Behind a dominating 25 point performance by Tony Taylor, the GW Colonials, who everyone in the universe despises, defeated the Charlotte 49ers 73-67 Saturday afternoon in Halton Arena. The homecoming loss dropped the Niners to 10-13 overall and 2-7 in A10 play. GW improved to 12-11 and 5-4.

The first eight minutes of the game were par for the Niners: Porous defense and sloppy ball handling lead to easy buckets for GW as they ran out to a 14-5 lead before Chris Braswell ended the drought with a pair of made FTs. The Niners eventually settled down, took care of the ball, and proceeded to chip away at the Colonial lead. Made three pointers by Deuce Briscoe, layups by Derrio Green and An’Juan Wilderness, a terrific lob pass by Braswell to KJ Sherrill and some made FTs by Javarris Barnett helped the Niners draw even with GW at 22 with 5 minutes to go in the half. The key in the run was aggressiveness: the Niners were able to get penetration against the tough man-to-man defense by George Washington and it resulted in layups or fouls.

From there the Niners sputtered a bit heading into the half thanks to a pair of Tony Taylor jumpers, but Charlotte would draw within 3 points at 31-28 to close the half on an An’Juan Wilderness layup -Wilderness’ first half play was perhaps his best work of the season.

In the second half, the Niners would battle to their first lead of the game at 38-36 thanks to some made three pointers by Briscoe and Braswell (you read that right). A pair of Chris Braswell made FTs would see the score at 41-all but from there…. well from there it got ugly, and it got ugly fast and furiously.

The Niners fell back on their bad habits of carelessness on the ball and the zone defense was absolutely ineffective against GW lob passes. In one 3:20 stretch, the Colonials had a trio of alley-oop dunks from behind the Niner zone. GW would grow the lead to 15 points (62-47) thanks to the aforementioned dunks and Tony Taylor’s mid-range game. Taylor shredded the Niner zone, as up top defenders chose to go for ill-advised steals instead of denying his dribble and he made us pay to the tune of 11-17 shooting for the game.

A late push thanks to Derrio Green’s one man show (22 points including the last 15 for the Niners. Yes you read that right as well) drew the Niners as close as 5 points as he made 2-1 jumper after 2-1 jumper, including a four-point play where Derrio managed to make a 3 pointer after being fouled; however, any hope for a miracle comeback faded when following a savvy tie-up leading to the ball being awarded back to the Niners, An’Juan Wilderness failed to find someone to inbound the ball to, resulting in a crushing 5-second call.

Despite three players in double figures for the Niners, it was hard pressed to find a bright spot. Careless ball-handling and ineffectual defense led to the Niners’ demise. It was a familiar demon as last year where tough man-to-man defense was a frequent bane for the Niners, who were fortunate to win even one game against GW. It’ll be a long week off for Alan Major’s squad, as evidenced by his long post game locker room talk with the team -to the extent he missed his radio time with Matt Sweirad. Let’s hope they find the effort that won them the Xavier game and lose the carelessness that led to this loss.

Fresh off an invigorating victory over the flagship A10 program, Xavier, it’s time for the Charlotte 49ers to unwelcome a familiar and despised nemesis into Halton Arena, the George Washington Colonials. If you need a reminder as to why you should hate them, and you really, really should, look no further.

Karl Hobbs’ Colonials come to Charlotte boasting an 11-11 record, 4-4 in the Atlantic 10. GW hasn’t gotten their lot of wins in the most difficult fashion -the highest RPI team they’ve beaten is East Carolina at home, currently with an RPI of 129. The Colonials got off to a 3-0 start in league play, with two wins over the Atlantic 10′s pair of goose eggs, Fordham and Saint Joseph’s. They have since dropped four of five and are trending downward fast; Hobbs may have to find a way to get more out of his team to get off the hot seat.

For the Colonials, the show is run through guard Tony Taylor. Taylor is averaging 14.3 points a game to lead his team in scoring, also dishing out 4.2 assists per game with an Assist-to-Turnover ratio of 1.8. Taylor specializes in getting inside and drawing contact, ranking in the top 150 in fouls drawn per 40 minutes. Unfortunately for Taylor, he shoots just 68% from the charity stripe. Joining Taylor in the back court are Aaron Ware and Bryan Bynes, who are limited offensivly, shooting 12.5% and 29.2% from beyond the arc. If the Niners’ zone can keep the ball from getting into the paint, we should hope that these two guys opt to chuck the ball at the rim from outside.

The sharp-shooter for GW is freshman forward Nemanja Mikic, from Serbia. Mikic shoots 46% from long range and knocks in 2.4 a game on average, Charlotte will need to have a man in his face the moment he gets the ball on the perimeter, if one guy will destroy us by shooting over our zone, this is him. Another forward to keep an eye on his Dwayne Smith. He’s averaging 9.7 points a game, good for second on the team. Smith does his work inside the paint, and has created a lot of second chance opportunities for the Colonials by pulling in 2.7 offensive rebounds per game. The Colonial frontcourt is anchored by senior center Joseph Katuka, who tallies 8.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. Mikic and Katuka anchor George Washington’s mediocre, borderline abysmal, free throw shooting, knocking in 33.3% and 55.6%of their free throws, respectively.

In last years meeting, George Washington’s defensive strategy was to harass DiJuan Harris throughout the game, and it nearly worked until some late-game Derrio Green heroics secured a 72-68 home victory for the 49ers. In the second matchup last year, GW held the Niners to less than 35% for a 75-70 victory. The Colonials are nearly as effective at creating turnovers as Duquesne, and we all know our guards have a tendency to give the ball up to the other team. Limiting turnovers will be a necessity if Charlotte looks to keep it’s momentum from the thrilling win over Xavier on Wednesday.

The question for Charlotte is who will step up, and take over the game for the 49ers. On Wednesday, it was Derrio Green, sinking all ten of his free throws, several in the final minute, to secure the win. Against La Salle, KJ Sherrill and Javarris Barnett contributed, but it wasn’t enough for the win. In games earlier this season others have lead the team in scoring, whether it be Green, Jamar Briscoe or Chris Braswell. With our shooting troubles someone(or someones) have to take it upon themselves to score the ball for the 49ers. This is not that good of a team, if the Niners defend with the intensity they did with against Xavier, this game should not be in question, and would be the icing on the cake of a week in which the Musketeers fell in Halton, and Major received another commitment from a recruite.

Keys to the game:

• Play Mikic tight on the perimer, if he’s going to get hot from behind the arc, he should have to do it with a hand in his face.
• Limit Tony Taylor from penetrating in the lane and producing points, much like how Tu Holloway was defended.
• Take care of the ball, this is a ball hungry defense, and the Niners can’t afford to be careless.
• Stay fresh, Charlotte will only go eight deep while the Colonials have gone ten deep in 18 of 22 games

Green Tinted Glasses Presents: Atlantic 10 Schedule Breakdown Part II

If you’ve been paying attention, at this point of the Atlantic 10 season, Green Tinted Glasses expects a 4-4 record, if not please refer to Part I.  Now let us continue.

Quarter Three:

Saturday February 5th- vs. George Washington(7-6): After showing some promise last year, by making their first A10 tournament in three years,  the Colonials have taken a step back this season.  Their best game was something the Niners couldn’t do, which was a win at Oregon State.  The Niners loss at Corvallis was when we hit rock bottom, while, unfortunately for George Washington, their win was when they were at their best.  They have an embarrassing 35 point loss at UAB as well as a neutral court loss to Navy in the BB&T Classic.

Wednesday February 9th- Atlantic 10 Bye #2

Saturday February 12th- at Rhode Island(9-5): Normally at this point of the year Rhode Island has only one or two losses against a mediocre schedule with a couple of strong victories.  Then like clockwork the Rams would struggle in Atlantic 10 play, eliminating their NCAA chances and landing in the NIT.  This is not one of those Rhode Island teams, the Rams started the season by nearly knocking off the Pitt Panthers at home, and have actually tested themselves.  They have a questionable losses to Illinois-Chicago on a neutral court(a team that also won at Illinois), at Quinnipiac and a 25-point blowout at Florida(that will leave a sour taste in their mouth).  Wins against Top 100 teams like Drexel, Davidson and Boston College have challenged the Rams so that maybe this time they are prepared for the stretch run in the A10 instead of caught off guard by it.

Saint Louis Head Coach Rick Majerus

Wednesday February 16th- vs. Dayton(12-3): The Flyers did not handle being the Atlantic 10 favorite very will last season, but are doing okay in their underdog roll.  They’ve tallied a lot of wins, most against chumps in front of the GREATEST FANS IN COLLEGE BASKETBALL, with three strong wins, at Mississippi and Seton Hall plus a home win against George Mason.  Dayton got absolutely drilled at Cincinnati and followed that up by a home loss to East Tennessee State, so the jury is still out on the Flyers.  Since they host Temple days before coming to Halton, the 49ers will again have a vulnerable Dayton team to beat up on at home.

Saturday February 19th- at Saint Louis(5-8): Rick Majerus’ squad started the season by giving the boot to two of his most talented players for getting into trouble with the law.  Saint Louis opened the season with a disappointing loss at home to Austin Peay, and since then have lost the games they should have and won the games they should have.  No strong victories and no killer losses(unless by 37 to Duke counts).  The could have trouble getting wins in the A10 with the middle of the conference up combined with travel partners like Xavier and Dayton.  What was supposed to be the Billikens breakthrough year in the Atlantic 10 will become a struggle to finish .500.

First of all, George Washington is terrible, and deservedly so. They’ve lost 3 straight in Halton, and that streak should continue. Rhode Island will be a tough road get for our boys.  We will beat Dayton, because losing in Halton Arena is Dayton’s trademark.   This Saint Louis team is very vulnerable, the players they suspended were team players, just not great citizens. A rare Niner win at Saint Louis is within reach, but history(aka resident downer J Felt) has taught us to assume otherwise. 49erFanatics 3rd-quarter prediction: 2-2

Quarter Four:

George Washington Head Coach Karl Hobbs

Wednesday February 23rd-  at George Washington(7-6): The rematch with George Washington could well be amidst a horrendous losing streak as the Colonials will have just played road games at La Salle and Massachusetts after hosting Richmond and playing at Charlotte.  Luckily for the Colonials, Fordham and  Saint Joseph’s will give them a run for the money as to who sits out the Atlantic 10 Tournament.

Saturday February 26th- vs. Richmond(11-4): Our home game with the Spiders will be with a team that could be rolling by winning six out of seven(or more).  Charlotte will be three days removed from a trip to Washington D.C. while Richmond will have been resting for a week after hosting St. Bonaventure.  This Kevin Anderson led squad has a chance to be the first time EVER, other than the 49ers, to win four in a row at Halton Arena. George Washington is only other team to win three in a row in 2003, 2006 and 2007.  The 49ers will need to impose their will and force the tempo to take down the Spiders in this one.

Wednesday March 2nd- at Xavier(8-4): Considering that nobody other than Xavier wins in the Cintas Center, don’t count on the Niners coming back with a victory.  In Xavier’s 4 previous games they have easy wins at Saint Joseph’s then at home against Fordham and La Salle before traveling to Dayton.  The Flyers will push the Musketeers to the edge, with any luck Charlotte will be facing a tired AND demoralized Xavier team.

Saturday March 5th- vs. Saint Joseph’s(5-8): Due to slight changes in Atlantic 10 opponents, we get to host a pitiful Saint Joseph’s team at home two years in a row.  Since starting conference play in 2009 at 7-1, Phil Martelli’s Hawks have suffered a Niner-esque 3-7 collapse followed by an 11-20 season and a not-so-hot start to this season.  Saint Joseph’s will struggle to gain any momentum throughout conference play(as in absolutely NONE), and will be coming to Halton Arena after hosting Richmond.  The Hawks may have already turned their TV’s on to watch the Atlantic 10 Tournament from home before taking the flight down from Philly, while the Niners will be looking for a impressive showing leading up to the A10 Tourney where, of course, they will go 4-0 on their way to the NCAA’s.

Once again, George Washington is terrible, and their home court won’t help them. Richmond, at home, before traveling to Xavier will be a test for the Niners, although this could be the year Charlotte’s defense can shut down Kevin Anderson but the Cintas Center is never an easy place to play.  Remember how when the ground was falling out from underneath the Lutz era and we still beat Saint Joeseph’s by 37 points? 49erFanatics 4th-quarter prediction: 3-1

Here’s the best part, you don’t have to know math to figure out Green Tinted Glasses’(very biased)  A10 Prediction for the 49ers, it’s 9-7.  After extensively going over the rest of the Atlantic 10 calender, here are a predicted order of finish along with predicted record, overall in parenthesis only counting D-I games.

Green Tinted Glasses Atlantic 10 Projection:

Coach Major has a chance to make some noise in his 1st A10 Season1. Temple 14-2(23-4)

1. Temple 14-2(24-6)
2. Richmond 13-3(24-7)
3. Xavier 12-4(20-10)
4. Rhode Island 11-5(20-10)
5. Dayton 10-6(22-9)
6. Charlotte 9-7(17-13)
7. St. Bonaventure 8-8(15-14)
8.  Massachusetts 8-8(15-13)
9. Duquesne 6-10(13-15)
10. Saint Louis 6-10(11-18)
11. La Salle 5-11(13-18)
12. George Washington 4-12(11-18)
13. Fordham 3-13(9-19)
13. Saint Joseph’s 3-13(8-22)

Yes, my friend, the day is finally here, it’s the day we can hate on a school we actually truly hate, George Washington University. But first, we have to go over UMass, a school that most of seem to hate, but not quite enough to comment on or really even vote. The truth is, it seems that most of us hate UMass but we aren’t sure why. We really haven’t had any moments in the A14 against them that really inspires hatred, but we still do.

The same can’t be said for the next school, which I think we can all agree is a team we all hate.

George Washington Colonials

Mascot: Colonials
Founded: 1821
Location: Washington, DC
Colors: Buff and Blue
2009-2010 record: 16-15 (6-10 conference)
2009-2010 vs. Charlotte: (1-1) Charlotte 72, GW 68 & GW 75, Charlotte 70
All time vs. Charlotte: 5-4

J Felt: I am what most people would call, “a level headed individual”, and I don’t get worked up about many things. With a few exceptions; slow people in the left lane, having nothing to eat for breakfast, losing to Hofstra or Monmouth, and of course, everything about George Washington University. Ever since 05-06, I have never hated any sports team as much as I hate them. Yes, even more than the Dallas Cowboys, the 1980 Russian hockey team, the New York Yankees and the cake-eating Hawks combined.

Of course, we’re supposed to really hate Cincinnati the most, but we aren’t playing them for awhile, and no team in the past half decade has come close to GW when it comes to inspiring hate. But how can I hate a team in A14 so much? It is, after all, just the A14.

It all stems back to the last regular season game in ’05-06. Charlotte was in need of a signature win to put it back into the NCAA conversation, and GW was going for the elusive 16-0 conference record. Time is dwindling down, Charlotte is leading in the last few seconds, and that fark tard Mike Hall starts tugging on Leemire’s jersey. Lee shrugs the first one off. Mike tugs again. What happened next we’ll just call the Elbow Incident. Then came overtime. GW tips in the game winner. They rush the floor. They lose in the A14 tourney. Get an 8 seed in the NCAAs and loses in the second round. Serves them right. Can you tell I’m still pissed off about that game?

Anyway, the next season we lose at home on ESPN2 at the last few seconds again. I remember waiting in the cold rain

Credit to peanutbutterflyers.blogspot.com for this humorous image

with 20 other people for that game. It’s actually the only memory I have from that season. Something about Los Turnover or something.

But it’s not just the games. It’s their obnoxious holier-than-thou fans. It’s the fact that they gave a scholarship to a guy named Pops. It’s the official color called “Buff”. It’s Karl Hobbs’ complaining to Bobby Lutz two seasons ago that we were running up the score. It’s everything about them. Even the fat lady that wore a George Washington jersey in the front row of the Alumni section (couldn’t Bobby have pulled a Roy Williams and have her ejected?). I’m so glad we beat them at the last minute this past season at home, or else my HateMeter would be broken by now.

To finish, I hate George Washington. They get a 10 on the 49erFanatics.com HateMeter. Thomas Jefferson was more important to our country anyway.

NLP: Normally when I have some hatred to work off, I take it out on innocent bystanders.  I mean, I work at a hospital.  It’s convenient to just carve them up and point them in the right direction to crawl for treatment.  Problem solved and more revenue for my company/keep my job.  Perfect world!  Except of course it’s never that simple.  There’s always something out that that gets you completely worked up in a lather and there’s nothing you can do about it.  You just hate, HATE, HATE.

That’s the state of the world with George Washington.  Really it’d be a better world without them.  Overrated school in a crappy part of a crappy city that sucks the rest of the country dry.  FBI alert:  I just like to complain, I’m not a turrurist.  Anyway.  Yeah they suck.  The hatred started early with the Colonoscopies.  The president of the Pooptubers pitched a passive-aggressive fit about Charlotte joining the A10.  Apparently this sycophant of society, trying to suck up to elite institutions like oh, University of Phoenix, felt Charlotte was below A10 standards.  So ass-hattery was already in place.

Yes, that one, #12, pull his jersey.

Then there’s the basketball program.  Coached by Karl Hobbs, who’s basically a crack-baby version of an Ewok, the Rear Admirals are a band of punks and thugs on the basketball court.  J Felt did a nice job of pointing that out with the Mike Hall facking assault on Leemire.  That’s bad enough, but then the refs come in and jacked it up even more by calling a BS technical ex post facto and not calling the very intentional intentional foul on Hall, who intentionally fouled Goldwire.  Intentionally.  Kind of like how Hobbs intentionally looks like a completely retarded fool on the sideline who needs a gift card to Jos. A Bank or hell, Men’s Warehouse.  Get some clothes that fit you stinking Ewok clone.  The best part was their fans rushing the court.  Way to celebrate your impending first round exit after stealing a win you didn’t deserve because you got away with thugging up a player.

Then they go sign Me’Angelo’s brother.  How’d that work out for you?  You guys plain suck, I hate you, and it’s hilarious your administration doesn’t have the testicular fortitude to fire a useless coach who can no longer bring in the kind of thugs and misfits he needs to win.  Hate?  9.  Only because I’m saving room to hate them a little more.

And now, a guest entry from a man whose hate knows no bounds…Lew… DISCLAIMER: GTG.net is only providing a means for this entry to be read, and we cannot be held responsible for any hurt feelings or offended people. You really need thicker skin, anyway.

Lew: When I saw the ‘Why We Hate” series pop up on GTG, I knew that I had to get involved.  You see, I’ve come to be a fairly recognizable face in section 104.  I’d love for that to be something that could go to my head, but a seven-year-plan is hardly something to brag about (raises a pint).  So, ladies and gentlemen, straight from the desk of whatever you call me: Mr. Obnoxious, the Whiteboard Guy, the idiot in the front row of 104 who just will not give it a rest… or just plain Lew – I’ll try to put my feelings for the Gwashers into words.  They may not be work-safe words, but I’ll try.

            How do I hate thee, Colonials?  Let me count the ways:

I can go on all day about Trachtenberg (George President Emeritus) trying to keep us out of the A10… yeah, we’re academically inferior and all that.  That explains why our athletes currently have the highest GPA of any program in the A1 0, right?  But I’ll kindly shut it and get off of that soapbox, because that guy is just not worth our time.

I hate George because they are a mar on our great forefather’s name.  Notice I refuse to refer to them as anything but “George”?  That’s because George Washington (the man) deserves to have his name mentioned in an esteemed fashion, not some cradle of filth in Foggy Bottom.  Take a history class, kids.  Your university’s namesake fought, and would have easily given his life, to ensure that his children and his children’s children would never have to be referred to as “Colonials.”  Yet, you slap our first President in the face by naming your athletic teams that?  Here is some advice:

And then came the elbow game.  Now, now, I know… it isn’t George’s fault that the referees are all asshats, but we’ll blame them anyway.  Why?  Because they’re George and, therefore, they are at fault for all that is not bright and sunny in the world.  Cloudy days?  That’s George’s fault.  Server trips and spills beer all over your table?  George’s fault.  Global warming, antarctic whaling, and depletion of the Ozone layer… George’s fault.  The previously mentioned fire in which I told George to die in?  Yes, that’s George’s fault as well.  Kim Jong Il?  I can’t safely blame that on George, but I can guess that he’s a huge fan.

It isn’t so much the elbow, itself… it is the court rush.  Really?  I mean, yeah, I get it… you went undefeated in conference play, and that is impressive.  Cool beans, way to go, now STFU.  Is it really worth the risk?  I mean, all those students on that floor… it isn’t like that is a shiny new arena.  Watching on TV, I feared for the lives of those students!  That building just can’t take that much excitement!

I could keep going and going, but it really is all one ramble: their players are thugs, they play like a basketball game broke out of a street fight.  Somehow, some way, they always get away with punches, shoves, kicks, triple suplexes… if it’s an all-out brawl, I take George any day.  Their ‘arena’ is a crumbling pile of shit, their floppy hats look like a horribly failed Dallas Cowboy’s game day promo, and their mascot… well, their mascot… their mascot is a fucking George Washington (the man) blow up doll.  Seriously, I am not joking.  There is nothing I could even say about this, it speaks on its own.

On the 49erfanatics.com hate meter, I have to rate my hate for George as a 12.  I’d rather be dead in Charlotte than alive in Foggy Bottom on any day of the week, and that is a fact.

An image from today's game.

As you may have been able to figure out, GreenTintedGlasses.net has started to let loose a little bit. Things were so stodgy around here for awhile there, but with this new brave world of At-Larges and Top Four in Conference, we figured it’s time to change things up a bit.

But one thing hasn’t changed, we still HATE George Washington. You should too. Until we beat them by 30 points one day, I will continue to despise the school named after one of our Founding Fathers.

“You guys really need to get over that game in ’06. Leemire DID throw an elbow, you know.”

You know what? Screw you. I’m still pissed about that.

In other words, we HATE George Washington, and the first game this year just made it worse, despite our victory. George Washington led for most of the game by playing tough, physical ball and taking us out of our game plan. And when I say, “tough, physical ball” I mean “beat the shit out of DiJuan if he had the ball.” We still won though, which shows the character of this team. We really have a way of pulling out the close ones, Duquesne excluded. We have always found a way to get that key steal, basket, or defensive stand if the game was close near the end. Look at the Saint Joseph’s game, we hit about 100 key baskets.

You ask “will we win this game?” and to be honest, I don’t know. This has FAIL written all over it, just follow the equation…

Heated Rivalry + Away Game + Tough Physical Defense + MASN = Niners FAIL

But here’s the deal, we’re still going to win. We finally broke the MASN curse with Fordham, and Derrio is due for a big game, and that’ll be today. Our predictions are below, leave yours in the comments.

J Felt – Charlotte 81, GW 74. Derrio goes off, that’s all you need to know.

letsgoNINERS11 – A pretty heated rivalry is starting to form, and a good ole fashioned Niner beatdown in Foggy Bottom becomes the next chapter. Charlotte 75 – GW 67

D-Fo – Last game, Martelli said the Hawks came into Halton and played an “angry” team.  Wrong.  That’s not anger.  That’s Swagger, homes.  Charlotte 80, GW 70.

HP – Wolf Blitzer sits in his seat and is amazed at the 49ers’ rediscovered prowess, Good Guys 75, Foggy Bottoms 63.

JRitchie – Charlotte’s finally realized that NCAA hopes are slipping away, the Niners use that desperation in Foggy Bottom for a big win Charlotte 85-GW 68

GW's backcourt handing out another mugging.

Part II of perhaps the most intense on-court rivalry the Niners have had since joining the A10 is set to renew again Saturday night at 6 PM in Charles Dump Arena in Washington against the George Washington Colonials.  The Niners find themselves again in a must-win situation if they want to maintain any hopes of an at-large NCAA bid, a goal that seemed to be a distant memory until Ian Andersen and Gokhan Sirin erupted for 30 points as the Niners thrashed the Saint Joseph’s Hawks Wednesday in Halton Arena.  MASN, our favorite network to lose on, will provide TV coverage.

The last time these two teams met earlier this month it was a hard fought contest which left DiJuan Harris searching for one of CMPD’s finest to press charges for assault and battery.  The intense GW defense, which at times bordered on dirty, frustrated the Niners and had the game all but secured at the 1:25 mark leading by 5.  The Niner backcourt would have none of that, forcing a pair of turnovers and hitting clutch foul shots to secure a well-deserved 72-68 victory.

In the rematch, the key for the Niners is going to be pretty simple -contain Damian Hollis.  He’s an absolute Niner-killer and was certainly a handful scoring 23 points including 4 for 5 from 3 point land.  He’ll be a difficult matchup for whoever guards him, as he’s a bit too athletic for Braswell, Spears, and Jones, and a bit too tall for Wilderness and Dewhurst.  I would expect Lutz to again dare him to shoot from outside, although that’s increasingly becoming a bad idea has Hollis recently hit 6 of 10 from outside against Fordham.

Freshmen. Lasan Kromah and Dwayne Smith will also merit considerable attention as both appear to be improving their play as the season progresses, looking more like Sophomores than first years.  Smith in particular has steadily improved his scoring, hitting double figures in 5 of his last 8 games including 21 points against a depleted La Salle squad.

For more on the GW squad, visit the previous pre-game.

Looking at the Niners offensively, it’s a question of which team will show up.  The team dazzled fans with their shooting against an inferior Saint Joseph’s squad to reverse a trend of awful shooting recently.  Even Ian Andersen, who’s struggled throughout the season found the range.  Hopefully that will continue as the Niners absolutely need scoring off the bench, particularly from outside.  Though Ian’s struggles on defense are well-documented, he does know the offense well and if he’s hitting his shots, it’s worth having him out there.

This game is going to be war.  A lot will depend on how closely the refs call it.  The  Niners will prefer to score at the charity stripe and get calls for all the bumps and handchecks DiJuan Harris will undoubtedly receive.  For vets of the CUSA days, the Colonials play us a lot like UAB used to play us.  Constant bumping and reaching for the ball.  It also seemed that the refs would swallow their whistles and let our players get mugged.  Honestly I’m expecting nothing different.  It will be interesting to see if the zest for the game the team showed Wednesday against the Hawks can survive the physical and down-right dirty play of GW.  If it does, expect the Niners to gut out another victory.