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Game Day links: George Mason at Delaware

George Mason Basketball: Game Day links: George Mason at Delaware

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Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Game Day links: George Mason at Delaware

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Game Notes

Spread: George Mason 3.5 favorite

Statistical Breakdown

February hasn't been a good month for Mason, they are 1-5 and are giving up 9 more points per game this month than they did in January in which they went 9-1. They are playing for a chance to still be in the top 4 of the CAA with these next too games. With Northeastern's loss last night to Hofstra they still have a chance to get the #3 seed in the conference tournament by winning these last 2 games and also they would need William & Mary to lose one of their last two. Another scenario would be both Drexel and William & Mary losing their last two, in that instance Mason would only have to win one of these last two, unlikely. Bottom line, Mason can clinch a top 4 seed and a first round bye in the CAA tournament by winning their last two games.

Let's not forget this is still a road game for Mason and despite Delaware having nothing to play for, the Patriots will still have play better than what we have seen recently. Defensively, the Patriots get a break because Delaware this season has been the worst in the conference in field goal percentage. What I worry about is Mason getting into another scoring slump on the road which we have seen recently. Some of the young players have really stepped up in these past few games despite the Patriots falling short. Guys like Kevin Foster and Johnny Williams will need to contribute in this one again but the real question is will Cam Long, Andre Cornelius, and Ryan Pearson do the same? The return of Mike Morrison to the starting lineup will no doubt provide a spark as I am sure he's been itching to help out this struggling squad. Hopefully Morrison's return will also ignite the Patriots back into a more up-tempo style we saw in January. Also, with Rashad Whack now back the Patriots add more depth to their bench would could be a big deal if they get an early lead in this one and want to rest guys for Saturday's home finale showdown against Northeastern.

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posted by Ryan at 9:14 AM

17 Comments:

Blogger DaysofYates said...

We have had more than our fair share of down-to-the-wire games recently, so nothing would be more pleasing than to see us overwhelm the Hens from the start and put it on cruise control in the second half, resting those who need it (not you, Morrison).

10:27 AM  
Blogger C Hirsch said...

There is no reason we should lose this game. Delaware only has two guys that can score, we should blow them out and build up some confidence.

I do know that what we should do and what we will do are two very different things.

10:55 AM  
Blogger Mark! said...

Should win and Do win are two different things as we've seen recently. But I have confidence in Coach L to get them back on track.

11:05 AM  
Blogger variaban said...

I don't know about a blow out but I'm pretty confident that we can come out of Delaware with a win... even if we have been 1-5 this month.
Hopefully they win their next few games, and even if they don't get in the NCAA tournament, I think the NIT might be better for these guys this year, it will give them a better chance at winning some more games and letting the post-season continue, they might host a game too.

11:08 AM  
Blogger C Hirsch said...

Variaban, unless Mason wins the rest of their games and loses in the CAA Championship, we have no shot at the NIT. Even if we did that I am not sure we would get in.

12:35 PM  
Blogger Ryan said...

Hirsch it right, a bid to the NIT is a maybe at best. If Mason doesn't win these last two games there's a real chance we won't see them in any postseason action.

1:05 PM  
Blogger variaban said...

Assuming the next two games are won and they win one game in Richmond, you guys really don't think a 19-13 record would get them in the NIT? How come?

3:06 PM  
Blogger Ryan said...

Regular season conference champs get automatic bids to the NIT if they don't make it to NCAA. Factor that in with the numerous other teams out there actually have decent wins and RPI (Mason doesn't) there's not much room for a team with a resume like Mason's.

3:34 PM  
Blogger Ryan said...

also see http://www.nitology.com/

3:35 PM  
Blogger Brent said...

Tonight we will really see what kind of heart this team has. They should feel backed into a corner right now, and facing a cellar dweller, their talent alone should be enough. If we lose this game we really do have problems for the long term future.

I expect them to come out aggressive and play hard. If we lose this one, we don't even deserve the NIT.

4:15 PM  
Blogger Brent said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

4:18 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Is the CBI still happening this year? ODU won it last year and, even if it's a cheesy pay-to-play tournament, it'd be nice to get a young squad as much game time as possible. Plus, we could probably host the games at the Patriot Center, or someone's roomy backyard.

4:41 PM  
Blogger HL said...

Mason favored by 3. If they blow the Hens out, the Northeastern game will be interesting. If they don't, they could get get killed Saturday and a quick exit from the tourney.
Hope to see some pissed off, aggressive play tonight. Go Pats.

7:25 PM  
Blogger variaban said...

That Nitology site is BS... it has Drexel in the NIT but not GMU?
Doesn't make any sense...

8:22 AM  
Blogger Ryan said...

variaban,

How is Mason better than Drexel? Drexel beat Mason and have a better RPI, while also not having nearly the same amount of "bad losses".

8:48 AM  
Blogger variaban said...

Ryan, I was looking at www.realtimerpi.com, with the last update yesterday morning and it is listing GMU's RPI as 139 and Drexel at 113, this is also before GMU's win last night.

Then taken into consideration that we beat Delaware (RPI 225) and Drexel lost to UNCW (RPI 234) I'm thinking that our RPI might have gone up a few notches, maybe around 130 while Drexel's dropped into the mid 120's. They lost to a team with a worse rating than one we beat which is why I think the difference between the two is less than 10 now.

I just think at the very least, GMU should be on the bubble, so to speak, for the NIT, especially with a win on Saturday.

9:51 AM  
Blogger variaban said...

Scratch that, we are at 135 now while Drexel dropped to 134.

We went up 4 beating a team 86 spots lower. NE's RPI is 76 so if we beat them, I guessing our RPI can shoot up to 105 range.

I guess it makes sense not getting the NIT that low though. I'm going to start rooting for GMU to beat ODU in the CAA championship game now since ODU is the CAA's only hope for an at-large if they don't lose any more games.

3:31 PM  

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