George Mason capped a successful holiday week by beating South Carolina yesterday to take third-place in the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Fla. Will Thomas paced the Patriots with 22 points and 11 rebounds, solidifying his place on the All-Tournament team. George Mason kicked off their tournament with an 87-77 win over 18th-ranked Kansas State. John Vaughan’s 21 points led the team, which put all five starters in double figures. Folarin Campbell’s 25 points made…
The mid-November start to the NCAA basketball season tends to get lost in the universe of sports coverage. This is probably due to the staggered opening nights around the country, but can also be attributed to competition with other sports — college football entering its stretch run, the NFL in midseason, even the NBA’s opening weeks garner more attention than college hoops. We’re not about to let this exciting time slip through the cracks. With…
After a thoroughly dominating March, the Florida Gators cut down the nets for the second straight year. Meanwhile, in the DCist Reader-Staff Bracketfest, reader Seth Rappaport had the honor of cutting down the virtual nets. Seth built a commanding lead with perfect first round brackets in three of the four regions, then dealt his finishing blow by picking a perfect Final Four. Coming in second was our own Hayden Alfano, bracket manager extrordinaire. Thanks Hayden,…
By DCist contributor Hayden Alfano Georgetown is the area’s last hope for this year’s NCAA men’s basketball title. The Hoyas advanced to the Sweet 16 with a 62-55 win on Saturday over Boston College. After a first half in which he scored just two points and was saddled with two fouls, Georgetown center Roy Hibbert dominated the second 20 minutes. Hibbert finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds, and added the assist on this Patrick…
College basketball fans on the Hilltop and in College Park are pleased, while the ones in Foggy Bottom probably wish they hadn’t turned on the TV. The Hoyas pounded Belmont and will face Boston College, while the Terps handled Davidson and will face Butler, and the Colonials were clobbered by Vanderbilt, losing by 33. And over at the DCist Reader-Staff Bracketfest, Kyle Mahaney is in the lead, having picked every game except Butler over…
Mason’s Magic Slips Away For 38 minutes Monday night, the George Mason Patriots did what they needed to do to complete their improbable four-game run through the Colonial Athletic Association and make a return trip to the NCAA Tournament. They lost it all in 14 seconds. That’s how long it took for Virginia Commonwealth’s Eric Maynor to steal the ball from Dre Smith, drive downcourt, hit a layup while getting fouled by Gabe Norwood,…
A weekend full of college basketball saw all four major D.C. area programs hosting games against teams ahead of them in the respective conference standings. Two emerged with convincing wins, while two others suffered disappointing losses. On Saturday, Georgetown leapfrogged No. 11 Marquette into second place in the Big East with a 76-58 victory in front of an announced 17,867 at the Phone Booth. Jeff Green helped break open a close one around the six-minute…
Colossal Meltdown for GW Any time you blow a 20 point second half lead, it makes for a particularly ugly loss. GW’s 74-65 loss to USC in the John Wooden Classic on Saturday qualifies as such. This one was just plain nasty. Two minutes into the second half, GW held a commanding 36-16 lead against their counterparts from USC. Up until that point, the Colonials had played sparkling defense, protecting the basket while forcing the…
This entry was written by DCist contributor Hayden Alfano The clock finally struck midnight for George Mason. The greatest Cinderella run in the history of the tournament came to an unceremonious end Saturday night, as Florida beat the Patriots 73-58 in Indianapolis to advance to the national championship game. After a competitive first half that saw the Gators take a five-point lead into the break, Florida’s Lee Humphrey hit a trio of three-pointers to break…
This entry was written by DCist contributor Hayden Alfano Playing as they do in the poorly-regarded Atlantic 10 conference, George Washington is often overlooked when the conversation turns to D.C. hoops, particularly since they play in the long shadows cast by Georgetown and Maryland, two successful programs in the nation’s “power” conferences. But the Colonials may just be the best the area has to offer. With an 81-62 over Rhode Island on Saturday, GW ran…