And of course also on ESPN+

Game opens with GW as 8 point underdog.   Hmmm.   Tempting, especially if  Matt is playing.  Without Matt, I would not want to have to count on another 65 points on 23-37 shooting, including 8-15 from the 3, from Bishop, Battle and Lindo.  That may be good enough to steal a win every now and then but is not a sustainable formula for victory.
 

Last edited by Long Suffering Fan (2/24/2021 8:49 am)

George Mason Patriots

Date/Time: Wednesday February 24th @ 6:00 PM ET at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, VA.
TV: ESPN+
Ranks: 135th (KenPom), 129th (Bart Torvik), 143rd (CBS)
Record Last Year: 17-15, 5-13 (12th in A10)
Projected Record (as of now!): 11-9, 7-7 (T-7th in A10)

Coaching Record: Dave Paulsen, 82-82 in five seasons at GMU. That record has pretty much summed up the Paulsen experience, with the Patriots consistently finishing within the mediocre 5-12 range in the league year after year. George Mason only has one CBI postseason appearance to show for it, and I have to think Paulsen is on the hot seat pretty soon. I believe his contract is up after the 2021-22 season, so this may be a free year for him, but how they fare the last couple of games this season could determine whether he even gets that extra year. You wouldn't expect Paulsen to struggle after five seasons given his successes at previous stops. He made 2 NCAAs and 2 NITs with Bucknell, and had a combined six NCAA appearances at D3 St. Lawrence and Williams College. He won a title in 2003 at his alma mater - I am not sure there are many coaches who can claim that!

All Time Record: 19-6, and we are coming off a sweep in last season's "Revolutionary Rivalry". To be honest, I don't really feel like we have any kind of rivalry with Mason. Do we really have a rival in the conference? I actually think the Duquesne matchups the past few years are the closest thing to that, and that says a lot. None of the Mason contests have really been heated. We really just happen to be 15 miles from each other - that's really about it. Even if the series was 13-12, I would probably still feel the same way. The tricorn hat thing is cool though. From a competitive standpoint, we have only lost to GMU when Mojo was coach since they joined the A10, and their lone season sweep against us was our worst team in 30 years. Looking forward to seeing Mojo on the sidelines. Happy he is back in the league and hope he gets another crack at a head coaching job soon. We won both contests 73-67 last season. In the road matchup, we placed four in double figures, with Armel (20 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists), Maceo (19 points, 3 rebounds), JNJ (16 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals), and Jamison (13 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals) leading the way. We had a good offensive performance, shooting 51% from the field, 40% from distance, and 75% from the line.

Offensive Efficiency: 182nd (KenPom), 189th (Bart Torvik)
Defensive Efficiency: 102nd (KenPom), 87th (Bart Torvik)
Tempo: 188th (KenPom), 183rd (Bart Torvik)
Returning Minutes: 87.7% (12th in country)

Key Returning Players:
Javon Greene (SR; McDonough, GA) 13.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.8 spg; 40% FG, 34% 3-pt, 82% FT
      Last season against us @ Mason: 7 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists; 3-8 FG, 1-3 3-pt in 34 minutes.

Jordan Miller (JR; Middleburg, VA) 12.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.1 spg; 45% FG, 33% 3-pt, 70% FT
      Last season against us @ Mason: 11 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals; 5-9 FG, 0-2 3-pt, 1-2 FT in 37 minutes.

Anthony 'A.J.' Wilson Jr. (RS SR; Laurel, MD) 12.2 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 1 apg; 46% FG, 33% 3-pt, 60% FT
      Last season against us @ Mason: 15 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks; 6-11 FG, 2-3 3-pt, 1-2 FT in 28 minutes.

Jamal Hartwell II (JR; Inglewood, CA) 9.6 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 1.7 apg; 38% FG, 31% 3-pt, 80% FT
      Last season against us @ Mason: 2 points, 3 rebounds; 1-7 FG, 0-4 3-pt in 27 minutes.

Xavier Johnson (SO; Germantown, MD) 7.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.3 spg; 42% FG, 22% 3-pt, 72% FT
      Last season against us @ Mason: 17 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists; 6-10 FG, 0-3 3-pt, 5-6 FT in 30 minutes.

Key Losses:
Justin Kier (Transferred to Georgia; Grottoes; VA) 9.6 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.3 apg; 46% FG, 46% 3-pt, 85% FT

Comments:
Last season was nothing short of a disappointment for Mason. The Patriots finished 12th in the league (which was below us), failing to string together even a two game winning streak during the A10 regular season. Their lack of competitiveness is surprising given their successful run through OOC play, where they went 11-2 and included a Cayman Islands Classic championship after running through Old Dominion, Nebraska, and New Mexico State in consecutive days. Their competition wasn't good overall, but still a win is a win. Maybe I'm comparing it to how we fared this season against similar competition.

It cannot be dismissed that Kier played a big role in Mason's plans last season, and that could definitely be a reason why conference season did not go the way they had hoped. Kier came down with a stress fracture in his right foot during practice just before our game last season. It continued the bad luck that Mason has had when it comes to injuries in recent seasons (reminds me a bit of Martelli's last few St. Joe's squads, which ultimately got him canned). Kier was their most consistent shooter last season. He ultimately decided to move on this past offseason, landing in Athens where he is enjoying some success.

Moving on to this year, I am not sure expectations were very high for GMU despite their roster continuity (apart from their fanbase, and rightly so). They were picked 10th in the preseason poll, and I would say they have more or less performed like an 8-10th place team. After surviving a nail-biter against D2 Queens (NC), they fell to a good Belmont team and defeated Howard in the Paradise Jam tournament. They also fell to Norfolk State OOC. In conference, they have defeated some above average teams like UMass and VCU. One thing is for sure - we do not want to go to OT against Mason. They are 3-0 in such games this season, including two that went to double OT.

Jordan Miller and Javon Greene lead the way for the Patriots. Miller had his redshirt ripped off midseason his freshman year as Mason dealt with injuries and he never looked back, averaging double figures every season since arriving in Fairfax. He leads the team with 16 ppg, and is also among the leaders in rebounds (5) and assists (2) on the team. His 6-6 frame gives him the ability to defend multiple positions and he is the best shooter from three on the team at 38%. Greene definitely has the ability to go off, as evidenced by his 39 and 32 point outings against Richmond and UMass respectively last season. His role as a scorer has decreased somewhat as Mason has improved in the depth department, but he is still a threat from distance and like Miller does a good job passing and rebounding the ball. Greene is also most notably their best defender, averaging two steals a game.

Guards Jamal Hartwell II and Xavier Johnson also return. Hartwell battled an illness over the course of last season which ultimately hampered his efficiency somewhat. He is also a willing passer but his strength is letting it fly from distance - nearly 60% of his attempts came from 3 last season. Johnson had a successful freshman campaign where he took the reigns at point and averaged 2.5 apg last season. He did see success penetrating and getting to the line but is still searching for consistency shooting the ball. Johnson is experiencing somewhat of a sophomore slump this season as he has been passed on the depth chart by other players.

Mason's entire frontcourt are also back, spearheaded by the A-10's most improved player last season Anthony 'A.J.' Wilson Jr. (wish Armel had won it, but Wilson was definitely deserving), senior Greg Calixte, and sophomore Josh Oduro. Wilson broke out in a big way last season, tripling his scoring average and leading the way on the boards with 7 a game. He also made his mark defensively, swatting nearly three shots per game which ranked 6th nationally and #1 in the A10. Wilson has also been struggling to find some consistency this season, allowing Oduro to make some strides this season. Oduro is coming off a 27 point effort against VCU where he won player of the week in the conference. He is great at finishing inside and leads the Patriots in rebounding this season (while also scoring 11 a game). Oduro also had 13 points in the Fairfax game last season. Calixte has continued his deeper reserve role from previous seasons. He can get a bucket and rebound the ball when his number is called, but isn't likely to see many minutes unless Wilson and Oduro are in foul trouble.

The remainder of Mason's rotation this season includes sophomore Bahaïde 'Daddy' Haïdara and freshmen Tyler Kolek, Otis Frazier III, and Ronald Polite. Haïdara is somehow a 22(!) year old sophomore who hails from Canada. He uses his big frame to finish inside and rebound, but isn't expected to see too much time. Kolek is one of the best rookies in the league this season, averaging 10.6 ppg. Expect him to launch from deep if he has the slightest of space, as he leads the team in both makes and attempts from 3 on the year, shooting at a respectable 34% from there. He has also taken over PG duties and is a sticky defender on the other end. Frazier has really come on of late, with 24 of his 27 points for the season coming from the past three games. He is a solid finisher inside. Polite brings some athleticism to the roster, but is still raw at this stage in his career.

Conditioning is definitely still something to consider in this one having just played three days ago for the first time in a month. Mason definitely has the edge in terms of the number of bodies. Hopefully we can keep doing what worked in the URI game. Just hope to keep it competitive. Mason is one of the worst FT shooting teams in the country (62.8%) so that is something to monitor if the game is close. This will be our second game at EagleBank, and hopefully we have better familiarity with the rims after the Dayton game.

Predicted Score: Mason 75, Washington 69. 27% chance to win (Bart Torvik). ESPN gives us a 35.9% to get the dub. The Patriots are an 8 point home favorite. 

Wanted to thank GW73 for his really nice message in the URI thread. I never got around to providing some thoughts from the game, so will include it here:

- Wow! I would have been happy keeping it within two scores, but we won outright! What a performance in the final four minutes of the game, going from 68 all to finishing on a 10-2 run (and their 2 points was a garbage time Russell layup). This was perhaps our best finish to a game in the JC era, only rivaled by the Delaware and Boston U games from last season.

- It cannot be understated how important Ricky's presence is. He really helps the team defensively. A lot of people will say that Mitchell missed a lot of layups, but really the missed dunk was the only bad miss from him. Ricky was consistently altering shots down low and making it tough to finish with his activity. While we still probably need a true frontcourt presence down low in the future (we had no blocked shots in the game) getting guys like Ricky who can mix it up down low will definitely help out defensively. He also showed great energy/emotion after making plays which this team needs more of. Ricky guarded Russell at the end of the game, and pretty much shut him down.

- Noel gets the game ball for his performance. His eight points was the difference in the game. I have thought his defensive instincts have been good every time he has been in the game, but he has been admittedly raw offensively. He did a good job kicking the ball out when he was surrounded by Rhody players and taking the ball stronger to the hoop than he has all season. The result was tripling his points scored for the season. It says a lot that he was the big who saw action at the end of the game.

- Lincoln may not have scored (and probably shot the ball a bit too much) but his rebounding, passing, and defense deserves a lot of credit. He picked off a number of passes when URI tried to get the ball into the post. The right idea for them as that is a big weakness for us, but their execution was worse than any team we've seen by far.

- Tyler had a bit of bad luck as he had good looks that just rimmed out.

- Brandon is the most overqualified walk-on we've had for some time. Hopefully he got a scholarship for the second semester as guys left the team. His pass to Jamison before halftime was fantastic. He played pretty good defense when in, and how about him icing the game with the FTs at the end? Also pulled down the final rebound in the game. I just wish he had seen a few minutes here and there more consistently this season.

- Leggett is going to be really good for Rhody, really wish we had landed him.

- Cox definitely deserves some blame for not using his fouls to give in the first half and his timeouts in the second half. I actually thought JC should have called his timeout when we got down 5 early in the second half, but we did well to recover from the 8 point hole.

- Our defensive rotations were the best I have seen all season, although we still struggle to recover when passes are made cross court. There are a few questions I still have for this team next season, but I will save that for the offseason.

- Ball movement is fun. It turns out if you spread the ball around and not care who gets the assists, the team fares a bit better offensively. Only 10 turnovers is good too, as was our rebounding effort against a strong Rhody team in that department.
 

dmvpiranha wrote:

All Time Record: 19-6, and we are coming off a sweep in last season's "Revolutionary Rivalry". To be honest, I don't really feel like we have any kind of rivalry with Mason. Do we really have a rival in the conference? I actually think the Duquesne matchups the past few years are the closest thing to that, and that says a lot. None of the Mason contests have really been heated. We really just happen to be 15 miles from each other - that's really about it. Even if the series was 13-12, I would probably still feel the same way. The tricorn hat thing is cool though. From a competitive standpoint, we have only lost to GMU when Mojo was coach since they joined the A10, and their lone season sweep against us was our worst team in 30 years. Looking forward to seeing Mojo on the sidelines. Happy he is back in the league and hope he gets another crack at a head coaching job soon. We won both contests 73-67 last season. In the road matchup, we placed four in double figures, with Armel (20 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists), Maceo (19 points, 3 rebounds), JNJ (16 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals), and Jamison (13 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals) leading the way. We had a good offensive performance, shooting 51% from the field, 40% from distance, and 75% from the line.

 

If I were to pick out GW a10 rivals, Mason would definitely not be #1 on my list. I'd put VCU, Richmond, and Duquesne before Mason. This is Mason's 8th year in the A10 and in mens basketball they have added nada to this conference. Didn't bring in a new TV market and hasn't brought any postseason play (outside of one CBI). Not sure what other schools were considered back then, but I wonder if the A10 regrets adding them?

GW had two great rivalries, one with That School Down the Street and another with a school where students normally dress in overalls (and by choice!) that was one of the oldest in the country. The first rivalry was killed off by a chickeshit coach/administration and the other was killed off by Linda Bruno´s steady hand at the helm of the A10.
Mason? Meh. Hard to get too hyped to play a team with a campus surrounded by four-way stoplights.

When  I was at GW 50 something years ago we played Georgetown home and home my first two years and once a year my last two years. My first year at GW when we played at the Fort a huge fight happened at halftime. I stayed in the stands. Remember they were something like 3-21 my last year. We played AU once every year on a home and home series since we both played at the Fort. 

I think you can call this a rivalry because of how close the school are to each other. The coaches, players, fans, students and alums of both schools probably operate in the same circles from time to time, so there should be a higher level of anticipation for George Mason compared to most conference and non-conference games. 

7.5 seems kind of high considering that most of George Mason's wins have been close wins. I believe Fordham is the only team they blew out

Is Paar hurt? Still dealing with Covid?

Lindo's post moves have been fantastic.