George Washington University Athletics
George Washington University
George Mason
Men’s Basketball Hosts George Mason in Home Finale
3/8/2019 12:54:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Colonials and Patriots are set for a 2 p.m. tip on Saturday in Smith Center
TIPPING OFF: The GW men's basketball team plays host to George Mason on Saturday at 2 p.m. in its regular season and home finale, with the game set for a national broadcast on Stadium. Locally, it can be seen on MASN.
LAST TIME OUT: Despite career-best performances from Javier Langarica (15 rebounds) and Justin Williams (11 points), the Buff and Blue couldn't overcome a sloppy first half and ultimately fell, 67-56, at Fordham on Wednesday night. The loss snapped a nine-game winning streak over the Rams, as GW trailed 43-28 at intermission before fighting back to make a game of it in the second stanza. Williams made it a 46-45 deficit when he hit a 3-pointer with 12:20 remaining, and the Colonials had several opportunities to tie or take the lead over the next six minutes. Ultimately though, Fordham staved off the comeback attempt and eventually padded its lead back to double digits.
SERIES HISTORY: GW won the first nine meetings since the Patriots joined the Atlantic 10, but George Mason has won the last two (both at EagleBank Arena). Earlier this season, the Patriots came away with a 62-55 win that moved their conference record at the time to 7-1. In the all-time series, the Colonials still hold a healthy 19-4 advantage including a 14-0 mark at home.
STANDINGS CHECK: The Colonials are tied for 12th place in the conference standings with Massachusetts (4-13 record) and will play on the opening day of the Atlantic 10 Championship, Wednesday, March 13 in Brooklyn, N.Y. GW will secure the #12 seed with a win on Saturday. If the Colonials lose, they'll be the #12 or #13 seed with a loss by either UMass or Fordham. GW would only drop to the 14 seed by losing to George Mason, combined with wins by both UMass and Fordham in their respective games on Saturday. In the first round of the A-10 Championship, the #12 and #13 seeds meet at 1:00 p.m., followed by the #11 and #14 seeds at 3:30.
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 11.2 points on the season. Jack has a strong 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-point field goal percentage (.370) and 3-pointers made (61), marks which rank sixth and ninth in the league, respectively. Jack has been at his best in A-10 play, averaging 13.5 points which is second on the team and 21st in the conference. He's hit double figures in scoring in 17 of the last 21 games, which tops the team in that stretch. His five games with 20 or more points are also tied for the team lead with DJ Williams.
TIP-INS: The undersized Colonials dominated the glass at Fordham with a 50-37 advantage including 15-6 on the offensive end, but were only able to turn it into a 10-9 advantage in second-chance points … GW is 5-5 when outrebounding the opponent this season … Langarica leads the team with seven double-figure rebounding games (including three straight), while his three double-doubles match Arnaldo Toro, who played in seven games in November before being lost for the season with a hip injury … DJ Williams continues to lead GW in scoring (14.2), though the redshirt junior has been held to single-figure scoring in the last three.
