George Washington University Athletics
GW Men's Hoops Closes Non-Conference Slate at UCF
12/27/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
| George Washington (10-2) at UCF (6-4) | |
| Date, Time | Tuesday, Dec. 29 | 7:00 p.m. |
| Location | CFE Arena | Orlando, Fla. |
| Coverage | ASN, CSN+, ESPN3 | Where to Watch | Listen Live | |
| Additional Information | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Notes | Tickets |
ORLANDO -- Following a week off from competition, the GW men's basketball team closes the non-conference portion of its schedule with a Tuesday night game at UCF which will mark the first-ever meeting between the schools.
The game will be televised regionally on CSN+ in select East Coast markets, and can also be seen on NewsChannel 8 in Washington, D.C. A live stream is also available on ESPN3.
The Colonials are looking to bounce back from an 82-61 defeat at DePaul last Tuesday, which snapped a four-game winning streak. With a win over UCF, GW would tie the third most non-conference regular-season wins in program history, behind only 1954-55 (14) and 2013-14 (12).
The UCF game wraps a difficult non-league slate. GW has gone 5-1 against teams from the ACC (Virginia), Big East (Seton Hall, DePaul), Big Ten (Penn State, Rutgers) and SEC (Tennessee), while the Knights will be the third team from the AAC that GW has played (USF, Cincinnati).
Kevin Larsen is coming off back-to-back double-doubles, having registered 11 points and 11 rebounds vs. Saint Peter's, then 17 points and 11 boards at DePaul. The senior ranks 10th in school history with 733 rebounds, having moved past all-time leading scorer Chris Monroe in the game vs. Saint Peter's.
Tyler Cavanaugh leads GW in scoring (16.1 ppg) and FG% (.520) while also hitting .441 from 3-point range. He is the only Colonial to have scored in double figures every game this season.
UCF is 6-4 overall, having won five of its last six games including a 101-96 overtime win over Bethune-Cookman in its most recent outing. Sophomore guard/forward A.J. Davis leads a trio of Knights averaging double figures scoring with 13.1 points per game.
Quick Hits
- The Colonials are receiving votes in the Coaches and AP Polls. GW had risen to No. 20 in both polls, but a loss to DePaul dropped it to 27th in the Coaches and 30th in the AP. The Colonials are 26th in the NCAA's RPI as one of three A-10 teams in the top 30 (Dayton 8, Davidson 21).
- Redshirt junior Matt Hart, a transfer from Division III Hamilton College, was awarded with a scholarship for the 2016 spring semester by head coach Mike Lonergan the day before GW took on DePaul. Hart has played in all 12 games and is averaging 5.8 points in 11.0 minutes per game.
- Offensively, GW is on pace for one of the better seasons in recent history. The Colonials are averaging 77.1 points per game, which is by far the most under Mike Lonergan (only other season with more than 70 was 2013-14, 73.2). It is also nearly on pace with 2005-06, when GW averaged 78.7 ppg.
- In its 10 wins, GW has shot 40 percent or better including 50 percent or above three times (Army, Gardner-Webb, Saint Peter's). In the two losses, the Colonials shot below 40 percent (.375 vs. Cincinnati, .333 at DePaul).
- GW has gotten to the line consistently and taken advantage of its opportunities there all season. The Colonials have made more free throws (228) than their opponents have attempted (202), and their .773 team free throw percentage ranks second in the Atlantic 10 and ninth nationally. Additionally, GW's 228 made free throws rank first in the A-10 and 21st in the country.
