Delaware fans (and potential recruits) really get excited about playing New Mexico State, Sam Houston State, and Florida International? I feel like the MAC might be a better fit long-term for them.

The CUSA has always felt like a conference that could just break apart at any moment but has continued to exist because of its FBS status. It's like the CAA in that schools like Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky would rather be in another league. Louisiana Tech has already announced that they are leaving for the Sun Belt within the next couple years. That's not to say the CUSA is a bad basketball league. It was just below the A10 last year (#9 nationally) and is generally a top 15-ish league most years. As we saw in the game against Middle Tennessee, there's a lot of solid teams but not many top 100 squads outside of a program like Liberty. Most schools do have basketball history though, and I feel like NMSU, La Tech, and WKU should definitely be a bit better than the level they're currently at.

Regardless, it's not a great sign that Delaware was picked dead last in the league in basketball in year #1. Martin Ingelsby enters year #10 as the head honcho in Newark after he spent a year as an assistant at Wagner and seven years as an assistant under GW alum Mike Brey at Notre Dame, his alma mater. Ingelsby has not had a bad tenure at UDel, but he's always struck me as a high-floor, low-ceiling kind of coach. At the very least, he'll always have the 2021-22 squad that made the NCAA tournament (that team had JNJ on it). Last year, Delaware won just five games in the CAA, their fewest since 2016-17 - Ingelsby's first year there. Despite that, they made it all the way to the CAA title game, which says a lot about the CAA. The Blue Hens were pretty good offensively - they were top 25 nationally in both 3P% and FT%, but unfortunately they were a traffic cone on defense. Ingelsby just said screw it and played very uptempo (41st nationally), a drastic departure from all the other teams in his tenure. He's returned to a slower pace this year.

Ordinarily, I would be charitable and excuse the fact that opponents shot 35% from deep against Delaware despite them doing a decent job in preventing looks from there (top 30 in defensive 3PA%), but last year was not an outlier or bad luck on that front. In fact, under Ingelsby Delaware has ranked bottom 100 in defensive 3P% in seven out of nine years, including the year they made the NCAA tournament. Also, foes shot 55% from inside the arc during conference play (unsurprisingly dead last in the CAA), so it's not like they had a shot eraser inside either. At that point, you have to point to the fact that there's perhaps too much recruiting of skill and not enough length/athletes on the roster. You want further proof of that? They've also been bottom 100 in defensive turnover rate in seven of nine years under Ingelsby. When the team's best strength is keeping teams off the FT line, it almost feels like a left-handed compliment - they aren't aggressive enough. At least Ingelsby is willing to keep players in even when they pick up two fouls quickly. Delaware has ranked top 60 in the 2FP% metric on KenPom in all but one year under his watch.

Five of Delaware's top six guys depart, but perhaps that will allow Ingelsby to bring in more two-way players this year. John Camden and Izaiah Pasha (former GW recruit) both took their talents to the ACC as they are now at California and Virginia Tech respectively. It will always be weird to call Cal an ACC program. Camden was an offensive force, ranking 61st nationally in points per game, 43rd in threes made, and 27th in 3P%. Given the year Pasha is having at VT, I could see him return to Newark next year. Niels Lane lived up to his name by constantly being in the lane on drives to the basket, where he was 59th nationally in field goal percentage. Erik Timko who also graduated in the offseason was stellar at the FT line (30th in the nation at 88%).

A few key cogs return, led by Cavan Reilly who has been a prolific shot-maker for the Blue Hens for three seasons. For his career, Reilly has made 166 threes and has shot 38% from behind the arc. He's more of an off-ball option, but can move the ball on offense. While not the best defender, he can also be pesky in passing lanes. Ultimately, shooting is his greatest attribute. Reilly closed last year strong, finishing in double figures in each of Delaware's last seven contests. In the last matchup against GW, he scored 11 on 13 shots. Unfortunately for the Blue Hens, he went down with an injury in their season opener against Bucknell and hasn't played since. Player availability will be running theme throughout the remainder of the preview.

Brothers Macon Emory and Houston Emory also figure to play sizable roles after appearing in a combined 53 games for Delaware last season. Macon, just a sophomore, has the more upside of the two. He started six games as a freshman and shot 34% from three while pitching in a few rebounds a game. This year, he is a full-time starter for the team and is poised for a second-year breakout. Macon currently leads the squad in scoring but has coughed it up more than Ingelsby would like. Houston, a senior, is more of a minutes-eater. He stands an inch taller than his younger bro and can provide the Hens an occasional bucket and board. In the last matchup, he played a minute and missed his only shot attempt.

Perhaps the X-factor on this squad is Tyler Houser. He sat out all of last year due to injury but was a consistent rotation fixture for Ingelsby's bunch back in 2023-24. Houser began his career at VMI and is a career 36% three point shooter for his career while also rebounding at a good clip, particularly on the offensive glass this year. He has started every game this year and has finished in double figures in all but one contest this season. In two of the last three games, he's had a double-double. What concerns me is that he's 0-7 from three in the last two games after going a perfect 6/6 against UNC Greensboro. If GW is not careful, he could rediscover his stroke against us. He'll look to have a better game against the Revs after missing three shots in nine minutes in the last meeting.

Four D1 transfers will play big roles for Delaware this season. Justyn Fernandez (Providence) and Nnanna Njoku (Villanova) arrive from the Big East.

Fernandez was a 4-star, top-125 prospect out of HS per 247Sports. He has flashed potential, but has been limited playing for Kim English, who he followed to Friar Town from George Mason. I've never really thought of English as a great coach, although he can certainly recruit. It's always a major boost for a program like Delaware to land someone who started four games on a Big East team and finished in double figures on three separate occasions in conference play. The first thing I think of when I see Fernandez's name is GMU's game against us in Foggy Bottom a couple years back. It was more or less a 50-50 game with about seven minutes left, and then Fernandez proceeded to hit four threes in a five minute stretch that put the Patriots up double digits. The Revs cannot allow him to have a Fasasi-like impact for Delaware on Wednesday. He does have an injury history, as he missed all of 2023-24 with a leg injury as well as three games early in the season for Delaware. Fernandez has been great since getting on the floor, finishing in double figures in four of five games. He is very careless with the ball though, averaging over three turnovers per game. I think part of the problem is that he isn't really a point guard, but has been asked to do more on that front on this team. Defensively, Fernandez has the tools to be effective but he hasn't been as interested on that end as he should over his career.

Njoku, another former 4-star, made his Delaware debut on Saturday after missing seven games due to a knee injury. He's a DE native that appeared in 34 games for the Wildcats across four seasons. It's unclear how close he is to 100% as he only played 10 minutes in their game against in-state rival Delaware State. The hope is that he can provide a bit of balance with some interior scoring, rebounding, and especially some rim protection on defense after the Hens were torched inside last year.

Two more transfers in Virginia transfer Christian Bliss and Temple defect Jameel Brown will bolster the backcourt. Bliss is a bit of a wildcard, as he never got on the floor during his tenure in Charlottesville. That hasn't seemed to affect him, as he's absolutely stuffing the stat sheet for the Blue Hens. Bliss is third in scoring, third in rebounding (5.4 rpg, good for his height), first in assists at 6.4 apg (13th nationally) and leads the team in steals as well. Ingelsby clearly sees his value, as he's barely come off the floor. In fact, no player in the country has played more minutes than Bliss on the year. It's crazy to me that he's put so much trust in someone that hasn't played in two years, but hey I guess ignorance is Bliss. With the injuries around him and no other real point guard option, he's become that much more important (although he too is still learning, averaging three turnovers a game). His weakness comes from finishing inside, as he's actually shooting worse from 2 than 3.

Brown is a good defender along the perimeter (1.8 spg) whose shot chart also looks similar to Bliss. He has been effective from 3 (42%) but has struggled inside the arc (just 3/13, which feels hard to do for a player of his caliber). That's in line with his previous splits from his time at both Penn State and Temple. Unfortunately for the team, he went down with a leg injury against St. Peter's a couple weeks back and hasn't played since.

With all the injuries and guys coming in and out of the lineup, Ingelsby has given a trio of freshmen significant playing time. Wing Alex Kazanecki has started a few contests and has long-term potential as a three level scorer (although he's just 17% from 3 if you take out one game against Southern Illinois). The options Delaware has is limited (and Ingelsby doesn't like to play deep into his bench historically), so as a result the Ohio native has played 39+ minutes in two of their last three games. Mason Ellison is a Maryland product who held over 20 offers out of HS and can score at a high level. He averaged over 20 ppg in each of his last two years of HS. That has not translated to college yet, as he's just 12/32 (38%) from the field so far. As you'd expect from a freshman, he has work to do on defense. Per EvanMiya, he has a DBPR of -2.57, which is far and away the lowest on the team currently. The hits just keep coming for Delaware, as Ellison missed their last game due to injury. It's currently uncertain how significant the injury is. Jayden Taylor is another local product for them that can play in the frontcourt. Taylor averaged a double-double (14 pts, 11 rbs) in his senior year of HS. He surprisingly got a lot of run in their game at BYU, playing 37 minutes and scoring seven points in a contest that was closer than most expected (the Hens were leading at halftime).

He will battle for minutes with JUCO import Bouna Kebe, who rode the bench at Memphis last year but averaged 11 pts/7 rbs on a 27-5 Gillette College team. Prior to his time with the Pronghorns, he was a member of a bad Independence CC Pirate team. I sometimes wonder how much of a culture shock it is for some of these international guys (Kebe is a native of Senegal) who come to the US to play basketball. Kebe played HS ball in Georgia, and since then basketball has taken him to Kansas, Wyoming, Tennessee, and now Delaware. That's quite the journey. Anyways, Kebe started their last game, but played only six minutes.

This is somewhat of an unfavorable game for GW to play. Delaware certainly has the skill offensively to make things interesting (as they showed against BYU) but their metrics are not good enough for GW to only win by a slim margin. The Revs have to take advantage of the fact that UDel has not been fully healthy so far this season, with only five guys playing in every game for them so far. Clearly, this is not a very good team as they are winless against two in-state schools in D2 Wilmington and Delaware State which should never happen (I like Del State's coach, but their roster is not good this year). They also lost by 23 against an Iona squad with a new coach. I do think it will be a good test for the perimeter defense again prior to the Florida game. If GW can get a few more threes to fall, they could probably hit 90+ against the Blue Hens.

Projected Score: GW 89, Delaware 70. 96% chance to win (KenPom). Bart Torvik forecasts a 95% chance at a W. ESPN predicts a 97% chance for GW to move to 9-2.
 

Agreed - thank you for the amazing previews DMV.

This game is giving me Army vibes, though it’s at home. It’s a weak opponent who shoots the three well (23rd in the nation), and the three ball can be the great equalizer. Plus, it’s at a weird time in the schedule (before FL), just like Army came in the wake of the disappointing caymans trip.

Fortunately, Delaware does not crash the offensive glass at all or get to the line, so it’s really just how they shoot will determine whether they can hang around. They also play very slow so will try to control the tempo and get us out of our rhythm.

In their 17 point loss to BYU, they shot 11-24 from three, but got out rebounded 46-25. BYU was also up by just 7 with 10 minutes to go, before Delaware faded.

That said, as long as we can clamp down the perimeter and continue to attack the paint, there’s no reason we can’t do even better than BYU did.

For the season, GW is shooting an incredible 51.2% from the field (303-592).  To break it down a bit, we are 213-341 (62.4%) from the 2 and 90-251 (.35.9%) from the 3.  The effective shooting rate from the 3 would be 53.8%, which is significantly lower than the 2 point rate, even though the 3 point shooting percentage is very good.  Defensively, we are holding opponents to 43.9% shooting overall (268-610) overall, which breaks down to 188-353 (53.2%) from the 2 and 80-257 (31.1%) from the 3.

An unsung opposing player has a career night shooting against GW. Tell me when you have heard that before (the first time I heard it was my second or third GW game, and back then Ronald Reagan lived in the large house a couple of blocks from campus).

Last edited by GW Alum Abroad (12/10/2025 7:21 pm)

Worst 20 seconds of any game ever.  5 turnovers (3 by GW) no shots by either team

Switched over to the women in the first half

GW Alum Abroad wrote:

An unsung opposing player has a career night shooting against GW. Tell me when you have heard that before (the first time I heard it was my second or third GW game, and back then Ronald Reagan lived in the large house a couple of blocks from campus).

Fernandez played for both Providence and Mason

I do like our defense tonight, but we look TERRIBLE on offense

Long Suffering Fan wrote:

GW Alum Abroad wrote:

An unsung opposing player has a career night shooting against GW. Tell me when you have heard that before (the first time I heard it was my second or third GW game, and back then Ronald Reagan lived in the large house a couple of blocks from campus).

Fernandez played for both Providence and Mason

My point exactly. If you start out at Providence, then drop to Mason, then drop to Deleware, you are by definition "unsung". 

Meanwhile, I feel sorry for people who parted with their hard-earned cash to watch this cacophony of turnovers, missed shots and ticky-tack fouls. 
 

Last edited by GW Alum Abroad (12/10/2025 8:34 pm)

Some of the dumbest basketball I have seen in a long time.