George Washington University Athletics
#11 Men's Basketball to Meet #14 Fordham Wednesday in A-10s
3/1/2021 10:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Atlantic 10 Conference unveiled the 2021 Men's Basketball Championship bracket on Monday night, with the 11-seed Buff and Blue taking on the 14th seeded Fordham Rams in first-round action on Wednesday at 2 p.m. on ESPN+ at VCU's Siegel Center. Matt Martucci and Dr. John Giannini will have the call.
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The winner of Wednesday's contest will then play George Mason on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at Richmond's Robins Center on NBCSN.
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Previously this season, GW defeated Fordham in the Bronx, 71-47, in both teams' A-10 opener.
SOMEWHAT FAMILIAR FOES
GW and Fordham meet in the first round of the A-10 Championship for the second year in a row. What's different this year? GW's lineup. Only Jamison Battle and Chase Paar return from the team that met the Rams in Brooklyn 357 days ago.
BISHOP IS KING
In 2020-21, James Bishop nearly became the fourth-ever member of the Buff and Blue to lead the Atlantic 10 in scoring. In a conference full of decorated point guards, Bishop finished second in the league with 19.1 points per game, trailing only VCU's Bones Hyland. Bishop was aiming to join a pipeline from Baltimore to Foggy Bottom that previously included A-10 leading scorers Shawnta Rogers (20.7 ppg in 1998-99) and Kwame Evans (19.4 ppg in 1994-95). SirValiant Brown was GW's last to lead the conference in scoring with 24.6 points per game in 1999-00. After coming to GW from LSU, the lead guard from Baltimore has scored 20+ points in 10 of 15 games this season after never hitting the 20-point mark in limited action last season with the Tigers.
MOST IMPROVED AND ALL-CONFERENCE WORTHY NUMBERS
Even after leading the A-10 in 3-point field goals made as a first-year last season, Jamison Battle took his name and his game to new levels in 2020-21. En route to finishing second in the conference in scoring in A-10 play at 19.5 points per game, Battle upped his field goal percentage from .399 last season all the way to .478 as a sophomore. His scoring average jumped with it from 11.8 ppg as a frosh to 17.8 points ppg as a super soph. Overall, the marksman flourished all over the floor and finished fifth in the league in scoring, 24th in rebounding and maintained his sniper status by ranking 10th in 3-point field goals made per game.
A WAY-TOO-EARLY GAME NOTE
Something for the Foggy Bottom faithful to keep an eye on ... the future! After James Bishop scored 287 points in this abbreviated season to date and Jamison Battle netted 231 points, the pair can realistically chase down GW's all-time scoring record, currently held by Chris Monroe. With 561 points and counting at GW, Battle is 1,688 points off the all-time mark. With three years of eligibility remaining, 100 more games played with a 16.9 points per game average would make him GW's all-time scoring king. For Bishop, who averaged 19.1 points per game this season in his first year in Jamion Christian's system, a 19.7 ppg average over the next 100 games will get him to the top.
B&B SCORING COMPANY
James Bishop and Jamison Battle scored with the best of them this season. Bishop finished second in the league with a 19.1 points per game average. Battle, for his part, is fifth in the conference in scoring at 17.8 ppg, but since league play began, Battle upped that mark to 19.5 ppg, good for second leaguewide. The lefty pair is easily the A-10's highest-scoring tandem at 36.9 points per game between them, ahead of Dayton's Jalen Crutcher and Ibi Watson (33.8) and Saint Louis' Javonte Perkins and Jordan Goodwin (31.3).
POWERFUL TRIO
Three transfers from Power 5 schools debuted for GW this season. In addition to Bishop, Matt Moyer (Vanderbilt, Syracuse) and Ricky Lindo Jr. also put on the Buff and Blue for the first time in 2020-21. Both also showed flashes of dominance with near double-double averages. Lindo has started the last five games for GW and enters the A-10 Championship averaging 11.0 points per game on .533 shooting from the floor, with 9.4 rebounds per game and 2.2 steals per game. Moyer, meanwhile, averaged 10.1 points and 9.6 rebounds in 12 starts. With Amir Harris (Nebraska), GW has four former P5 student-athletes on the roster. GW's last Power 5 transfer was Tyler Cavanaugh, who went on to win 2016 NIT Most Outstanding Player Honors and play in the NBA for the Atlanta Hawks and Utah Jazz.
BALTIMORE'S BEST BACK-UP
Tyler Brelsford, a high school teammate of James Bishop's, is showing off his scoring chops in league play. The first-year entered A-10 action having scored seven points across his first four collegiate games in non-conference action. Since the Mount St. Joseph product found his comfort, he's shown the potential to be GW's next leading scorer from the Charm City. Brelsford is averaging 5.3 points in Atlantic 10 action after scoring 1.8 ppg in non-league play. He also hit eight of his nine 3-point field goals during the regular season in GW's eight A-10 games.
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