Up Next: George Mason

[hoopfan]

Re: Up Next: George Mason

We have a lot to work on yet. Primarily defending the perimeter and establishing an inside presence. Jake looked good in the post last night, but he hasn't shown he is willing to do it night in and night out. When he is inside, we are remarkably better on offense.

As far as defense, we gave up 45 of the 59 points Northern Colorado scored to 3 undersized guards who were not nearly the athletes we have. The one little guy drove and scored in the lane repeatedly with no help from our big guys. I would imagine every team we play going forward will be more athletic than Northern Colorado was. I'm guessing the coaching staff noticed this problem as well and hopefully it gets corrected soon.

I'm excited to see how we progress over the next 2 weeks.

[Ten4Ten]

Re: Up Next: George Mason

Hey guys, I'm a George Mason fan who created an account here when we played 2 years ago. I enjoyed chatting with you guys then and I thought I'd come back.

First, we're the Patriots, not the Colonels (That's George Washington U.). The Colonial is our league name. It's a common mistake.

There may be a change at PG on Saturday - sophomore Corey Edwards started in place of Allen on Tuesday night, with mixed results. Point guard play has been a problem for us since the beginning of last season, and Coach Hewitt is getting frustrated. At this point, we don't know whether Edwards or Allen will start. Allen is the better scorer and uses his size to drive the lane, but Edwards, while undersized, seems to be the better distributor.

The keys to the game for Mason (and really the rest of the season) include limiting turnovers, rotating the ball on offense rather than standing around and dribbling aimlessly, drawing a higher number of FT attempts than we have been, and finding consistent secondary scorers behind Sherrod Wright.

Our team has shown a lack of consistency so far. When they focus on defense and move the ball on offense, they're very good, but they're prone to mental lapses. Case in point, we had New Mexico on the ropes, then gave up 6 points in the last 13 second to lose. We also blew all of a 19 point lead against URI and barely escaped with a win. More recently, on Sunday we battled Maryland for a good 28 minutes, got the lead, then eased off and lost by 7.

I always enjoy CAA/Valley matchups, and this one shouldn't disappoint. I think, playing at home, Mason wins, but it will be too close for comfort.

[jegbomb52]

Re: Up Next: George Mason

This team found itself offensively last night. The aggression motion were better than at any point during the Jacobson Era.

Guys, we're in good shape. Lets not get all out of shape becasue we lost to Louisville and Memphis...

Side note on the Illinois State/Louisville game-- If Dieng is on the floor, Carmichael is on the bench and Louisville wins big. We didn't play the same team...

This team didn't find anything last night, the 3 ball was falling, period.

I know that sounds harsh, however, lets wait until we pick up a W against a team that is not a doormat of a ****ty conference (UNC)...

[Trapped in California]

Re: Up Next: George Mason

Sorry to be Debbie Downer, but one game is not a trend. By the time the UNLV game wraps up, you should have a good idea of how the season will play out.

[Purple member]

Re: Up Next: George Mason

The keys to the game for Mason (and really the rest of the season) . . . rotating the ball on offense rather than standing around and dribbling aimlessly, . . .

Welcome back, this is something that gets kicked around here every game.

[Kyle]

Re: Up Next: George Mason

Trapped is right. One game is not a trend, especially when the one game was against a bad team.

There is really no need to speculate about our identity though, the next five games will tell us all we need to know about this team.

[jnutt]

Re: Up Next: George Mason

trapped, i'd read your posts but your profile pic always creeps me out

[Trapped in California]

Re: Up Next: George Mason

I know - that dude is rather hairy.

[jnutt]

Re: Up Next: George Mason

creeper

(character limit)

[jnutt]

Re: Up Next: George Mason

someone pointed out that Michigan State always plays very tough non-con games to prep themselves for the NCAA Tournament later in the year. Looks like we could be doing the same. Team seems confident even if all y'all ain't

[06panther10]

someone pointed out that Michigan State always plays very tough non-con games to prep themselves for the NCAA Tournament later in the year. Looks like we could be doing the same. Team seems confident even if all y'all ain't

Michigan State can get into the tournament with a 19-11 record--we can't.

[jnutt]

Re: Up Next: George Mason

Michigan State can get into the tournament with a 19-11 record--we can't.

this is true, but the BIG is also deeper than the MVC.

[Gboom23]

Re: Up Next: George Mason

someone pointed out that Michigan State always plays very tough non-con games to prep themselves for the NCAA Tournament later in the year. Looks like we could be doing the same. Team seems confident even if all y'all ain't

This may be true, but it means you have to take care of business in conference play. And we don't have room for error in the Valley like Michigan State does in the Big 10.

[jnutt]

Re: Up Next: George Mason

This may be true, but it means you have to take care of business in conference play. And we don't have room for error in the Valley like Michigan State does in the Big 10.

i agree. thats why we can't have another multi-team tie for 3rd. Yet, the MVC seems to be deeper now than in years past. CU and WSU are well ahead of the field but having them be in the Top 25 only makes the league better

[Hail Our Panthers]

Re: Up Next: George Mason

To me, this year looks like another log-jam in the middle. Drake and Evansville are pretty tough. Even SIU and Bradley are looking respectable so far. There there will be no easy wins, save a couple at home. 10 wins would be a decent accomplishment, IMO, and 11 would be a pretty solid effort. Hopefully, us being a little older will help us win a few more games on the road.