View from the top

The Patriots keep their winning streak alive in the CAA and now currently sit alone at the top of the standings with a victory over JMU. Mason never trailed in this one and used strong runs at the beginning of each half to take control. They held the Dukes to an unimpressive shooting day without their starting PG Devon Moore. Their offense seemed to be very out of sync with his absence and they even struggled from the free-throw line. Louis Birdsong ended his scoring rut by scoring 15 and Ryan Pearson added 13, many off offensive rebounds. I had stated in my preview that these two guys would be the x-factors and they definitely seemed to a problem for the Dukes to contain. Darryl Monroe drew a lot of double-teams but was able to capitalize off it by setting up great low-post assists. Some questionable fouls kept freshman Michael Morrison from getting more minutes but he did look strong in the post and doesn't seem to be afraid to mix it up down low. Dre Smith and John Vaughan had relatively quiet nights offensively only hitting two three-pointers between the two of them. Cam Long continued to run the floor well and adding scoring when the Patriots needed it. His poise is really starting to help the offense run more smoothly. Andre Cornelius was another reason the offense was clicking yesterday as he finished up with 5 points and 5 assists. The Patriots offense seemed to run a lot schemes where the forwards were atop the key and the guards were down low attempting to post up. Cam Long and Dre Smith did this often yesterday and that flexibility on offense helped Mason keep the Dukes guessing on defense.

Mason did a great job defensively and held leading scoring Juwann James in check for most of the game. Yesterday was the fifth consecutive game the Patriots have held an opponent to under 60 points. They have kept numerous teams under 40% shooting from the field and they don't let teams get into any kind of rhythmn on offense even after big shots. If the Patriots turn the ball over and let the other team score off, they don't sit back and sulk they just keep on rolling. A lot of college teams are not disciplined that well and really it has been the reason the Patriots haven't had trouble closing out games this year.

Next up for Mason is a showdown at Northeastern on Wednesday. The Huskies are coming off a loss to Hofstra and this will be the Patriots toughest CAA road game so far. This next game along with the VCU game next Saturday will be the Patriots most important stretch of the season.

pictures from offwing.com

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Previewing JMU...

The Patriots are rolling so far but can they keep the pace against a very confident James Madison squad? The Mason-Madison rivalry is old and while the Patriots have been dominating lately let me say that this isn't your father's Dukes squad. Their young talent is finally starting to mature and they have already put up some impressive road wins so far. Kathy Orton of the WaPo seems to think this is a "trap" game. But if you think Coach L's players are looking past any team in the CAA, then you don't know Coach L's style. Especially after the battle W&M gave the Patriots on Wednesday night it would be hard to think that they would look past any opponent from here on out.

JMU has had no trouble putting up points this year and has the second best FG% in the conference. I'd say their offensive fire-power is pretty even with Mason's but their defense is another story. Mason's defensive effort will have to be the difference if they want to win this one. If it comes down to free-throws the Patriots could be in trouble as JMU leads the CAA in that territory. They have no trouble getting to the line and have three players shooting over 80% from there. Like the Patriots, they do not turn the ball over much but have had trouble rebounding. They rank dead last in offensive rebounds in the CAA. Can Pearson, Monroe, and Birdsong capitalize on this?

The Dukes are led by Juwann James and Kyle Swantson who have been shooting extremely well so far this year. James doesn't even start but he leads the team in scoring despite playing only about 25 minutes a game. His efforts off the bench and the surprise play of freshman Devon Moore have been the backbone to the Dukes early success. Speaking of PG Devon Moore, a JMU blogger thinks he might not be able to go Saturday. Moore's absence would be a great advantage for the Patriots as he has been running the floor so far this season for the Dukes. He averaged 10.3 pts and 5 assists in three games last week as CAA rookie of the week. They will match-up pretty well with the Patriots but I think Louis Birdsong and Ryan Pearson could be the x-factors in this one. Monroe will no doubt be getting a lot of attention and if Pearson and Birdsong can score down low effectively the Dukes might not have an answer. My hope is that the Patriots defense forces the tempo to be more of a grind-it-out kind of game; something the Dukes aren't built for.

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W&M post game media

pictures from Daily Press

Quotes:

From Washington Post:

Coach L: "The Tribe really move without the ball so well,". They read the defender. I know there were times our guys thought they had them covered and, boom, they got a layup."

Cam Long: "That's one team that uses the shot clock completely. As soon as you rest, that's the time they're going to get the ball to that person and he's going to score."

From Daily Press:

Coach L: In Tuesday's practice, Larranaga had his scout team, the Green squad, simulate the Tribe's offense, a blend of motion and backdoor cuts that drains time from the shot clock and requires disciplined help defense.

"They did such a good job that they actually won the game. I think that made our Gold team, the starters, realize, 'Man, this is a tough offense to defend. We better be ready.' "

Dre Smith: "To start off 6-0 in the CAA is a big accomplishment, because every night you've got to bring it. All the teams are good."

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Patriots keep on rolling

The Patriots keep their winning streak alive in the CAA last night with a close win at Kaplan Arena. They matched the team's best start in school history that dates back to 1983, but it didn't come easy. W&M's complex offense and zone defense gave Mason problems all night, especially the front court. Ryan Pearson (playing ill) and Louis Birdsong struggled to contribute much on the offensive end. Darryl Monroe missed another double-double by one rebound but still managed 12 points despite many double teams. The first couple of minutes of play was some ugly basketball but the Patriots eventually snapped out of it in the second half. The Tribe out rebounded the Patriots and were able to force a lot of turnovers, something many other opponents haven't had success with. Another well balanced attack from Mason helped them get through this one, with Dre Smith leading the way connecting on four three-pointers. Dre has seemed a lot less erratic lately and has started to make big shots when the team is down. John Vaughan continued to be solid from the outside and made some key free-throws at the games end to seal the victory. Cam Long is leading the offense better with each game so far this year. It is rare that you see him have a miscue or an ill-advised pass anymore.

The view from the top of the CAA sure looks good. Can the Patriots keep this up and will we see two 7-0 teams heading into next Wednesday's game at Boston?

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Tuesday links...

Mason heads back to the road for a rematch of last year's CAA championship game at W&M. Is it still weird to anyone else that we played W&M in that game? They definitely don't look like they have built much off last year's tourney run this season. But no road game in the CAA can ever be overlooked as we saw Delaware knock off VCU already.

• Darryl Monroe is the CAA Player of the Week! (with three others)
• Listen to Coach Larranaga's weekly teleconference here.
• Mason's RPI is currently at #56
• 2 votes in the latest AP poll
• #6 in the Mid-Major Top 25
• Mason is leading the CAA in scoring defense (59.9)
• Storming the Floor visits the Patriot Center
• DC Sports Bog's take on Virginia's best college hoops program
  

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Vlad officially an Eagle

Well Vlad is officially enrolled at American University and will eligible to play for them starting in the spring '10 semester of next season.

"Vlad Moldoveanu, a 6-foot-10 224-pound forward, has been admitted to American and will start classes on Monday. Moldoveanu played in seven games for George Mason this season, averaging 2.3 points and 2.1 rebounds for the Patriots. He will be eligible to play for the Eagles after sitting out this semester as well as the fall semester under NCAA transfer rules. The Romanian native was a first-team All-Met at St. John's College High School in Northwest D.C. He gives American its third 6-10 player on its roster."

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Post Game Interviews: ODU

Post game interviews from players and coaches:







Videos from YouTube

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