George Washington University Athletics
Men's Basketball To Tussle with Towson
12/18/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 18, 2004
Towson (3-6) at #19/22 George Washington (6-1)
Game 8
Date: Saturday, Dec. 18, 2004 • Time: 2:00 pm
Location: Smith Center (5,000) • Washington, DC
Radio: WMET 1160 AM, WAGE 1200 AM (Chris Castleberry)
TV: none
Series: GW leads, 6-1 (GW is 4-0 home; 2-1 away; 0-0 neutral)
Today's Game: George Washington (No. 19 AP/No. 22 USA Today/ESPN) brings a six-game win streak into today's game with Towson (3-6). It marks the eighth meeting between the teams. The Colonials hold a 6-1 series advantage including a 4-0 mark against the Tigers at Smith Center. GW is coming off a 79-65 victory over Saint Francis-PA last Saturday night in Loretto, PA. Towson is coming off an 84-69 victory over VMI last Saturday at Lexington, VA. The Tigers, led by sophomore Jonathan Pease's 25 points, converted 9-22 three-pointers to cruise past the Keydets. The victory snapped the Tigers' 13-game road losing skid and a five-game slide this season. GW is 14-1 in its last 15 home games at Smith Center. GW and TU have had one common opponent this season in Morgan State. Towson has split a pair of games with Morgan State while GW defeated the Bears, 94-70, at home on Nov. 20. TU is the first Colonial Athletic Association team GW has faced this season. GW is 3-1 against CAA teams under Karl Hobbs in three-plus seasons.
Karl Hobbs is in his fourth season at the helm of the Colonials program. The NABC recognized Hobb's efforts by naming him the District 4 Coach of the Year last Mar. 11. Hobbs, 43, is considered by many as one of the hot, up-and-coming head coaches in the country. GW is his first head coaching position. Prior to coming to GW, Hobbs spent eight seasons as an assistant coach at Connecticut which included the 1998-99 national championship season. He is credited with recruiting the likes of Ray Allen, Richard Hamilton and Emeka Okafor among others. He was hired by GW in June, 2001. Hobbs has recruited a total of 13 new players in his brief tenure at GW and enjoyed his most successful season as a head coach last year with an 18-12 record and a postseason N.I.T. appearance. Hobbs orchestrated the two biggest wins of his head coaching career with last weekend's victories over #9 Michigan State and #12 Maryland. The win over Maryland also put Hobbs' career record above .500 (47-46) for the second time as a head coach. Hobbs has a 2-0 record against Towson but has not yet coached head-to-head against Pat Kennedy.
Next Game: GW travels to Miami, FL, to play Florida International on Thursday, Dec. 23, at FIU's Pharmed Arena. The game will be aired live in the Washington area on WMET 1160 AM and WAGE 1200 AM as well as via www.GWsports.com.
