Men’s Basketball Returns to Action vs. URI Sunday on NBC Sports

LAST TIME OUT
When GW and URI tip on Sunday, it will be 35 days since the Buff and Blue last took the floor. Last time out, GW found a home at George Mason's EagleBank Arena on Jan. 17, with roads closed around its DC campus ahead of the Inauguration. The Buff and Blue hosted Dayton in Fairfax instead, marking the eighth time in the season's first 7 1/2 weeks that the team's resilience was tested in the face of a postponement or alteration to the opponent, time or venue. Now eight more postponements later, GW is back in action looking to snap a mini two-game skid. Despite falling down by as many as 17 against the Flyers, the "hosts" clawed back to within four for the first time since the opening minutes. GW could get no closer, and the Flyers closed out for the 67-54 win in a contest that got much closer than the final score indicated.

A RICKY-DICULOUS DEBUT
Ricky Lindo's Buff and Blue debut shows what happens when talent meets opportunity. The DC-product sat out under transfer rules in the season's early going until a waiver granted him the right to play. When the Woodrow Wilson grad debuted on Jan. 13, he reminded DC what he was capable of. In a career-high 30 minutes of play, Lindo tied his career-high with 13 points, grabbed 12 rebounds for the first double-double of his collegiate career and added a career-high five steals before fouling out. The Panamanian Power 5 transfer followed up his debut with another 13-point outing against Dayton four days later and is now averaging a double-double through two games at GW. His debut at GW was the second notable debut for a P5 transfer at GW this season after James Bishop went off for a career-high 20 points and nine rebounds in his debut in the season opener.

LEADING LEFTIES
Bishop and Jamison Battle, both left-handers, are making defenders feel left behind this season. The pair is the A-10's highest scoring tandem at 38.2 points per game between them, ahead of Dayton's Jalen Crutcher and Ibi Watson (34.7) and Saint Louis' Javonte Perkins and Jordan Goodwin (33.0). Crutcher and Goodwin were preseason First-Team All-10 honorees, while Perkins nabbed Third-Team honors.

A CHARMED SEASON
Bishop left Power 5 LSU in the offseason to play closer to home at GW. From Baltimore's Charm City, the lead guard is currently second in the A-10 in scoring this season with 19.8 points per game, including 20+ point performances in nine of 11 games played. In a conference known for having some of the nation's top point guards like Dayton's Jalen Crutcher, Rhode Island's Fatts Russell and Richmond's Jacob Gilyard -- all preseason All A-10 First-Team honorees -- Bishop has joined the ranks of grandmasters.

BALTIMORE'S BEST
If Bishop is able to catch UMass' Tre Mitchell for league-high scoring honors, he'll become the fourth member of the Buff and Blue ever to lead the A-10 in scoring. Notably, two of the previous three also hailed from Baltimore. Shawnta Rogers' 20.7 ppg in 1998-99 led the A-10, while fellow Baltimore product Kwame Evans topped the league with 19.4 ppg in 1994-95. DC's SirValiant Brown was GW's last to lead the conference in scoring with 24.6 points per game in 1999-00.

NEXT IN LINE
First-year guard Tyler Brelsford was teammates with Bishop in high school at Baltimore's Mount Saint Joseph. Since A-10 play started, the frosh is showing flashes of his offensive potential. Brelsford played progressively more in each of GW's four A-10 games, from 16 minutes at Fordham in the conference opener all the way up to 31 against VCU on Jan. 13. In his career-high 31 minutes against the Rams, Brelsford scored a season-high eight points with two 3-pointers made, and also grabbed five rebounds while swiping two steals. He earned his first career start four days later vs. Dayton, chipping in five points and four boards.

Red Auerbach

BICENTENNIAL SPOTLIGHT OF THE GAME
Arnold "Red" Auerbach was a defensive specialist for GW from 1937-40. As a student-athlete he honed his craft that would later lead him to become one of the greatest basketball minds ever. The three-year letterman received a B.A. in education in 1940 and a M.Ed. in 1941, before turning his attention to the sidelines. He became head coach of the Boston Celtics in 1950, winning nine championships, including eight consecutively, and made NBA history by drafting the league's first Black player. At the time of his retirement from coaching in 1966, he had won more games than any other coach in history. He then served as president and front office executive of the Celtics. In 1968, Auerbach was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.

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