Previewing the Battle of the Orange Line Part II

I like having fun with the whole "Battle of the Orange Line" slogan the GW marketing department came up with last year but I still think them trying to call this game some sort of rivalry is a stretch.  It's great to have a local rival but I don't think we are quite there yet when you consider the teams have only faced 11 times in Mason's 40 some years of having a basketball team.  And before the game last December, George Mason and George Washington hadn't faced eachother in 11 years. What rivals have that long of a break between games?  It remains to be seen if this becomes an annual affair or if it ends up being a short lived marketing campaign by both schools to get attendance numbers up. Hopefully this becomes a tradition but I'm not going to hold my breath.  

Now on to the actual game tomorrow night.  Considering almost everyone on the roster was in Foggy Bottom for the beating they received last year from the Colonials I'd like to think they take this game seriously. Ryan Pearson and Andre Cornelius were suspended for that game last season and should be motivated to perform well tomorrow.  With GW losing to UNCW the other night it's a little difficult to say they are an improved team from last season.  They were picked to finish tenth in the A10 but so far it looks like even that might be wishful thinking.  The Colonials have been dreadful from the field, shooting about 35% on the the season to date but have had some success from the three-point line. Forward Nemanja Mikic sank 7 3-pointers in their loss to UNCW.  If Mason doesn't protect the perimeter well it's pretty much the only way I see them losing this game.  If they play the kind of team defense they did against Radford and FAU it's very likely GW will have a tough time getting any quality looks at the basket.  

In the front court GW has done well rebounding so this is definitely an area the Patriots cannot slouch in.  Mason won't have a size advantage like they did over FAU but they will have more athletic forwards. But GW forward Nemanja Mikic who I mentioned earlier could create a match-up problem. The 6-8 forward has been shooting over 47% from the three-point line and has been one of the team's most efficient shooters. If someone like Luke Hancock is guarding him it could be an issue.  Hopefully we see another big game from Mike Morrison who had a big second half against FAU on Saturday.

I look for Mason to continue to share the ball well and shoot well in this one.  Their defense should force GW into another one of their bad shooting nights and force them to throw up ill advised three-pointers. If the Patriots play an uptempo game with high scoring I don't think the Colonials will be able to keep up as they just don't have the horses.

Don't forget this is the game they will start giving away bobbleheads! So get their early to get your Folarin Campbell bobblehead.