Previewing the Battle of the Orange Line Part II

I like having fun with the whole "Battle of the Orange Line" slogan the GW marketing department came up with last year but I still think them trying to call this game some sort of rivalry is a stretch.  It's great to have a local rival but I don't think we are quite there yet when you consider the teams have only faced 11 times in Mason's 40 some years of having a basketball team.  And before the game last December, George Mason and George Washington hadn't faced eachother in 11 years. What rivals have that long of a break between games?  It remains to be seen if this becomes an annual affair or if it ends up being a short lived marketing campaign by both schools to get attendance numbers up. Hopefully this becomes a tradition but I'm not going to hold my breath.  

Now on to the actual game tomorrow night.  Considering almost everyone on the roster was in Foggy Bottom for the beating they received last year from the Colonials I'd like to think they take this game seriously. Ryan Pearson and Andre Cornelius were suspended for that game last season and should be motivated to perform well tomorrow.  With GW losing to UNCW the other night it's a little difficult to say they are an improved team from last season.  They were picked to finish tenth in the A10 but so far it looks like even that might be wishful thinking.  The Colonials have been dreadful from the field, shooting about 35% on the the season to date but have had some success from the three-point line. Forward Nemanja Mikic sank 7 3-pointers in their loss to UNCW.  If Mason doesn't protect the perimeter well it's pretty much the only way I see them losing this game.  If they play the kind of team defense they did against Radford and FAU it's very likely GW will have a tough time getting any quality looks at the basket.  

In the front court GW has done well rebounding so this is definitely an area the Patriots cannot slouch in.  Mason won't have a size advantage like they did over FAU but they will have more athletic forwards. But GW forward Nemanja Mikic who I mentioned earlier could create a match-up problem. The 6-8 forward has been shooting over 47% from the three-point line and has been one of the team's most efficient shooters. If someone like Luke Hancock is guarding him it could be an issue.  Hopefully we see another big game from Mike Morrison who had a big second half against FAU on Saturday.

I look for Mason to continue to share the ball well and shoot well in this one.  Their defense should force GW into another one of their bad shooting nights and force them to throw up ill advised three-pointers. If the Patriots play an uptempo game with high scoring I don't think the Colonials will be able to keep up as they just don't have the horses.

Don't forget this is the game they will start giving away bobbleheads! So get their early to get your Folarin Campbell bobblehead.

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George Mason rolls past Florida Atlantic

It was another impressive defensive night for the Patriots as head coach Jim Larranaga picked up his 250th win at George Mason. However this time there was not a barrage of three pointers and they got a lot of points inside from Mike Morrison, who led all scorers in a game for the first time this season. Morrison had scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half, a lot of them effortlessly through dunking on the undersized Owls. The Patriots finished the 1st half shooting almost 60% from the field and continued that in the 2nd.   Cam Long (6 assists) and Luke Hancock (7) continue to distribute the ball well and in these last two games the Patriots have been playing much improved 'team' basketball. The box score might show that the rebounding stats where about even but the Patriots weren't getting enough of the meaningful rebounds they should have.  The undersized Florida Atlantic squad got 9 offensive boards while Mason only had 4.  Coming into the game Florida Atlantic got to the free throw line a lot and Mason did a good job staying out of foul trouble and not letting them take advantage at the line.  

Mason didn't get a lot help from their bench in this one.  In the 2nd half they got zero points from their bench players and it seemed like Larranaga still don't trust a reserve heavy lineup in the 2nd half even with a 10 point lead.  Larranaga has criticized the defensive efforts of his 'green team' so far this year and they need to improve in this area before the CAA schedule kicks in.  You can say what you want to about the team's depth being improved over last season but most of the guys, outside of Isaiah Tate, just don't have a lot of experience and it has been showing in their defensive efforts.

College Basketball

Next up for the Patriots is the Battle of the Orange Line Part II this Wednesday.

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Lights out three point shooting helps Mason roll past Radford

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Last night was exactly the kind of weaker opponent George Mason needed to fine tune their offense and defense last night.  Mason went 13-of-26 from behind the three point line to coast past Radford for their third win of the season.  Although the offense might be the highlight reel material from last night, the Patritots defense cannot go unmentioned.  They got a lot of opportunities because their defense constantly put pressure on the ball all night when it was in the Highlanders' hands. Although Radford was a team these Patriots are expected to beat this year, you can't help but notice the patience and focus of the team who hard a strong bounce back after a disappointing last two games in the Charleston Classic. Hopefully this game shows the Patriots what they capable of when they play strong on both ends of the court.  Because honestly scoring hasn't been the problem in their losses this season but playing a complete game for 40 minutes has been.

It was definitely a padding of the stats kind of game. They finished the game three long-range jumpers shy of tying the school record of 16 set in 1994 against Troy State.  Andre Cornelius reminded us how he shot over 43% from the three point line last season with a 5-of-6 shooting night from their there.  Cam Long stepped up shooting 4-of-6 on his way to his first 20 points performance of the season. While those two were providing the scoring Luke Hancock was setting them up dishing out 10 assists and grabbing 8 rebounds.  This was the first game of the season where Johnny Williams got more playing time then Jonathan Arledge and Paris Bennett.  Ryan Pearson played 18 minutes and had 13 points before spraining his ankle midway through the 2nd half.  

NCAA Basketball Stats

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Coaches Corner: Previewing Radford with Chris Caputo

This year's Radford team is no where near what they faced last season in the team's blow out loss to the Highlanders.  If you remember that 80-53 blowout down in Radford, you will remember that big guy they had inside dominating, Artsiom Parakhouski. The 6'11" 260 pound center is now gone and is playing pro ball with the Latvian club VEF Riga after he had a brieft stint on the Boston Celtics summer league team.  This year's Radford Highlander team doesn't resemble much of their squad last season and they certainly do not have that same inside strength.

It's a little difficult to gauge this year's team because they have only played one game against a DI opponent, and that was at the SEC's South Carolina where they got drilled 85-56.  Their only other two games came against Division III opponents one of which they won by a mere three points at home.  So while there isn't much tape on them of note, I think it's safe to say Mason should get back on track in this one. I would expect the Patriots to establish their inside game and force a ton of turnovers in this one.  I would expect to see guys like Jonathan Arledge, Paris Bennett, Vertrail Vaughns, and Bryon Allen get a little bit more playing time as well.

This game is the first of a five game home stand, something we haven't seen Mason have in a long time.  You can argue that they won't be facing tough competition til the end of the December but I think it is important after what we saw in Charleston; for this team to work on some issues they have been having with their game plan. Hopefully these next couple of games will give the Patriots some confidence and help them get back in a rhythm on offense.

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Tyler Hansbrough Wallpaper

Tyler Hansbrough Wallpaper
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Ty Lawson Wallpaper

Ty Lawson Wallpaper

Ty Lawson Poster
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What we learned about George Mason from the Charleston Classic

George Mason started off the Charleston Classic strong with a decisive victory over Charlotte but faltered in the 2nd halves of their losses to NC State and Wofford to finish 4th in the tournament.  The Patriots definitely got some quality experience out of this weekend but time will tell if they learn anything from their mistakes and shortcomings.  Here are some things we learned about this year's team so far:

• The team has depth but I don't think Larranaga knows fully how to use it just yet.  I say this because their were a ton of different lineup combinations at there this weekend. I know he was trying to get the younger guys some good experience but the substitutions in the 2nd half of the NC State were head scratching.  I think the coaching staff is still figuring out who they trust in late game situations off bench.

• They need to be more patient.  Coach Larranaga said this in the post game yesterday after the loss to Wofford and it really showed late in the game.  Mason faded in the 2nd half twice over their last two games mostly because they had too many players looking for the quick score one-on-one plays.  They don't have any good one-on-one guys in my opinion, they need all five guys contributing in their motion offense for them to score consistently.  The rushed shot attempts and poor decision making are things that can be corrected if they were more patient late in the games.  This stuck out a lot of some of Luke Hancock's game.  

• You can't blame the defense and rebounding. Larranaga's bread and butter haven't been the problem so far but what they have been doing after an offensive rebound or a defensive stop has been.  It doesn't matter how good of defense you are playing if you constantly turn over the ball. And as for rebounding, Mason needs to capitalize more on those 2nd chance opportunities, they squandered a whole lot yesterday.   

• Problems from last year are still carrying over. And with this I mean finishing strong in the 2nd half when they have the lead.  Towards the end of last season the Patriots struggled to close out opponents and the CIT game against Fairfield was an exclamation point on the matter. So far we have seen a little bit of that as the Patriots seem to forget that there are 40 minutes in the game. You could blame it on youth last season but what do you say if it keeps happening this year?

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