Georgetown is rolling as the region’s last remaining
undefeated college basketball team. Photo by michael starghill.

Upon entering the last month of 2009, teams have pretty much shaken off the rust, and are really settling in to their identities. There are always exceptions. For instance, is there a greater college basketball enigma in the region than George Mason? Not that we can tell. Mason has followed an up-and-down (albeit respectable) experience at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off with three poor efforts: two losses against Tulane and George Washington, and an ugly five-point victory in their conference opener against UNC-Wilmington. Despite the inconsistent play, George Mason still has some firepower — returning scoring, assists and steals leader Cam Long is a very capable leader for the Patriots — and are still undefeated at the Patriot Center, where they have seven of their next nine. Can George Mason still be a tournament team? Absolutely — if Mason takes care of business in conference play, there’s no reason they can’t once again be a team that no one wants to be paired up with on Selection Sunday.

The Hi:

• Speaking of the CAA: it’s going to be a real battle this season, so if you aren’t paying attention, get on it. Virginia Commonwealth, who was probably the conference favorite after its big win against Oklahoma, hit a bit of a snag in a fantastic game against William and Mary. Outside specialist Ed Nixon missed a three at the buzzer, after the Tribe fought back from a 13-point deficit at the half with six threes, shooting 56.5 percent in the second twenty minutes. If you really like college hoops, but tire of big-conference monotony, this is the league for you.
• VMI Century Watch: The defense-optional Keydets pushed the number of times they have scored or allowed 100 points to 6, but still managed a split in four games since our last check-in. Big boys Virginia Tech and Seton Hall get their cracks this week; a similar split would be a massive success for VMI.
• I gave Virginia Tech some grief a couple of weeks ago about their schedule. But you can only beat the teams you have on the slate, and the Hokies, for the most part, have. Despite a stumble on the road against Temple (always a tough team to play in North Philadelphia), Tech have since taken care of business against Iowa and Georgia. Seth Greenberg is a solid coach who always seems to get the most out of his players, and with guard Malcolm Delaney (21.2 PPG) leading the way, the Hokies are going to be a tough team to deal with in the ACC and beyond.
• Howard won a game! Paul Kirkpatrick dunked home the winner with five seconds left to lift the now 1-8 Bison to a two-point win over Hampton. At Madison Square Garden, no less! We’re just glad that we were able to put Hampton in the Hi section at least once this season — good on ya, Bison.