George Mason hosts ODU for final time as CAA opponent

George Mason hosts Old Dominion tonight for their third conference game. Last time out they handled William & Mary on the road in a game where we saw Sherrod Wright score 10 of 28 points in the final seven minutes. The offense ran a bit smoother and Corey Edwards and Bryon Allen sharing the court looks to be a good fit. ODU has been awful this season and are one of the worst defensive teams in the country. Blaine Taylor's teams are never this bad but they just can't seem to score or stop anyone else from scoring, simple as that. In their last game against Delaware, the Blue Hens managed to get to the free-throw line for 50 attempts. That's amazingly bad for the Monarchs. 

DeShawn Painter, a transfer from NC State is the team's only threat and can be a force up front. With little help Painter has struggled to be a big factor this season. ODU just doesn't have the guards this year making plays to complement a player like him. They also don't have much of a perimeter attack so Mason will have to be careful to not give them any help at the free-throw line. On the other end Sherrod Wright should be getting to the line all night and everyone driving to the basket should be a priority. In Mason's two conference games so far they are 28-35 from the free-throw line (80%). They are starting to turn their athletic abilities into a big advantage and that's great sign for the offense.

Sherrod Wright has been on a tear lately but it would be good to see a few other guys step up. At some point we might see Bryon Allen or Corey Edwards emerge as the #2 scorer and perhaps the lineup tweaks will help spark that.

[Photo by John Powell]