Patriots pick up first road victory

Nothing like playing Florida International to get Dre Smith and the Patriot offense going. Last season Dre Smith had his first big game with Patriots in Fairfax against FIU and this year the location was different but the result was the same. Smith led the Patriots to a 86-68 road victory by scoring 21 including 5 three-pointers. If only we could play FIU more often to keep Dre's shooting touch up to par. Folarin Campbell showed success at the point in the absence of Jordan Carter who missed the game with an ankle injury. Louis Birdsong had a strong performance grabbing 9 rebounds while Thomas only managed 2 despite his 20 points. All five Mason starters finished in double figures so things seem to be back on track for the moment on offense. Campbell did a fairly good job protecting...

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Patriots head to Miami

Exams are over and now Coach L and his boys head to Miami to take on FIU Friday night looking for their first road win of the season. I gotta admit I love seeing the headline "Men’s Basketball Hosts Nationally-Recognized George Mason" on any opposing school's website. Last season against Florida International Dre Smith had his coming out party scoring 20 points and showcasing his quickness. This matchup is an interesting one with the Golden Panthers being led by 7-0 250 pound, Pepperdine transfer Russell Hicks. The Patriots smaller lineup could run up the score with their quickness and athletic advantages, but I hate to jinx the squad predicting they will blow out anyone after the ECU debacle. The Patriots could get into trouble if Hicks size and strength causes foul trouble for the front...

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Monroe Redshirts

Well I can't say that I did not see this one coming. Monroe, who has yet to play this year, is taking a medical redshirt and will be eligible for the '08-'09 season. I have mixed feelings about it and unsure of the impact not having Monroe for this season will have on the Patriots down the stretch. On the one hand we have experienced post player for next year after Thomas leaves but we also will have less depth in the front court this season. His redshirting kills off our last scholarship for 2008 but that only means that we will have a four person class in 2009. Another way to look at it is that we will have another senior next season, a valuable commodity for mid-majors.Monroe had surgery on October 9th to discover the source of the...

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College basketball dead week

Final exam week is never fun for anyone but it's not only the students that suffer it's also fans of college basketball. Our friends over at Storming the Floor share a great perspective on this dreaded week. But hey at least there's football on Thursdays now! I will try my best to provide links and reading material during this week along with Mason analysis.On another note I have been participating in the Blogpoll Top 25 over at NCAA Today, each week I rank the top teams in college hoops along with my fellow blogger nerds, and no I don't rank Mason #1 every week. But I do think I should be invited to the Local Hoops Poll over at the DC Sports Bog at the Washington Post....

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It Kent be true

When the schedule for this season was released I looked at this game as a possible first loss. Mostly because it was our first road game and I did think playing teams like ECU and Hampton right before would do us any good. The Patriots started off with some hot shooting but failed to take care of the ball in the 2nd half that eventually led to a 73-55 loss. John Vaughan was the only Patriot who was actually playing like he should. JV led Mason with 17 points while none of the other guards had a strong shooting night. Will Thomas was able to add 12 points but managed only 2 rebounds. Yes that's right, 2. Cam Long and Jordan Carter combined for 3 assists, aren't they supposed to be running the offense? The turnovers are largely based on teams just sitting in the post waiting for Mason...

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Grinding it out

Coming into this game it was uncertain what role Folarin Campbell was going to have after being benched for all but two seconds in the second half of the ECU. Coach Larranaga started Campbell last night in Fairfax and as a result he contributed 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists, including a three pointer with 1:57 to go that all but sealed the victory for Mason. The Patriots shot the ball well (48%) but still had their struggles getting to the free throw and line (60%) and connecting. At times it looked like the Patriots were shredding the Pirate's zone defense but then they would creep back in the game. Hampton's defensive play was able to force the Patriots to turnover the ball 11 times in the first half and yet they were still able...

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Wednesday Bullets

-Rivals.com ranks Will Thomas one of nation's best power forwards and Coach L gets some love too-I am really sad that the '05-'06 Patriots squad is not on this list as a "classic" team in March Madness '08, I was really looking forward to seeing digital Jai Lewis in HD-Ever wonder what Larranaga looked like with flowing hair during his playing days at Providence?-Dick Weiss of the NY Daily News gives our 2008 recruit Ryan Pearson some praise-Mason ranked #5 in the mid-major poll and also ESPN's Top 10 mid-majors-Collegehoopsnet.com ranks Mason #7 in the "High-Major Power Rankings", which consists of the A10, CAA, CUSA, MVC, MWC, and WAC conferences-Students at ECU camp out in line for tickets after the Mason vict...

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Previewing Hampton

The Patriots will try to bounce back tomorrow night in Fairfax as they face off against another team nicknamed the Pirates. How fitting. Last time they played Hampton in Fairfax it was a blowout to say the least. But this is in no way a similar squad, as they have already taken down VCU on their current three game winning streak and lost to Maryland by only six. Hampton is lead by senior guard Rashad West (pictured to the left) who is averaging 17 points and was able to drop 23 on the Terrapins. They play a similar style of play to the Patriots and are not strong from the three point or foul line. They were 1 for 12 on three pointers in their game against VCU but did force the Rams to turnover the ball 21 times. The Pirates do not have much...

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DC Meltdown

I had wait til today to write this post because I had hoped that maybe I would wake up this morning and realize last night's BB&T disaster was only a dream. Unfortunately that was not the case and today I have been mulling over how to write this post without rage and numerous expletives. A sad realization to have to deal with after dismantling a much more talented Drexel team a few nights ago. Let's break down this debacle.Most people try not to look too far ahead in the season, but I am not one of them. I am always looking past opponents like ECU and apparently Mason did the same thing last night. I am always thinking of the strong possibility that we might not win the conference and get the automatic bid to the dance. If that is...

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East Carolina Preview

Ah the annual BB&T Classic is tomorrow and like every year I am less than excited for our match-up. In the past I always hated how we would play teams like Maryland (when they were good) and get waxed. Now in a year where we are on fire we get to play the mighty Pirates of East Carolina. Check out this preview from their conferences website. Here's my favorite quote from the article:The Pirates are yet to win a game against Division I competition this season. Their victories came against Division II Limestone and Division III N.C. Wesleyan. ECU has one win in its last 28 games versus Division I opponents and has currently lost seven straight.Yes, they are that bad. Their leading scorer is currently lighting it up as he is the only player on the team averaging double digits (10.8)....

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