George Mason heads to Rhode Island

George Mason looks to rebound from an awful performance against Boston University on Saturday. This isn't the same Rhode Island team that the Patriots nearly escaped last season in overtime at the Patriot Center. They have a new coach and a bunch of new players. The Rams are going through a transition with their new coach and just recently picked up their first win of the season against Auburn. With Maryland on the slate for this Sunday at the Verizon Center, we have to hope the Patriots are focused for this one and don't have another sloppy night from the field.

Rhode Island had their troubles putting points on the board and forcing turnovers. With how the Patriots have been playing defense lately they shouldn't have trouble clamping down on this team. Mason's problems have been occasional lapses on offense and not going to the free-throw line enough. As of today, there are only 27 teams (out of 347) in the country that have been to the line at a less frequent rate than George Mason this season. And if you look at those 27 other teams, none have anywhere near the talent the Patriots have. I believe this is the reason for why they have played so many close games this year already. Bryon Allen, Sherrod Wright, and Johnny Williams need to get there more, plain and simple.

So far this year the Patriots have lived off their outside shooting and pressure on defense. We saw what a bad shooting night from the outside can do to them on Saturday. What we haven't seen is the team try to establish an inside presence early. Foul trouble and turnovers by some of the front court guys has hurt this but they need to start adding a new dimension on offense. Johnny Williams has looked too good at times this year to not be getting more touches in the paint.

Defensively they are forcing turnovers, which fuels the up-tempo offense they want to run. However they haven't capitalized nearly enough on these extra possessions. Instead of driving the lane and possibly getting fouled, they often get held up and settle for an ill-advised shot. They have been shooting well, so they have gotten away with this for the most part but it won't last the whole season.

While it may be true that this group isn't playing to their full potential, it's better they are realizing that now instead of during some of their more important upcoming non-conference games.

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[Photo by John Powell]