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The road ahead...

George Mason Basketball: The road ahead...

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Friday, February 06, 2009

The road ahead...

Mason travels down to Harrisonburg Saturday and is looking to extend it's 10-game winning streak over JMU. The record in the GMU-JMU series for longest winnest streak is 11 by JMU, set back in the 70s. And people say this isn't a real rivalry? Mason has not had trouble in Harrisonburg and really it's been the only place they seem to consistently win on the road. Just last year Dre Smith put an exclaimation point on that statement. Watching Dre put on that show last season makes me want to bet on sports again. After all it was march madness betting on Mason in 2006 and VCU in 2007 that helped me survive financially during my last few years at Mason. Back to the matter at hand, JMU has not come within 18 points of beating Mason since 2004, let that sink in for a second. Yet you still can't take any team lightly in the up and down CAA this year, especially after we have seen first place Northeastern lose to last place UNCW. The Dukes can put up points (16 three-pointers against GSU on Wednesday) but it's their defense that has been holding them back this year. They especially lack control on defense in the front court so you would have to think we will see some heavy doses of Darryl Monroe, Ryan Pearson and Louis Birdsong. Pearson and Birdsong led the Patriots in scoring last time against the Dukes and they will need to get going early to prevent JMU from getting an early lead. What scares me is Kyle Swanston nailing open look threes all day and Juwann James getting it done inside to keep the game close late. If the Patriots play defense like they did Tuesday against Hofstra they should have no trouble, but that's a big IF when this team has been Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde when it comes to home games versus road games. With what happened in the CAA this week you would have to think the Patriots will be even more hungry to jump at the chance to possibly move up into the standings closer to a top 2 spot.

11 Comments:

Blogger C Hirsch said...

Not a rivalry. The only reason I have ever been told it is a rivalry is because that is what I was told at freshman orientation. I consider VCU our real rivals.

JMU lost to us by 14 in January at the Patriot Center.

5:20 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well it is a real rivalry because of the geographical proximity to JMU, the length of time we have been playing them, and "just because".

The latest news is that James is not playing. Its sad because he is a great player to watch - I hope he is ok. It seems that will add some challenges for the Dukes this Saturday.

7:42 PM  
Blogger Brian said...

What is the source on James not playing? Mason is -4, this looks like a very nice play especially if James is out. Need confirmation.

10:40 AM  
Blogger Brian said...

Found it...

http://www.whsv.com/sports/headlines/39241117.html

Take Mason -4.

10:42 AM  
Blogger Mr. Miles said...

As far as the rival goes I really can't say that I feel they are. I don't like to lose to them, but for what it is worth I don't like to lose to any team CAA or not. I guess that because I am in Richmond and have alot of VCU fans around me, I really can't stand VCU as a rival. I can't stand the press they get, and everyone down here thinking that they walk on water. I HATE VCU!!!!!!!!!

12:15 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

CAA ZONE DOWN?

3:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Note to Mason players: if you don't care about a game, please be kind enough to forfeit ahead of time. Also, if you insist on embarrassing yourselves, your school, and your fans, find a more expeditious way to do it.

4:03 PM  
Blogger Seymour said...

Also, our basketball players clearly need to take a remedial math class. 2<3.

4:08 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Same old same old. Just another aggravating loss on the road where they completely fall apart in the last 2-3 minutes. yawn.

4:11 PM  
Blogger YasinJ said...

inexcusable loss for George Mason again!! Coach Larranga really needs to run a 2-minute drill during practice because they seemed to fell apart during the final minutes of the game.

As for the game, i still don't understand how they lost this game. They won the turnover battle, and score more points off turnovers then JMU. It was a poor shooting effort today, and they could not defend the three all day. Watching the game made me wanted to puke during the final 30 seconds of the game. Why Vaughn scores a two when your down by 3 with 4.8 seconds to play is beyond me. I actually embarrassed to be a George Mason Patriot right now, it flat out embarrassing!!!!!!!!! HORRIBLE, JUST HORRIBLE LOSS!!!!

4:58 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Playstation Johnson from Hofstra did the same thing a few years back in a game vs Mason.

10:25 AM  

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