Wednesday, March 11
Brooklyn, NY
3:30 PM
George Washington University
vs
Fordham
Men’s Basketball Opens A-10 Tournament vs. Fordham
3/9/2020 11:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
TIPPING OFF: The Road to the NCAA Tournament begins in Brooklyn, and the path for the 11-seeded George Washington men's basketball team will be as tough as the Big Apple itself. The Colonials are hoping to become the first double-digit seeded team in A-10 history to win five games in five days to advance to the Big Dance for the first time since 2014.
GW's journey to the A-10 Championship starts on Wednesday afternoon against 14-seed Fordham in the first round contest at 3:30 p.m.
ESPN+ will air Wednesday's game with Matt Martucci and John Feinstein on the call. Byron Kerr will handle play-by-play for all Colonial games on the TuneIn radio app.
GW IN THE A-10 CHAMPIONSHIP: GW is making its 42nd appearance in the Atlantic 10 Championship and owns a 28-39 record in the tournament. It will be the third straight season GW will open play in the first round in the championship's current format. In 2018, the Colonials defeated Fordham, 78-72, at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., and then downed UMass, 68-64, in Brooklyn last year. The Colonials have won their opening game six straight years and won the A-10 Championship in 2005 and 2007.
SERIES HISTORY: Fordham has won the last three meetings, including both regular season games this year. Still, GW owns a remarkable all-time record against Fordham of 28-9 and has won nine of the last 12 games dating back to the 2012-13 season.
In the Atlantic 10 Championship, GW is 2-0 against the Rams. Wednesday's game will be the second time GW and Fordham will have faced off in the 11/14 matchup. The first time GW and Fordham met during A-10s was in the quarterfinals in 2005, when the Colonials were the top-seed in the A-10 West and defeated Fordham, 79-63.
SCOUTING FORDHAM: After picking up its second league win over the Colonials last Wednesday, the Rams dropped their final game of the regular season to George Mason, 65-61, on Saturday at Rose Hill Gym. The Rams have faced adversity, with many of their top players injured throughout the season. Antwon Portley missed nearly a month of action, including the first meeting with the Colonials, and leads the Rams with 10.4 ppg and 2.3 apg. Jalen Cobb is averaging 10.2 ppg and had 22 points against GW in January, but was held to six points last week.
POTTER VS. THE RAMS: Despite their losses to the Rams, redshirt senior point guard Armel Potter led the Colonials averaging 15.5 points per game in the two contests. In the first meeting, he dropped 15 points with eight coming from the charity stripe and pulled down six rebounds. Last week, Potter shot 5-of-9 from the field for 16 points and was a perfect 6-of-6 at the line.
BATTLE'S NEW RECORD: After hitting four 3-pointers at Dayton (Mar. 7), Battle surpassed GW Hall of Famer Shawnta Rogers to become the new single-season record holder for made threes in a season with 87. Rogers's previous mark of 86 made 3-pointers during the 1998-99 season stood for over two decades.
JACK'S PROGRESSION: Maceo Jack's junior season has been his best season as a Colonial on many levels. The sharpshooter has improved from behind the arc, knocking down 82 triples, which is second in the A-10 behind his teammate Battle. He also saw more playing time under Coach Christian, averaging 35.7 minutes per game, a 25% increase over last season. His best game as a Colonial came in the four-overtime win vs. Davidson (Jan. 29), when he set a career-high with 35 points on 7-of-13 from the outside in 57 minutes of play.
SURVIVE TO PRIMETIME: A GW win over Fordham will advance the Colonials to Thursday's second round clash with No. 6 Duquesne at 8:30 p.m. NBC Sports Network will televise the contest with Paul Burmeister, David Kaplan and Tim McCormick on the call.
GW and Duquesne split the season series with both squads winning on each other's home court. The Dukes won at the Smith Center, 66-61, on Jan. 11, before GW took the rematch at PPG Paints Arena, 70-67, on Feb. 19.
GW's journey to the A-10 Championship starts on Wednesday afternoon against 14-seed Fordham in the first round contest at 3:30 p.m.
ESPN+ will air Wednesday's game with Matt Martucci and John Feinstein on the call. Byron Kerr will handle play-by-play for all Colonial games on the TuneIn radio app.
GW IN THE A-10 CHAMPIONSHIP: GW is making its 42nd appearance in the Atlantic 10 Championship and owns a 28-39 record in the tournament. It will be the third straight season GW will open play in the first round in the championship's current format. In 2018, the Colonials defeated Fordham, 78-72, at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., and then downed UMass, 68-64, in Brooklyn last year. The Colonials have won their opening game six straight years and won the A-10 Championship in 2005 and 2007.
SERIES HISTORY: Fordham has won the last three meetings, including both regular season games this year. Still, GW owns a remarkable all-time record against Fordham of 28-9 and has won nine of the last 12 games dating back to the 2012-13 season.
In the Atlantic 10 Championship, GW is 2-0 against the Rams. Wednesday's game will be the second time GW and Fordham will have faced off in the 11/14 matchup. The first time GW and Fordham met during A-10s was in the quarterfinals in 2005, when the Colonials were the top-seed in the A-10 West and defeated Fordham, 79-63.
SCOUTING FORDHAM: After picking up its second league win over the Colonials last Wednesday, the Rams dropped their final game of the regular season to George Mason, 65-61, on Saturday at Rose Hill Gym. The Rams have faced adversity, with many of their top players injured throughout the season. Antwon Portley missed nearly a month of action, including the first meeting with the Colonials, and leads the Rams with 10.4 ppg and 2.3 apg. Jalen Cobb is averaging 10.2 ppg and had 22 points against GW in January, but was held to six points last week.
POTTER VS. THE RAMS: Despite their losses to the Rams, redshirt senior point guard Armel Potter led the Colonials averaging 15.5 points per game in the two contests. In the first meeting, he dropped 15 points with eight coming from the charity stripe and pulled down six rebounds. Last week, Potter shot 5-of-9 from the field for 16 points and was a perfect 6-of-6 at the line.
BATTLE'S NEW RECORD: After hitting four 3-pointers at Dayton (Mar. 7), Battle surpassed GW Hall of Famer Shawnta Rogers to become the new single-season record holder for made threes in a season with 87. Rogers's previous mark of 86 made 3-pointers during the 1998-99 season stood for over two decades.
JACK'S PROGRESSION: Maceo Jack's junior season has been his best season as a Colonial on many levels. The sharpshooter has improved from behind the arc, knocking down 82 triples, which is second in the A-10 behind his teammate Battle. He also saw more playing time under Coach Christian, averaging 35.7 minutes per game, a 25% increase over last season. His best game as a Colonial came in the four-overtime win vs. Davidson (Jan. 29), when he set a career-high with 35 points on 7-of-13 from the outside in 57 minutes of play.
SURVIVE TO PRIMETIME: A GW win over Fordham will advance the Colonials to Thursday's second round clash with No. 6 Duquesne at 8:30 p.m. NBC Sports Network will televise the contest with Paul Burmeister, David Kaplan and Tim McCormick on the call.
GW and Duquesne split the season series with both squads winning on each other's home court. The Dukes won at the Smith Center, 66-61, on Jan. 11, before GW took the rematch at PPG Paints Arena, 70-67, on Feb. 19.
Players Mentioned
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