Posted by xAC  1/22/2024 11:17 am | #1 |
Next up: George Mason Patriots (GMU)
Time: January 24, 2024; 12 PM (ET)
Venue: Charles E Smith Center – Washington, DC
2022-23 Record: 16-15 (8-8 in A10)
2024 Projection: 8th
Current Record: 14-3
OOC Record: 9-2
A10 Record: 5-1
Common OOC: Coppin State, Towson (GMU defeated both teams on the road)
Last Time Out: 58-39 loss to GW in 2022-2023 (at GW)
Broadcast: ESPN+
Opponent Summary: Surprising George Mason makes their way to the Smith Center for mid-week noon tipoff on Wednesday. At 14-3 (5-1 in the A10), the Patriots have established themselves as a top-tier A10 presence. After a 9-2 OOC that included losses to only Maryland and East Carolina, GMU has sailed through the rest of their A10 schedule and despite a 2-point loss to URI, have won the other 5 games by an average margin of 30 points. They are led by guard Sonia Smith (15.2 ppg and 3.1 apg) and forward Zahirah Walton (11.6 ppg and 5.6 rpg). They get ample support from Kennedy Harris (10.1 ppg) and Taylor Jameson. At 77 ppg, the Patriots rank 1st in offense in the A10 and boast a league leading 18.1 points in scoring margin. As a team, the Patriots shoot 41.6% from the field (33.5% from distance). Although not one of the taller teams in the A10, they currently lead the league in rebounds (42.5 per game) and offensive rebounds (15.3 per game).
About the game: It’s not clear under what circumstance GW could actually outscore the Patriots, especially if George Mason controls the pace of the game. On paper this looks like a mismatch, but this is essentially the same George Mason team that GW split with last year. In Mason’s win, Smith had her way and directed the Patriots to a 10-point win. In the rematch, GW was able to control Smith and the pace of game in a 19-point victory that held GMU to a season low 39 points. The Revs’ offense still lacks cohesion and sense of purpose. Despite the recent individual improvements in their offensive games (especially Brown, Lok, and Innis), too much reliance on individuals to score has resulted in lower success rates and too many offensive decisions leading to bad shots or miscues. Credit the GMU coaching staff for developing last year’s underclassmen and implementing a sound offensive strategy to create a contender.
Under normal circumstances, rivalry games are unpredictable, but this year’s version of the Revs is closing in on a hugely disappointing season. If the GW players (and coaching staff) can’t rise to the occasion, the results won’t be pretty.
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Posted by xAC 1/24/2024 2:16 pm | #2 |
Final Result: GMU prevails 57-41 as GW offense sputters.
In a bit of a mild surprise, Engel was tapped to start in place of Robertson. GW’s defense was solid to start the game, but gave Smith some clean looks early and she staked the Patriots to an early 8-6 lead. GW misses several open 3-pointers, but managed hit a couple. The defense stood firm and a stellar Lok (7 points) helped the Revs close out the quarter tied at 14-14. Neither team could muster any offense to start the 2nd quarter, with only free throws, 3 by GMU and 2 by GW, taking the score to 17-16 at the media timeout. For the rest of the period, GW’s defense was exceptional, but the offense could only manage 7 points and GW trailed 26-21 going into halftime. Lok led GW with 9 points, followed by Engel’s 8 points. Smith led a balanced GMU attack with 7 points. The start of the second half saw Lok get her 3rd foul and forcing her to the bench. The Patriots took advantage and ran off a 9-1 run to take a 37-27 lead at the media TO. GW opportunities to cut into the lead were thwarted by missed layups or turnovers as George Mason ran up to a 43-30 tally to end the 3rd quarter. GMU put the game away early in the 4th, as GW’s miscues continued to accumulate, and took a commanding a 53-34 lead. A Patriot parade to the foul line finished off the Revs, who lose the game by 16 points. Lok had 16 points, followed by Engel’s 10 points. Walton had 23 points and 16 rebounds for the Patriots.
The GW defense was really good. GMU shot 28.6% for the game and many of their field goals came as a result of turnovers (20 POTs). They were bailed out numerous times by fouls, holding an 18-6 advantage in FTs. The stat lines for GW’s core players-- Innis (0-9 and 5 TOs), Brown (1-7 and 4 TOs), and Robertson (2-13 and 0-8 on 3-pointers), tells the story for GW. Not all the shot attempts were bad, and Robertson had some clean looks, but regardless, shots didn’t fall. Bad passing, particularly by Innis, killed a lot of other opportunities. With any semblance of offense, this was a winnable game. Lok played a good all-around game, but was hampered by foul trouble. Engel looked good in spots, gaining some needed game experience. The outcome wasn’t unexpected, but considering how well the defense played, disappointing none-the-less.
Next up is a battle for the basement, as the Revs travel to New York to take on the Fordham Rams. Could things possibly get worse?
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Posted by dmvpiranha 1/24/2024 3:19 pm | #3 |
It's almost baffling how bad the team is offensively. Even if GW was gifted 10 points to start the game they would struggle to hit 60 points on a lot of nights. Lok has been a bright spot, but is unfortunately graduating after this season. Robertson clearly does not look 100%, which is a shame. Law of averages suggests a good shooting game is on the horizon like the Bona game - at least I'm telling myself that.
The defense was good, even though GMU looked pretty bad as well objectively. What they did do that GW didn't was attack the hoop consistently. FTs made a huge difference. GW's backdoor cuts here and there were nice, but there's overall too much settling on offense, the team doesn't value possessions (very careless with the ball), and WBB doesn't have the ability to finish in transition either.
It may be a good thing at this point that GW can rebuild their roster with the number of players graduating, but what's more concerning is that there's no foundation to build from. Player development has been minimal. I am not going to pretend to be an expert when it comes to NIL on the WBB side, but is it significantly harder to get down transfers? This roster is in desperate need of several offensive pieces.
At least McCombs doesn't whine as much as the Mason coach does. GMU's coach is up there with Duquesne for whiniest coach on the sidelines. The Patriots could make a three and somehow their coach would probably still find a way to complain that they didn't score five points on their possession.
