Wednesday, February 24
Fairfax, VA
6 P.M.
George Washington University
at
George Mason
Men's Basketball Resumes Revolutionary Rivalry Wednesday at Mason
2/23/2021 4:43:00 PM | Men's Basketball
WHAT'S AT STAKE
The Revolutionary Rivalry resumes Wednesday when GW traverses the Potomac to visit George Mason in A-10 action. Wednesday's game has major seeding implications ahead of next week's Atlantic 10 Championship. Both teams enter play with .500 conference records, tied for 8th in the A-10 standings. With the teams set to play just once this season, and with two games remaining on both teams' schedule, Wednesday's winner is guaranteed the tiebreaker in a head-to-head two-team tiebreak scenario.
LAST TIME OUT
When GW took the floor on Sunday, it had been a full five weeks since the Buff and Blue last played. The lengthy Covid pause left GW with just seven recruited student-athletes on scholarship available. Luckily, James Bishop, Jamison Battle and Ricky Lindo Jr. were three of them. The trio hit for 65 points on a combined 23 of-37 shooting, including 8-of-15 from long range. The team overcame a 68-63 deficit with 4:30 to play to end on a 15-2 run.
NICKNAME NEEDED
It is not a stretch to call sophomores James Bishop and Jamison Battle the Atlantic 10's two most talented scorers. Both left-handers, Bishop is leading the league with a 20.5 points per game average. Battle, for his part, is fourth in the conference in scoring at 19.1 ppg, but since league play began, nobody has been more prolific than Battle. In four conference games, Battle is averaging a league-leading 24.0 points. The lefty, sophomore JBs are easily the A-10's highest-scoring tandem at 39.6 points per game between them, ahead of Dayton's Jalen Crutcher and Ibi Watson (34.6) and Saint Louis' Javonte Perkins and Jordan Goodwin (31.7).
BATTLE FOR THE TOP
Jamison Battle's 24.0 points per game in league play are even more impressive considering the circumstances. Between his career-high 29 points against Duquesne that earned him A-10 Player of the Week honors on Jan. 3, and his second-highest career scoring game with 26 on Sunday, Battle missed seven weeks of action. His team has gone 3-1 in the four A-10 contests in which he's played. After leading the league in 3-point field goals made as a first-year last season, the Minnesota native has canned 10 triples across his last two games.
KING JAMES
It has become almost a nightly occurrence to say "James Bishop had a new career-high". After coming to GW from LSU, the lead guard from Baltimore has scored 20+ points in 10 of 13 games this season after never hitting the 20-point mark in limited action last season with the Tigers. Last game vs. Rhode Island, Bishop went off for a career-high again with 28 points in an efficient performance that saw him attempt just 14 shots from the floor. 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 been the king scorer.
BALTIMORE'S BEST
If Bishop keeps up his A-10 leading scoring pace, he'll become the fourth member of the Buff and Blue ever to lead the A-10 in scoring. Two of the previous three also hailed from Baltimore. Shawnta Rogers' 20.7 ppg in 1998-99 led the A-10, while Kwame Evans was tops with 19.4 ppg in 1994-95.
A RICKY-DICULOUS THREE GAMES
Ricky Lindo is proof positive of 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. In three games this season, the junior is putting up All-League numbers. He's averaging a double-double with 12.3 points per game and 10.0 rebounds per game, while swiping 3.0 steals per game and shooting a ricky-diculous 64% from the field.
THE NEXT WASHINGTON MONUMENT
When Mike Brown patrolled the paint for GW in the early '80s, he dominated the league to the tune of becoming GW's third all-time leading scorer and second all-time leading rebounder before playing 11 seasons in the NBA. Some 40 years later, Noel Brown (no relation) is set to assume Mike's nickname of The New Washington Monument. The 6-foot-11, 270-pound first-year from Leesburg, Va., showed off a deft skillset Sunday with season-best marks of eight points, four rebounds and three assists without a turnover in 21 minutes of play.
The Revolutionary Rivalry resumes Wednesday when GW traverses the Potomac to visit George Mason in A-10 action. Wednesday's game has major seeding implications ahead of next week's Atlantic 10 Championship. Both teams enter play with .500 conference records, tied for 8th in the A-10 standings. With the teams set to play just once this season, and with two games remaining on both teams' schedule, Wednesday's winner is guaranteed the tiebreaker in a head-to-head two-team tiebreak scenario.
LAST TIME OUT
When GW took the floor on Sunday, it had been a full five weeks since the Buff and Blue last played. The lengthy Covid pause left GW with just seven recruited student-athletes on scholarship available. Luckily, James Bishop, Jamison Battle and Ricky Lindo Jr. were three of them. The trio hit for 65 points on a combined 23 of-37 shooting, including 8-of-15 from long range. The team overcame a 68-63 deficit with 4:30 to play to end on a 15-2 run.
NICKNAME NEEDED
It is not a stretch to call sophomores James Bishop and Jamison Battle the Atlantic 10's two most talented scorers. Both left-handers, Bishop is leading the league with a 20.5 points per game average. Battle, for his part, is fourth in the conference in scoring at 19.1 ppg, but since league play began, nobody has been more prolific than Battle. In four conference games, Battle is averaging a league-leading 24.0 points. The lefty, sophomore JBs are easily the A-10's highest-scoring tandem at 39.6 points per game between them, ahead of Dayton's Jalen Crutcher and Ibi Watson (34.6) and Saint Louis' Javonte Perkins and Jordan Goodwin (31.7).
BATTLE FOR THE TOP
Jamison Battle's 24.0 points per game in league play are even more impressive considering the circumstances. Between his career-high 29 points against Duquesne that earned him A-10 Player of the Week honors on Jan. 3, and his second-highest career scoring game with 26 on Sunday, Battle missed seven weeks of action. His team has gone 3-1 in the four A-10 contests in which he's played. After leading the league in 3-point field goals made as a first-year last season, the Minnesota native has canned 10 triples across his last two games.
KING JAMES
It has become almost a nightly occurrence to say "James Bishop had a new career-high". After coming to GW from LSU, the lead guard from Baltimore has scored 20+ points in 10 of 13 games this season after never hitting the 20-point mark in limited action last season with the Tigers. Last game vs. Rhode Island, Bishop went off for a career-high again with 28 points in an efficient performance that saw him attempt just 14 shots from the floor. 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 been the king scorer.
BALTIMORE'S BEST
If Bishop keeps up his A-10 leading scoring pace, he'll become the fourth member of the Buff and Blue ever to lead the A-10 in scoring. Two of the previous three also hailed from Baltimore. Shawnta Rogers' 20.7 ppg in 1998-99 led the A-10, while Kwame Evans was tops with 19.4 ppg in 1994-95.
A RICKY-DICULOUS THREE GAMES
Ricky Lindo is proof positive of 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. In three games this season, the junior is putting up All-League numbers. He's averaging a double-double with 12.3 points per game and 10.0 rebounds per game, while swiping 3.0 steals per game and shooting a ricky-diculous 64% from the field.
THE NEXT WASHINGTON MONUMENT
When Mike Brown patrolled the paint for GW in the early '80s, he dominated the league to the tune of becoming GW's third all-time leading scorer and second all-time leading rebounder before playing 11 seasons in the NBA. Some 40 years later, Noel Brown (no relation) is set to assume Mike's nickname of The New Washington Monument. The 6-foot-11, 270-pound first-year from Leesburg, Va., showed off a deft skillset Sunday with season-best marks of eight points, four rebounds and three assists without a turnover in 21 minutes of play.
Players Mentioned
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