George Washington University Athletics
George Washington University
Massachusetts
Men’s Basketball Plays Host to UMass on Wednesday
2/18/2019 7:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Colonials and Minutemen set for a 7 p.m. tip in Smith Center
TIPPING OFF: The GW men's basketball closes its February home slate as the Massachusetts Minutemen visit Smith Center on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. tip. The game will be streamed on ESPN+. After Wednesday's game, the Colonials close the month of February with visits to VCU (Feb. 23) and Rhode Island (Feb. 26).
LAST TIME OUT: The Colonials shot it well enough to win, as their 50 percent marksmanship set a team-high during conference play, but turnovers proved to be the difference in an 85-69 loss at Duquesne on Saturday. GW committed 17 in the game to just six by Duquesne, with the hosts turning the discrepancy into a 25-6 advantage in points off turnovers. DJ Williams led a three-pronged GW attack with 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including a 3-of-5 effort from long distance. Sophomore guards Maceo Jack and Terry Nolan Jr. had similarly efficient afternoons, with Jack tallying 20 points on 6-of-8 accuracy (3-of-4 3-pointers), and Nolan coming off the bench to score 16 (5-of-9 FG, 3-of-5 3PT).
SERIES HISTORY: GW has won five straight in the series and owns a 41-29 advantage all-time, including 22-9 at home. In last year's meeting, the Colonials shot 50.8 percent on the road and dominated the glass (43-28) to come away with an 83-72 win. Nolan was one of five who scored in double figures with 12 points.
DJ IN DOUBLE FIGURES: While DJ Williams has led GW in scoring throughout much of the season, he's turned it up a notch over the last month. The transfer from Illinois has scored in double figures in nine straight games, averaging 17.9 points on .460 shooting, including .359 from 3-point range, in that span. In his first 15 games, Williams averaged 12.9 points on .398 shooting and .270 from 3-point range.
SOPHOMORE SURGE: After averaging 2.8 points as a freshman, Jack has made a big jump in production as a sophomore, averaging 10.6 points on the season. The Buffalo, New York, native leads the team in 3-pointers made (50) and 3-point field goal percentage (.365), and ranks second on the team in scoring in A-10 play (13.3). He's hit double figures in scoring in 14 of the last 16 games, which is tops on the team in that stretch. He's also GW's most accurate shooter from the charity stripe at a .889 clip (24-27).
