Photo by Ohad Ben-Yoseph
December is pressing on, which means only a few more games before most teams take a holiday break and begin their conference games. There were a few big local games in the last week, plus a suspension and some big wins over out-of-conference foes. Look for more college hoops coverage soon as we begin a series where we attend a home game in each of the area’s colleges and talk the experience: the stadium, the atmosphere, the fans, the pre- and post-game options. We start with the University of the District of Columbia next week.
Maryland Men: It was a rough, rough week for the Terrapins (5-4, 0-0 ACC). After coming off a four-game winning streak that included capturing the Paradise Jam championship, Maryland was no match for fifth-ranked Ohio State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Facing the Buckeyes (8-0, 0-0 Big Ten) in their first true road game of the season, nothing went the Terrapins way as they left Columbus with a 76-60 loss. Just four days later, the Terps lost their second heartbreaker of the season against George Washington (8-1, 0-0 Atlantic-10) in what is most likely Maryland’s final BB&T Classic appearance. After being down 14 points, the Terps mounted a ferocious comeback, going on a 19-2 run and tying the game with 20 seconds left on the clock. On the next and final possession, Colonials senior guard Maurice Creek hit a buzzer-beater jump shot and gave GW its eighth win in nine games. The Terps now head up to Chestnut Hill to face Boston College (3-6, 0-0 ACC) in their final ACC opener this Thursday evening before resuming its non-conference schedule against Florida Atlantic at the Comcast Center on Saturday. — Brett Gellman
Maryland Women: The eighth-ranked Lady Terps (9-1, 0-0 ACC) continued their winning ways with a 67-55 victory against Ohio State (6-5, 0-0 Big Ten) in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge in College Park last Wednesday. Alyssa Thomas continued to shine, collecting her eighth consecutive double-double with 25 points and 12 rebounds. What was even more impressive, however, was her triple-double (!) against Siena (4-4, 0-0 MAAC) on Monday. With 12 points, 13 boards, and 11 assists, Thomas became just the seventh player ever in Maryland basketball history (both men’s and women’s) to reach that historic accolade. The Terps host Delaware State this Saturday at the Comcast Center. — Brett Gellman
George Washington Men: The Colonials (8-1, 0-0 Atlantic 10) are hot right now, getting more exposure and top 25 poll votes after beating Rutgers 93-87 at the Smith Center and the Terps on that last second shot. The win over Maryland was GW’s first since 2005 and the first game between the two since 2008. The fan base seems fired up too, as both the student section and regular GW fans outnumbered Maryland fans at the Verizon Center. GW has beaten four teams in power conferences this year (Maryland, Rutgers, Miami and Creighton), almost as many as the program had in all of Karl Hobbs’ ten-year tenure (then again, Hobbs had three consecutive NCAA tournament trips and a conference title.) Their success has so far come because or their versatility, with five players scoring more than 8 points per game, led by Maurice Creek’s 17.3. Creek has been a popular story in the hoops media, too: he looked to be a star at Indiana before getting repeatedly injured and transferring to GW. The Colonials face Boston University today at the Smith Center. — Andrew Wiseman
George Washington Women: After what looked like a promising win over then No. 10 California, the Colonials (5-4, 0-0 A-10) have stumbled a bit, going 1-2 over the last week with losses to crosstown foe Georgetown and Towson, and a win over Loyola (Md.). In the two losses, the Colonials struggled in the second half, showing 28% and 23% against the Hoyas and Tigers respectively. Megan Nipe, however, has been great for the team, scoring 47 over the last three games. The Colonials next face Morgan State at home on the 14th. — Andrew Wiseman
Georgetown Men: After a surprising loss against Northeastern a few weeks ago, the Hoyas (6-2, 0-0 Big East) swiftly turned it around with a five-game winning streak. Then again, their most recent victories have come against High Point and Colgate, but you still cannot discount the upset against then-ranked No. 10 VCU, a marquee win no matter how you slice it. Georgetown is in for a very big test when they enter Allen Fieldhouse as they face No. 13 Kansas in less than two weeks. In the meantime, the Hoyas host Elon a week from today. — Brett Gellman
Georgetown Women: In what was their toughest test yet, the Lady Hoyas (6-3, 0-0 Big East) fell to No. 10 Penn State (6-2, 0-0 Big Ten), 77-68, last Sunday. Georgetown then bounced back against Yale (4-6, 0-0 Ivy), winning on the road 66-65. The team hosts Michigan State on Friday, December 20. — Brett Gellman
George Mason Men: The Patriots (5-3, 0-0 A10) have struggled lately, dropping a close game to South Florida and losing to Oklahoma by 15. They just lost a player too, as reserve forward Anali Okoloji was suspended indefinitely for stepping on a South Florida player. The incident led to a technical foul and 6 straight Bulls points, helping bring USF back into the game, which they eventually won. They next face No. 17 Iowa State on December 22, so coach Paul Hewitt has some time to try right the ship. — Andrew Wiseman
American Men: Tenleytown looks to have another middling season, as the Eagles (3-5, 0-0 Patriot League) are not playing particularly well. Over the last week they beat Howard 76-53 but were topped by Brown 72-67. However, they’ve been without leading scorer Jesse Reed for the last two games due to the death of a family member. The Eagles next face a tough St. Mary’s team on December 19, starting a west coast swing. — Andrew Wiseman
Howard Men: While things have been not been great in Tenleytown, they’re worse at Howard. The Bison (2-9, 0-1 MEAC) have yet to beat a Division 1 team, with their only two wins coming at the beginning of the season against Gwynedd-Mercy and Washington (Md.), both Division III teams (i.e. small schools that don’t offer athletic scholarships.) Things don’t get much easier as they next face Central Florida on the 11th, followed by Fordham on the 14th. On the bright side, freshman James Daniel is scoring 20.5 points per game, the third highest scoring average for a freshman behind Duke phenom Jabari Parker and VMI’s QJ Peterson. Maybe better things are ahead for HU. — Andrew Wiseman
American, Howard, George Mason Women: The Eagles (6-2, 0-0 Patriot) are on a three-game winning streak and are on break until Monday, December 16 when they will host Mount St. Mary’s. Meanwhile, the Bison (3-6, 0-0 MEAC) broke their five-game losing streak against New Hampshire and are off until the 19th when they go on the road against Temple. The Patriots (5-5, 0-0 Atlantic-10) have dropped four of their last five and are on break until the 21st when they go on the road against UAB. — Brett Gellman
