Previewing George Mason vs Hofstra

Game is on ESPN3 or watch free live stream here

We've already seen the school's dramatic promo for this game against Hofstra, as the Patriots try to separate themselves from the three-way tie for first in the CAA standings tonight. Last time versus Hofstra we saw Mason need late game heroics as it came down to the wire.  It wasn't very encouraging to watch against a Hofstra Pride team that has only won two conference games to date.  The Patriots however have been strong at home and hopefully this time won't have the troubles on offense they did during that last meeting.  I seriously doubt Ryan Pearson and Mike Morrison will be held to a combined 10 points this time around.

The Patriots have been living off points from the free-throw line lately. Against ODU last Saturday they shot below 30% from the field but got to the line for 35 free-throw attempts.  While that is one of their strengths it would be nice to just see them convert some easy baskets.  Opposing defenses are giving them the outside open looks because they know they can't hit them and it is disrupting the Patriots flow on offense. Pearson needs someone to go to when he's double-teamed and their offense gets very one-dimension when no one is hitting outside shots or making lay-ups.

Something to watch for is who is running the point more in this game.  Hewitt went with freshman Corey Edwards late, which was a head-scratcher, but maybe he was looking for more of a facilitator to get things going on a sluggish day for the Patriots. Bryon Allen is the better scorer and seems to be improving but the move on the Saturday seems to make me think Hewitt still might favor Edwards as that true point guard.  Edwards still makes way too many mistakes in my opinion and I think Allen has shown he's more than capable of running of the show. Allen was having an off day against ODU (0-7 from the field) and Hewitt probably just pulled him to help give the team a spark.  Nevertheless it's getting too late in the season to have instability in the backcourt.

NCAA Basketball Stats