George Washington University Athletics
No. 10/10 Colonials Host Richmond Sunday at Noon
2/4/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 4, 2006
Richmond (11-9, 4-3) at #10/10 George Washington (17-1, 7-0)
Game 19 • Atlantic 10 Conference game
Date: Sunday, Feb. 5, 2006 • Time: 12:05 pm (EST)
Location: Smith Center (5,000) • Washington, DC
Radio: WMET 1160, WAGE 1200 AM, Sirius Ch. 123 (Byron Kerr)
TV: A-10 TV Network (Dave Weekley/John Spencer)
Series: GW leads, 51-25
The Coaches:
GW COACH: Karl Hobbs (Connecticut `85)
Record at GW: 81-54 (.600) 5th season
Atlantic 10 Record: 39-32 (.549) 5th season
Career Record: 81-54 (.600) 5th season
Hobbs' Record vs. Richmond: 3-5
RICHMOND COACH: Chris Mooney (Princeton `94)
Record at UR: 11-9 (.550) 1st season
Atlantic 10 Record: 4-3 (.571) 1st season
Career Record: 29-21 (.580) 2nd season
Air Force 18-12
Mooney's Record vs. GW: 0-0
The first-place Colonials (17-1, 7-0 A-10) face seventh-place Richmond (11-9, 4-3) in the first of two regular-season meetings and the 77th time in the series. Richmond is one of three A-10 teams that GW plays a home-and-home series with this season (along with Charlotte and Saint Joseph's).
• GW is coming off its ninth straight victory, an 89-85 come-from-behind win over Xavier Thursday in Cincinnati. In that game, four Colonials scored in double figures led by Maureece Rice (21 points) and Mike Hall who sank his career-high five three-pointers en route to an 18-point, 7-rebound performance.
• At 17-1, GW is off to its second-best start in program history. The Colonials would need to win today and Wednesday against Dayton to equal the best start at 19-1 (in 1953-54).
• At 7-0 in league play, GW is off to its best A-10 start in the 30-year history of the league.
• Richmond is coming off a 63-45 loss to Fordham Wednesday in the Bronx. UR senior C Jermaine Bucknor led all players with 20 points but the Spiders shot just 38 percent and were outrebounded, 38-20, by the Rams.
• Richmond has won four of its last six games. The Spiders are 1-5 on the road this season and 4-5 (.444) all-time at Smith Center.
A Closer Look at Richmond: Richmond is running a different style of offense this season under first-year coach Chris Mooney, 33. Mooney, one of two new head coaches in the A-10 this year, replaced Jerry Wainwright who left Richmond to take over at DePaul. A Princeton grad who played for coach Pete Carril, Mooney came to the Virginia capital from the Air Force Academy where he led the Falcons to an 18-12 record in his only season as a Div. I head coach.
The Spiders are averaging an A-10-low 52 points per game but are also allowing an A-10 best 54 points. Richmond has won three of the last four meetings with GW although the Colonials won the most recent meeting at Smith Center in convincing fashion (80-63). The most poisonous Spider is senior F Jermaine Bucknor whose 14.0 ppg and 48 threes rank among the league's top 10. Bucknor's 4.7 rpg leads the team. UR senior Kevin Steenberge and junior Gaston Moliva are each shooting nearly 50 percent from the field. Steenberge's 48 blocks rank second in the A-10. UR is 1-5 on the road this season.
• GW jumped four spots to No. 10 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 Poll (released Jan. 30) and also moved up five spots to 10th in the latest USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll. GW's No. 10 ranking is GW's highest since the week of Jan. 3, 1956 when the Colonials were ranked 7th.
Next Game: GW hosts Dayton Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Smith Center. The game will not be televised but will air live in the Washington area on WMET 1160, WAGE 1200 AM as well as via www.GWsports.com.
