Listen to Coach Larranaga's Weekly Teleconference

Read more »

Old Dominion out-muscles George Mason

The Patriots were undersized in this one and I thought it was going to doom them all game long. But Mason didn't back down after ODU's relentless inside game was thriving early. They would counter the Monarchs tough inside possessions by hitting a three-pointer or driving to the basket.  In the end the difference was really ODU's ability to grab an offensive rebound with ease that led to enough second chance points to put away the game late and sealed the 69-65 win. The Monarchs finished with 23 second chance points, had to win when you give up that on the defensive end. The Patriots also had no answer for Frank Hassell who really hurt them in the 2nd half.  Cam Long and Luke Hancock paced Mason in the first half and saw Ryan Pearson score all of his 13 points in the 2nd giving Mason the lead for a stretch. As a whole the team was hitting outside shots but the Monarchs had an answer for every one of Mason's moves.  The size advantage for ODU forced Larranaga to change his usual gameplan which was evidenced by the fact that Vertrail Vaughns didn't even enter the game.  As a result Johnny Williams got more minutes and had two baskets that I am sure has fans asking why he isn't playing more. 

What to take from this game is that Mason can hang with just about any team they have to face. A guard heavy shooting team or a big front court team the Patriots appear ready for the challenge.  It was good to see the fight in them after that lackluster performance we saw at Hofstra.  They continue to shoot the ball well but sometimes it just isn't enough against fundamentally better teams.  There isn't another team in the CAA that could beat Mason the way ODU did. Sure JMU has a solid front court but not nearly as many big bodies as ODU has.  You have to hope they recognize how important rebounding can be on both ends of the court. Even though they lost that battle in this one they were definitely more aggressive on the boards then what we have seen.

College Basketball Stats

Read more »

George Mason heads to ODU for their toughest test of the season

Photo by John Tatum

I'm sure it's not ideal for any coaching staff to suffer your worst loss of the season right before your facing the conference's best team on the road but that's where this George Mason team is right now.  Historically  Jim Larranaga's teams have faired pretty well after suffering a conference loss. However I doubt many Mason fans are confident in this team's ability to go into Norfolk and take down the Monarchs considering they have not done so since 2004. Perhaps the loss at Hofstra was a result of the team's soft out of conference schedule that didn't feature much of any road challenges outside of playing in Dayton.  The loss on Wednesday night should be a wake up call that they can't always pull out a victory with their hot shooting ability.  If the whole team doesn't put defense first the result is what happened at Hofstra and I don't think the players want to remember that feeling again this weekend. I think what went wrong had to be obvious to the team and they should be hungry to rebound.  This game could have big implications for the CAA standings, (doesn't it always seem that way?) as both teams are expected to be near the top in late February.  Last year the two teams split the series with each team blowing out the other.

ODU hasn't looked dominant lately and you can even argue they might no longer be considered a lock as the CAA's best team this year when all is said and done.  They lost their first CAA game of the year at Delaware, who from what we saw from them against Mason they are much better squad than last year but still Delaware. In their last two games against Towson and Northeastern they have scored a combined 100 points as Michael Litos points out.  You can argue they played great defense but Towson is just bad and Northeastern was missing their best player in Chaisson Allen.  The fact that they could not muster much of an offensive attack has to music to Mason's ears. On the season the Monarchs haven't been scoring that much as they are currently 8th in the CAA averaging 66.1 points a game. Mason on the other hand is number 1 with 73.3 points a contest.  But you can't overlook that ODU has the best scoring defense in the CAA holding their opponents to only 59.1 points a game. Yes those numbers a little deceiving considering their last two games but still a big factor heading into this one.

So let's get right to, how is this one going to go? What does Mason have to do to win this game? Do they even have a chance?

Why George Mason will lose this game:

ODU has a bruising front court and Mason's fowards haven't been great at staying out of foul trouble especially Mike Morrison.  If you remember last season in Norfolk Morrison got a double technical and was ejected from the game in the 2nd half. You want to believe he has matured a bit since last season but he's already been limited in the 1st halves of games this season due to picking up early fouls. If that happens again tomorrow afternoon it could again doom the Patriots. ODU's front court is just too strong and forwards Frank Hassell, Ben Finney, and Keyon Carter are going to go right at Ryan Pearson and Mike Morrison. Let's not also forget that the Monarchs are averaging 16 offensive rebounds a game, an area the Patriots are already weak in.  If ODU keeps getting 2nd chances around the basket it's going to doom Mason and we will see a lot more Paris Bennett and Johnny Williams.  Long story short the Monarchs are deep where the Patriots are shallow and I think it could be too much of an advantage for them to overcome on the road.

Another area I think the Monarchs have an advantage in is in Kent Bazemore and Ben Finney. Both are in the guard/forward role at 6-5 and are more experienced versions of the Patriots Luke Hancock.  Which one of these guys will Hancock be guarding and which undersized guard is going to be matched up with the other? Bazemore if probably the most dangerous scoring wise as he has an inside and out game. If Hancock is on him he will have his work cut out for him as he has struggled with guys like this.  Remember how poorly Mason did against athletic forwards Chris Wright and Chris Johnson against Dayton? Sure these two guys from ODU aren't as versatile or athletic but they pose similar problems for Mason on defense.

Why George Mason will win this game:

The Patriots are 9-0 this season when their opponents are held to under 70 points and ODU hasn't exactly been lighting it up lately as I mentioned earlier.  Mason hasn't really had a poor shooting game all season and if they can turn this into a run and gun scoring battle they will have the advantage and some of their weaknesses won't be as glaring. Three-points are also going to be key for Mason in this game, ODU is 8th in the CAA in opponents three-point shooting percentage allowing 36.5% on average.  And although Mason hasn't been quite as good lately at launching up from behind the arch we all know they have ability to take a game over with it.  I would not be surprised if the Patriots start firing from there right off the bat looking to bury ODU early. The Monarchs on the other hard are 10th in the CAA in three-point shooting and Mason has defended the perimeter well this season.  Taking away that area of the Monarchs offense will be critical for Mason as they need to make them as one-dimension as possible.  

Aside from a good shooting night the Patriots need to return to their suffocating defense in order to win this match.  They don't need to be perfect but they have to prevent the Monarchs from going on huge runs like Hofstra did on Wednesday. Earlier this season they were dictating entire games through their defense and we need to see some of that return.  If they can cut back on giving up the easy lay-ups and open looks and force them to take the outside shots they don't want to they will come away with the win.  

And lastly I never get bored of posting this picture:

Read more »

Highlights from George Mason vs Hofstra

GoMason.com posted some highlights from last night's loss at Hofstra, careful the frame rate isn't easy on the eyes:

Read more »

George Mason suffers first CAA loss to Hofstra

The Patriots lost on their first CAA road trip of the season to Hofstra 87-74 and you can tell from the final score there was plenty of breakdowns on defense.  They let Charles Jenkins go off in the 2nd half and ended up finishing with 32 points on the night.  Hofstra is a one-man show with Jenkins and the fact that Patriots couldn't even slow him down gave them no shot in the 2nd half. If you bet on sports at Betus like I used to you'd know Mason was still favored in this one. This game was very much like the one against NC State as play-by-play man Bill Rohland mentioned where the Patriots gave up  a ton of transition points and allowed too many open looks and easy lay-ups. In the first half Mason switched to a zone defense and Hofstra started to drain three-pointers. Add on to that Mike Morrison again being in early foul trouble and the Patriots usual first half flow was thwarted and they never really recovered. The Pride didn't need much effort to pour on the points and shot 59% from the field in the second, something I'm sure Larranaga was thrilled about. You can watch and hear his postgame comments below:

Offensively the numbers don't look bad by any account for that Patriots but when the Pride went on a 14-0 run in the 2nd half you saw a ton of ill-advised shot attempts.  Mason's poor shot selection led to a ton of easy baskets for the Pride and in turn made it much tougher for them to clamp down on defense.  Ryan Pearson had a great night leading Mason scorers with 22 but at times the team looked very flat on offense after starting out shooting 53% in the 1st half.  Luke Hancock and Mike Morrison were non-existent on offense. Morrison's inability to stay in games is starting to really become an issue, the team can't have him off the floor for that long with their lack of depth at forward.

It's a little alarming to see the team perform this bad in their first CAA road game as the conference seems to be even more competitive this year.  Yes Charles Jenkins had a hell of a game but were the Patriots really that surprised to see him scoring like that? I'd be ok with him scoring 20 but 32 is just inexcusable for a team that puts defense first.  This is the second consecutive game where they let the other team's star go off in the 2nd half. It let Delaware nearly crawl back into the game on Monday and it was their complete undoing last night. With ODU on the docket for Saturday something has to change or it's not going to be pretty.

NCAA Basketball

Read more »

Basic Basketball Offensive Skills

Basic basketball skills are essential to your success on the court. 

Skill #1) Body Balance

Your overall balance is controlled by your head, feet and hands. Keep your head directly above the midpoint between your feet with your chin up. Do not lean. This helps keep control because the weight of your head alone can throw you off balance.

Basketball

Read more »

George Mason holds off Delaware with clutch play from Isaiah Tate

The Patriots looked a little rusty to start off 2011 but used some hot shooting (not from the free-throw line) and some clutch play by Isaiah Tate to hold off Delaware for their second CAA victory.  His three-pointer with about eight minutes ago gave Mason the room they needed to close out the win.  Tate's 12 points off the bench was something the Patriots needed and could have used in their loss to Dayton.  Luke Hancock and Ryan Pearson again had great box score numbers while Mike Morrison continues to not know be much of a factor on offense.  Mason shot the ball very well on the night going 56.5% from the field but really could have ran away with the game if they just sank a few more free-throws. It is something we have become used to since last season but in this game it really hurts when you get to the line for 31 attempts and only come away with 18 points.

The team's chemistry this season and overall decision making is much improved from a year ago.  When team's clog up the middle the Patriots find the open man for an outside three, when the perimeter shots are denied they find Pearson or a cutting Hancock inside for the easy two.  Larranaga has to be impressed with this lately because it's been the difference in a lot of wins.  Overall I think this team is tough to beat when they are in transition and moving the ball well.  It was evident last night against a Delaware team that was playing a pretty darn good game.

However, defensively the Patriots weren't as sharp as they have been, allowing the Blue Hens to go on too many runs and Jawan Carter to score 20 points, 13 of which came in last five minutes.  They also gave up too many easy shots as Delaware shot over 44% from the field, the highest percentage the Patriots have given up at home this season.  As a whole the team is still giving up too many offensive rebounds which is really how Delaware kept this game close.

Mason is one of the three 2-0 teams in the CAA. Kind of amazing that ODU and VCU have already dropped a CAA game.  I think it just goes to show you how competitive this league is going to be this season.  Each one of these conference games is going to be important and road wins will probably come a premium meaning Mason has to continue to win these home ones. Mason now has a tough task of going on the road for their next three including a trip to Norfolk against ODU this Saturday.  

College Basketball

Read more »