George Washington University Athletics
No. 20/19 Colonials Take On Marshall Tonight at 7
1/7/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 7, 2006
Game 11
Date: Saturday, Jan. 7, 2006 • Time: 7:07 pm (EST)
Location: Cam Henderson Center (9,043) • Huntington, WV
Radio: WMET 1160, WAGE 1200 AM (Byron Kerr)
TV: CSTV, DirecTV (Carter Blackburn-pxp, Pete Gillen-analyst)
Series: Marshall leads, 6-2
The Coaches:
GW COACH: Karl Hobbs (Connecticut `85)
Record at GW: 73-54 (.575) 5th season
Atlantic 10 Record: 33-32 (.508) 5th season
Career Record: 73-54 (.575) 5th season
Hobbs' Record vs. Marshall: 1-0
MARSHALL COACH: Ron Jirsa (Gettysburg `81)
Record at Marshall: 24-44 (.353) 3rd season
Career Record: 59-74 (.444) 5th season
Georgia 35-30
Jirsa's Record vs. GW: 0-0
Tonight's Game: No. 20/19 George Washington (9-1, 1-0 A-10) is in West Virginia tonight to take on the Thundering Herd of Marshall. GW is aiming to win its second straight over the Thundering Herd. The teams last met in the 2001 NABC Classic at Kentucky's Rupp Arena.
• GW is coming off a 72-60 victory over Temple Wednesday in Philadelphia in the Atlantic 10 opener for both teams. In that game, GW's Mike Hall earned his 21st career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds while Philadelphia-native Maureece Rice scored a team-high 14 points. The victory also got GW back on track after suffering its first loss of the season Dec. 30 at then-No. 19/18 NC State.
• Marshall has a 6-2 advantage in the all-time series. GW defeated Marshall in the first meeting back in 1936-37 (39-19) followed by five losses during the 70s and one in 1960.
• Located in Huntington, WV, the Thundering Herd, coached by Ron Jirsa, lead the all-time series with the Colonials, 6-2, although GW won the most recent meeting in 2001. Jirsa is familiar with GW after having served as an assistant coach on Oliver Purnell's staff at Dayton from 1999-03.
• Herd assistant Bob MacKinnon was an assistant coach at GW from 1985-90 under John Kuester.
• The Herd have three players averaging double figures led by 6-9 senior C Mark Patton's 14.4 ppg, 6.8 rebounds (15 blocks). Six-foot-four junior G Travis Aikens averages 11.9 ppg (86 FT%) and Forestville, MD-native Joe Miles contributes 11.2 ppg. Marshall is 4-1 at the Cam Henderson Center this season and has won those four home games by an average of 11.3 points. The home victories include wins over Evansville (70-67), UMES (66-56), Youngstown St. (73-70) and Charleston Southern (82-53). The Herd's only home loss was to Appalachian St., 73-65. UMES is the lone common opponent and both the Colonials and Herd defeated the Hawks handily.
• Marshall (6-5) is coming off a 64-60 victory over Appalachian State Wednesday in Boone, NC. MU's Tre Whitted hit four 3s to pace the Herd with 14 points.
• GW fell eight spots to No. 20 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 Poll (released Jan. 2) and seven places to 19th in the latest USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll. GW's No. 12 ranking the previous week was GW's highest since the week of Jan. 3, 1956 when the Colonials were ranked 7th.
Next Game: GW returns to Washington to host new A-10 member Saint Louis on Wednesday, Jan. 11 at approx. 7:40 p.m. (EST) in the second half of a women's/men's doubleheader. The game will be televised by St. Louis TV and will air live in the Washington area on WMET 1160, WAGE 1200 AM as well as via www.GWsports.com.
