A college basketball season is often many seasons in one where a team can reinvent itself, from nonconference play to league play to the second go-round against conference foes. And no local school has seen more seasons thus far than George Mason (9-7, 2-1 Atlantic 10).
From a 4-0 start that included an upset win at No. 20 Maryland, to a 0-5 stretch that included a pair of losses in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. From a 3-0 stretch that included a win at Georgia in Athens, to a stretch where they had 10 days off before losing at then-No. 6 Kansas before having 15 more days off.
First-year Coach Kim English might be forgiven if he needs to be reminded what month it is due to the season’s roller coaster ride, but after a tough loss at George Washington (Colonials ended the day on a 13-2 run) the Patriots have posted a pair of conference wins: They held Dayton to 31% shooting and 5-23 from three-point range in a 50-49 victory over the Flyers while turning over St. Joseph’s 17 times in a 77-71 win over the Hawks.
Mason also has big man Josh Oduro back in the lineup after he missed the game at G.W. due to injury: The junior from nearby Gainesville, Virginia, tallied a double-double in the win over Dayton and poured in 31 points (one shy of his career-high set in December against Navy) against St. Joe’s.
“There’s not a post guy in America that I would trade for Josh Oduro,” Coach Kim English told me in the preseason. “I think he’s that good. I think he’s that special. He’s a hard worker. He’s incredibly humble. He’s shown great toughness and competitiveness. He’s our kind of guy.”
The Patriots try to sustain their 2-1 conference start Wednesday when they host preseason A-10 favorite St. Bonaventure. The rescheduling of multiple postponed games means they’re in the middle of a four-games-in-nine-days stretch, while also playing a home-and-home series with Richmond in February. Better late than never.
This week’s starting five:
Up top: Auburn’s win over Kentucky propelled the Tigers to No. 1 on my ballot this past week, and I wasn’t alone as Coach Bruce Pearl’s team is atop the writers’ rankings for the first time in program history. Gonzaga, Arizona, Baylor and Kansas round out this week’s top five. Illinois was the big dip on my ballot going from 13th to 25th (losing twice, including at a Maryland that was 1-6 in the Big Ten, will do that) while the toughest omissions were U.Conn., Murray State, BYU and Loyola of Chicago. This week’s “constructive feedback” came from Huskies fans upset they weren’t ranked despite not having a victory over a Big East foe that currently has a winning record since Dec. 21, plus Texas Tech faithfuls bummed I had the No. 13 Red Raiders No. 15 behind Villanova (I shudder to imagine the emails directed to the poor souls who had Tech No. 20 this week). CollegePollTracker.com is where you can find my ballot every week, and unlike my Girl Scout cookie rankings (due in March) it’s often a work in progress and not always perfect. But passionate fans are just one of the reasons why I love covering this sport.
Going inside: Georgetown (6-11, 0-6 Big East) let an eight-point second half lead evaporate against then-No. 11 Villanova on Saturday before never taking the lead in a 96-73 loss at U.Conn. (they were down by as many as 32). The Hoyas have never started conference play 0-6, but the eight-time Big East Tournament champs (including this past March) haven’t posted a winning league record since 2014-15. This year’s team may lead the conference in three-point shooting, but is last in the Big East at defending the three points allowed, while ranking seventh in rebounding margin and 10th in turnover margin. And columnists from The Washington Post to ESPN.com are swirling around with articles about the decline of the program in year five for Coach Patrick Ewing. The Hoyas play four of their next five games against schools with losing league records — if they can’t make headway in that stretch, the already bitter winter could reach new levels of bitterness.
On the perimeter: Virginia (12-8, 6-4 ACC) is learning how the rest of the world lives this season. The Cavaliers haven’t had eight losses before Feb. 1 since the 2011-12 season (Coach Tony Bennett’s second winter in Charlottesville). The program that has finished first or second in the ACC seven times in the last eight years is in seventh place halfway through conference play. They still boast the league’s stingiest defense (allowing just 59 points per game) but have had lapses (45 points coughed up in the first half Saturday against N.C. State) and are vulnerable on the glass (13th in the ACC in rebounding margin). Their offensive pace has never always focused on quality of possessions over quantity of points, but this year’s club ranks ninth in the ACC in shooting and 11th from three-point range. Right now, they’re projected to miss the NCAA Tournament by the “Bracketologists” but they have some resume-building opportunities ahead (most notably two games against No. 9 Duke in February).
Who’s open: Maryland (11-9, 3-6 Big Ten) has gotten off the conference mat with back-to-back wins over then-No. 17 Illinois and Rutgers. “I think our team is continuing to grow and continuing to develop,” interim Coach Danny Manning said after Tuesday’s 68-60 win over the Scarlet Knights. “I’m just proud of the group’s belief-and fight-in each other when we step out there on the court.” Something about the second time around: They’re 3-0 when playing a Big Ten foe for the second time. And when Fatts Russell gets going, good things happen as the graduate transfer is averaging 20 points with 6 assists in their Big Ten wins while netting 11 with 5 in their league losses. Saturday the Terps tangle with an Indiana team that has an upset of No. 4 Purdue but lost by 18 at home to an underachieving Michigan three days later.
Last shot: The best rivalry not talked about enough in men’s college basketball is down Interstate 95 in the commonwealth’s capital city. Richmond (13-7, 4-3 Atlantic 10) and VCU (11-6, 4-2) have been outstanding programs over the years under multiple head coaches and this year both are fighting upstream in an Atlantic 10 led by Preseason No. 23 St. Bonaventure and current No. 25 Davidson. Saturday, the two schools square off on the Spiders’ home floor. With a 4 p.m. tipoff on the CBS Sports Network, I’ll hope to catch the second half somewhere after covering Maryland-Indiana.
