Probably not, but I do hope we keep it competitive. If we are losing by 20 halfway through the first half and Davidson fans outnumber GW fans 2 to 1 in the Smitty, I will be disappointed...

Very vague recollection of a 4 OT game vs Davidson, did Armel Potter have a huge game that day?

Didn't Arnaldo win the game in OT, after coming in cold?
Toro, even 65 pct, would be a great asset to this team, as would anyone who could rebound (see Wednesday's discrepancy).

I would say it is virtually mathematically impossible for these two teams to repeat the classic game the last matchup between them produced. Nevermind how good Davidson is this seaon, or how not good GW is. It just won´t happen. And that is too bad because that game was the stuff of legends. If you thought the teams shot lights out in the GW-LaSalle game, check out the box score...
https://gwsports.com/sports/mens-basketball/stats/2019-20/davidson/boxscore/11644

Davidson Wildcats

Date/Time: Saturday February 5th @ 2:00 PM ET at The Charles E. Smith Center in Washington, DC.
TV: NBC Sports Washington / ESPN+
Preseason Ranks: 91st (KenPom), 132nd (Bart Torvik), 100th (CBS), 93rd (SI)
2020-21 Record: 13-9, 7-4 (3rd in A10)
2021-22 Projected Record: 24-6, 14-4 (T-1st in A10)

Coach: Bob McKillop, 607-373 in 32 seasons at Davidson. McKillop's 607 wins ranks 60th (now up to 54th including this season's wins) all-time (and 17th among "active" coaches). A native of Queens, McKillop first entered the coaching ranks at the HS level. He actually spent a combined 15 years coaching in HS, including a stellar 182-51 at Long Island Lutheran HS, a program that has produced several D1 prospects over the years. I could be wrong, but I'm surprised Davidson hasn't recruited that school more. A couple of prospects from that school have played in the A10, including former Dayton Flyer Frankie Policelli and Kacper Kłaczek, who is currently a freshman at St. Joe's (and is international!) Both former players were former GW targets. In between his time coaching in HS was a single season as an assistant coach at none other than Davidson College. I wonder if McKillop had any idea at that time that he would be back as head coach ten years later and would later become a legend there. Apart from the 9 NCAA berths and 8 NIT appearances, McKillop won the SoCon 11 times, coach of the year in the SoCon 8 times, and has already hit both those milestones in Davidson's young tenure as an A10 member. It must be nice to know that McKillop will be staying at Davidson as long as he's coaching, and perhaps his son who's an assistant there will continue the family success in the future. As a player, McKillop actually entered the transfer portal, transferring to Hofstra (closer to home) after two seasons at East Carolina. Interesting that as a coach he has hardly made use of the portal at Davidson (until recently, more on that later).

Head-to-Head: 9-14. GW and Davidson both met in the 1954-55 season when both schools were part of the SoCon (we won that game 74-36 as the #13 ranked team in the country). GW broke a four game losing streak to Davidson two seasons back in the quadruple overtime thriller as mentioned above by other posters. It was GW's first 4OT game since a loss to East Carolina 98-72 during the 1967-68 season. There is so much to talk about from that game. Armel went down with an injury early in the game, resulting in Amir playing 41 minutes (and somehow going 0-10 from the field). I doubt he plays even half of that in tomorrow's game. Maceo made seven threes, which was the previous time a Colonial made seven threes in a game before Joe's effort on Wednesday against La Salle. Back-to-back threes from JNJ and Jamison helped us pull away late, but to me the difference in the game was JC's decision to bench Chase for AT midway through the second overtime. Paar was clearly gassed, and Toro was fresh enough to get us to the third overtime and ultimately across the finish line. Ah, the days we had some truly elite rebounders. They all had some shortcomings, but imagine our previous frontcourt from a few years ago of Collin Smith-Arnaldo Toro-Kevin Marfo with our current backcourt...

Some throwback vids from that 4OT game:






Offensive Efficiency: 11th (KenPom), 8th (Bart Torvik)
Defensive Efficiency: 200th (KenPom), 231st (Bart Torvik)
Pace: 312th (KenPom), 310th (Bart Torvik) Davidson has been all over the pace tempo-wise since they joined the A10, but they've consistently played on the slower side the past few years. That should make for an interesting contrast against a team like us that does prefer to get out in transition a bit more.
Returning Minutes: 63.5% (161st in country)

Key Returning Players:
Hyunjung Lee (Sophomore; Yeok, South Korea) 13.5 PPG, 4 RPG, 2.5 APG; 51% FG, 44% 3-PT, 90% FT
      2019-20 vs. GW: 12 points, 3 rebounds; 5-8 FG, 2-3 3-PT in 22 minutes.

Luka Brajkovič (Junior; Feldkirch, Austria) 10.9 PPG, 6 RPG, 1.8 APG; 54% FG, 32% 3-PT, 62% FT
      2019-20 vs. GW: 14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks; 6-8 FG, 0-1 3-PT, 2-2 FT in 32 minutes.

Samuel 'Sam' Mennenga (RS Freshman; Auckland, New Zealand) 6 PPG, 5 RPG, 1 APG; 38% FG, 23% 3-PT, 52% FT

Michael Jones (RS Sophomore; Woodbury, MN) 5.1 PPG, 1.8 RPG, 1.2 APG; 48% FG, 31% 3-PT, 64% FT
      2019-20 vs. GW: 2 points, 3 rebounds; 1-1 FG in 41 minutes. The fact he only took 1 shot in 41 minutes is a feat in itself.

Key Losses:
Kellan Grady (Transferred to Kentucky; Boston, MA) 17.1 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 2.4 APG; 47% FG, 38% 3-PT, 68% FT
Carter Collins (Transferred to Murray State; Chapel Hill, NC) 10.9 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 2.7 APG; 46% FG, 39% 3-PT, 76% FT

Comments:
Year after year, you know what you're getting from Davidson and McKillop. There's something to be said for having strong roster continuity and a hall of fame coach along the sidelines. That enables the Wildcats to begin each season with a relatively high floor. The more interesting to watch for with Davidson is just how high their ceiling is. Against all odds, the Wildcats began their A10 tenure in 1st place, but in the seasons since they've been trying to recapture the magic that got them there. That 2014-15 Davidson squad was absolutely elite offensively, shooting nearly 40% from distance and averaging over 17 assists a game. Don't get me wrong, Davidson has had some really good seasons offensively since, but this season might be their best finish offensively since that inaugural year in the league:

Season       Davidson Offense      Davidson Defense       A10 Finish
2014-15                  9th                           176th                           1st     
2015-16                 31st                           223rd                          6th 
2016-17                103rd                          92nd                           9th
2017-18                 16th                          128th                           3rd
2018-19                102nd                          98th                          2nd
2019-20                 26th                          163rd                          7th
2020-21                 20th                          164th                          3rd
2021-22                 11th                           200th                         ???

Something else worth noting from the above is that outside of the 2016-17 and 2018-19 seasons, Davidson has consistently leaned way more on offense than defense (although the fact that McKillop was able to balance out the two worst offensive teams with two top 100 defenses shows how good of a coach he is).

Like other teams, Davidson was forced to shuffle their schedule around due to COVID but you wouldn't be able to tell with the way they performed. Outside of a disappointing 11 point loss to former A10 member (and rival) Charlotte at home, Davidson's other two losses in a solid 5-3 OOC slate were to #17 Texas and Providence by 2 and 1 point respectively. During the heart of A10 play, the Wildcats won five straight games, and that was with a month-long pause and three games canceled in between. Although Davidson ultimately dropped four of their last six contests (which included a first-round exit in the NIT against rival NC State) it was yet another successful season for McKillop's Wildcats.

The obvious storyline coming into the year for Davidson was the departure of Kellan Grady and Carter Collins, two program pillars who transferred this offseason because Davidson does not have a graduate school. In some respects, it might have been the right time for both parties to move on. I think Davidson and Grady accomplished all that they could in their time together, and they have been pretty much NIT level the past few years. In the end, both sides may benefit, as Davidson is currently in first in the A10, Kentucky is a lock to make the tournament, and Murray State is also currently first in what will be their final season in the OVC as they transition to the Missouri Valley.

Davidson went a very impressive 10-2 in OOC play this season, with a notable win over Alabama. The two losses to San Francisco and New Mexico State aren't bad by any means. The Dons continue to bolster their at-large resume as they defeated BYU the other night (BYU has been a bit shaky lately, but a 4-bid WCC is a real possibility) and the Aggies are always a threat to win the WAC even as the league has more contenders this season to challenge them like Grand Canyon, Sam Houston State, Seattle, Stephen F. Austin, and Utah Valley. NMSU is also changing conferences in the future as they'll be headed to the C-USA in 2023. Davidson was a bucket away against VCU from being on an 18 game win streak coming into tomorrow's game. That's pretty much the only thing that's slowed them down lately apart from two postponed contests to begin A10 play.

Hyunjung Lee, Davidson's leading returning scorer from last season, is coming off a ridiculous season where he posted a 50/40/90 stat line (>50% from the field, >40% from deep, >90% from FT line). Although COVID prevented him from making the list formally (he fell three games short) it's a very impressive feat nonetheless. For context, only 11 players have achieved that since the 1992-93 season. There's a reason why Lee is being discussed as a potential second-round pick on NBA draft boards. It's a shame that Ira got hurt in the offseason because it would have been interesting to see which Lee was more productive in the game.

Davidson has more continuity in their frontcourt this season as Austrian Luka Brajkovič and New Zealander Samuel 'Sam' Mennenga return. Brajkovič (in my opinion) is so criminally underrated in the A10. He's been so good, but because Davidson recruits more for skill than athleticism he isn't the most flashy and doesn't get as much attention. He can stretch the offense and hit from three at a pretty decent rate, pass out of double teams, and is a strong rebounder on the other end. This feels like a tough guard for us because Hunter isn't necessarily used to defending along the perimeter. Mennenga's future at Davidson is bright. He seems to have taken a sizable sophomore leap offensively after a somewhat unsteady freshman campaign (by Davidson's standards). Like pretty much everyone that sees the court for the Wildcats, he can stretch the floor and kill you from three. Had Tafara come to GW, that would have been another fun side matchup to watch.

Also returning in the backcourt is Minnesotan Michael Jones. I said this in the URI preview about El-Amin, and I'll say it again here. Players from Minnesota seem to be so good at shooting the basketball and I hope we continue to recruit there (especially after Jamison's success). While Jones only took one shot in our contest two seasons ago, I fully expect him to be much more aggressive tomorrow. He is Davidson's best three point shooter by percentage (48%).

Davidson's remaining returners that are likely to see action are Grant Huffman and UK native Nelson Boachie-Yiadom (both off the bench). Huffman is the quintessential Davidson guy - a strong shooter and a guy who is able to cut and play off the ball in their offensive scheme. He has had somewhat of a regression shooting the ball, but his 42% shooting from 3 last season means he's always a threat. Huffman missed a few games in the middle of conference play due to injury but returned in their last game against Bonaventure (Emory Lanier stepped in during that time, but is not the same player as Huffman right now). Yiadom did see action in that 4OT game two seasons ago and is more or less the same player. He's capable of finishing inside and rebounding when his number is called, but a big role isn't expected.

As mentioned earlier, McKillop actually scanned the transfer portal last offseason for a backcourt go-to option to replace Grady. He found Foster Loyer, a transfer from Michigan State. Loyer was a rotation player for the Spartans, but regressed last season after a promising sophomore season shooting the ball. It's foolish to think McKillop would have pursued him if he didn't think he was going to fit the Davidson scheme well, and sure enough Loyer has been a key piece to their puzzle. Loyer leads the team in made threes (at 46%) and is currently second in the nation in FT shooting at 95%. Davidson isn't solely reliant on one guy to run their offense (as evidenced by their 15 assists per game average) but Loyer can take ownership of the offense when needed.

Freshman Desmond Watson will see some spot minutes off the bench. He has struggled shooting the ball on the year but I don't doubt that he will be a key piece for Davidson in a season or two. Davidson usually goes 8 deep, but of course we may see everyone else if the game is a blowout.

This is a tough contest, even at home. Although we do matchup well with Davidson in some ways (especially with taking away the three when we're focused defensively) I do still worry about Brajkovič and there are simply too many shooters for us to take everyone away. Hopefully the last game against La Salle was a sign of things to come for our offense because we'll have to put up points to stay with the Wildcats. Davidson isn't going to turn you over (the Wildcats are last in steals and are mediocre defensively overall) so there's a chance to keep things competitive if our good ball movement keeps up. At the same time though I see us potentially giving up close to 100 points with our 13th ranked A10 defense in conference play if Davidson is clicking. Davidson is second best in field goal percentage, and we are second worst in field goal percentage defense. Like DC Native said, it's all about keeping things competitive for tomorrow.

Projected Score: Davidson 78, GW 68. 19% chance to win (Bart Torvik). ESPN gives us an 18.2% chance to extend our win streak to 3. The Wildcats open as a 9.5 point road favorite.
 

James Bishop is off the hook.

Bishop and our defense in general is feeding his offense.

Sorry I don’t mind the unis. I draw the line camo.
If Bishop hits 20 3s GW wins!

Last edited by FredD (2/05/2022 2:30 pm)

JB's shooting confidence isn't always a plus,but working  so far.
His greater attention to defense is paying off on the other end,so far.

A little slow finding Brown