George Washington University Athletics
Men's Basketball Hosts USF on Saturday
12/1/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
| George Washington (4-3) vs. USF (3-2) | |
| Date, Time | Saturday, December 3 | 2:00 p.m. ET |
| Location | Charles E. Smith Center | Washington, D.C. |
| Coverage | RaiseHigh Live | AM 1500, TuneIn |
| Additional Information | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Notes | Tickets |
TIPPING OFF: The GW men's basketball opens a difficult weekend of play as it hosts the USF Bulls at the Charles E. Smith Center on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Colonials are set to face a pair of Florida schools in roughly 24 hours, as on Sunday GW will take on the Seminoles of Florida State in the BB&T Classic at Verizon Center at 4 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT: In its first true road game of the season, GW secured a 77-74 win against the Harvard Crimson to improve to 4-3 on the season. Tyler Cavanaugh scored 20 points and Jaren Sina had a career-high 19 thanks to a 12-of-12 effort at the free throw line that helped put the game on ice. The Colonials hit 26-of-35 overall at the line and held a commanding 40-29 advantage on the boards as freshman Arnaldo Toro snagged a season-high 10.
ABOUT USF: The Bulls have won a pair of games this week, defeating Kennesaw State, 71-69, on Monday Troy, 80-74, on Thursday, to improve to 4-2. Against Kennesaw State, USF shot a season-best 55.8 percent from the field including 72 percent in the first half when it built a 21-point lead. Of the 71 points scored, 53 came from freshmen or sophomores. Junior guard Geno Thorpe leads the team in scoring with 16.3 points per game, having reached double figures in each contest. He scored the last 20 points in Thursday's win over Troy. USF's two other wins have come over Florida A&M and Rider while it's losses have come to Elon and Florida Atlantic.
SERIES HISTORY: GW leads the all-time series with USF, 4-1, including a 73-67 win last season in Tampa. The Bulls' lone win came in 2000 while GW took victories in 1995, '96 and '99.
GOOD ON THE GLASS: GW has made a habit of outrebounding its opponents, finishing with a positive margin on the glass in five of seven games. For the year, the Colonials have a +7.6 margin which stands as the best in the Atlantic 10 and ranks 32nd nationally. George Mason is second at +7.2 while Davidson is third at +3.2. GW is second in the league in offensive rebounds (12.6/game), offensive rebound percentage (.349) and defensive rebound percentage (.749).
AT THE CHARITY STRIPE: No team in the Atlantic 10 has knocked down more freebies than GW, which has connected on 143 (20.4/game) this season. That number also ranks 24th nationally. The Colonials have made more free throws than the opponent has attempted in four games and for the season, has 143 makes to opponents' 125 attempts. GW's .741 percentage at the line is also fifth-best in the A-10. Spearheading that effort has been Sina, who is a perfect 22-of-22 and leading the nation in the category.
NOTABLE: Tyler Cavanaugh continues to pace the team in scoring (18.4 pg), rebounding (8.0 pg) and assists (19) ... second-leading scorer Yuta Watanabe has missed the last two games due to a calf injury ... Toro is averaging a team-best 14.0 rebounds per 40 minutes ... Matt Hart has made at least one 3-pointer in each of the last five games and leads the team with a .476 mark beyond the arc ... in addition to Sina's perfect mark at the line, two Colonials are connecting at better than 80 percent: Cavanaugh (.860) and Hart (.833).
