George Washington University Athletics
George Washington University
VCU
Men’s Basketball Travels to VCU on Saturday
2/22/2019 3:39:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Colonials and Rams are set for a 2 p.m. tip on Saturday
TIPPING OFF: After shooting the lights out in a comfortable home win over UMass on Wednesday, the Colonials face a stiff test as they take on VCU, which sits atop the Atlantic 10 standings, on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Richmond. The game will be televised in the Richmond area on CBS 6.1 and can be seen nationally on ESPN+.
LAST TIME OUT: Behind the marksmanship and steady play of starting guards Maceo Jack (game-high 20 points), Armel Potter (19 points, team-high four assists, 0 turnovers), DJ Williams (15 points) and Justin Mazzulla (12 points, 6-of-6 FT), the Buff and Blue backcourt dominated the action in a 79-67 win over UMass. GW raced out to a 38-25 lead at halftime behind a sterling first half from Jack. The sophomore from Buffalo dropped in 12 points in his 16 first half minutes, including a perfect 3-of-3 performance from long range. For the game, the Colonials shot 55.1 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from 3, and made more free throws (20) than UMass attempted (16).
SERIES HISTORY: VCU leads the series 13-3 after turning away GW, 60-50, on Feb. 6 in Smith Center. The teams split the season series last year with the home team taking a lopsided victory in each game. VCU won 87-63 in Richmond on Jan. 20, 2018, before the Colonials responded with an 80-56 win on Feb. 17, 2018, that snapped a four-game losing streak in the series.
MAKING A CASE FOR MOST IMPROVED: After averaging 2.8 points as a freshman, Jack has made a big jump in production as a sophomore, averaging 11.0 points on the season. Jack has a case to be called the Most Improved Player in the Atlantic 10, as his increase in scoring is the second largest in the league. The Buffalo, New York, native leads the team in 3-pointers made (53) and 3-point field goal percentage (.373), and ranks second on the team in scoring in A-10 play (13.8). He's hit double figures in scoring in 15 of the last 17 games, which is tops on the team in that stretch. In the last four games, Jack has scored 20 or more three times (23 at Richmond, 20 at Duquesne, 20 vs. UMass).
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 five weeks. The transfer from Illinois has scored in double figures in 10 straight games, averaging 17.6 points on .457 shooting, including .372 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.
TIP-INS: GW shot 66.7 percent from the field in the first half vs. UMass, their best shooting performance in a half this season … the Colonials shot 50 percent (26-52) at Duquesne last Saturday before hitting 55.1 percent (27-49) vs. UMass … they'd only shot 50 percent or better twice in the first 24 games of the season … after committing 17 turnovers and getting outscored in points off turnovers 25-6 at Duquesne, GW flipped the script vs. UMass, committing just nine for a 17-7 advantage in P.O.T.
