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Game Preview - George Washington vs. George Mason

Writer's picture: Zach PenriceZach Penrice

Game 23 - George Washington (15-7) vs. George Mason (17-5) 


Nuts & Bolts 

  • Date: February 5, 2025

  • Time: 7:00 p.m. ET 

  • Venue: Charles E. Smith Center - Washington, DC

  • How to Watch: ESPN+

  • Matchup History: George Washington leads all-time series 17-11

  • Last Meeting: George Mason def. George Washington 80-77 in 2OT on 1/18/25

  • Prediction: George Washington 62, George Mason 69

  • Follow Along on Twitter 

 

  • Head Coach: Chris Caputo (3rd season, 46-40 record at George Washington) 

  • Record: 15-7 (4-5, 9th in Atlantic 10)

  • Last Time Out: Lost @ La Salle 73-67 on 2/1/25

  • Player to Watch: Rafael Castro


George Washington has struggled to really get going in conference play. 


The Revolutionaries are 4-5 in the A10, having lost one, won two, lost three, won two, and enter Wednesday night’s matchup with George Mason having lost on Saturday against La Salle on the road. 


The inconsistent play is typical for the conference, which sends most teams up and down throughout the year. However, the frustration remains for Chris Caputo’s team; four out of GW’s five losses in conference play have been by eight points or less, including an 80-77 loss in double overtime at the hands of local rival, George Mason. 


The Patriots sit atop the Atlantic 10 standings at 8-1 in the league. Unlike GW, George Mason has found itself on the right side of one-score games, with six of its eight conference wins coming by eight points or less, including two wins in overtime. 


The Revs and Patriots squared off just 18 days ago, playing a back-and-forth game in which GW trailed by ten within the first eight minutes before eventually leading by ten with 13 minutes to play in the game. 


Caputo’s team failed to convert a field goal over the final 4:45 of the game, scoring just three points, all from the foul line, during that stretch. The game went into overtime tied at 61 after neither team scored during the final 85 seconds of regulation. 


In the first overtime, GW never led and trailed by as many as four, before coming back to tie the game at 69 in the final five seconds thanks to clutch free throws by Rafael Catro. 


In the second overtime, GW continued to trail but had the ball down by one with under ten seconds to go. The Revs had three shots for the win in the final ten seconds, but Christian Jones, Sean Hansen, and Jacoi Hutchinson all failed to convert as the Patriots escaped with an 80-77 double overtime win. 


George Washington now has an opportunity to level the score on its home court. The inconsistent Revs have knocked off two of the top four teams in the conference, but have also lost to three of the bottom five. 


If GW can continue to clamp down on defense, where it is significantly improved in 2024-25, and convert shots while taking care of the basketball, they’ll have a great chance to add another notch to the belt and take down the top team in the conference on Wednesday night. 

 

  • Head Coach: Tony Skinn (2nd season, 37-17 record at George Mason)

  • Record: 17-5 (8-1, 1st in Atlantic 10)

  • Last Time Out: Won @ Davidson 64-60 on 2/1/25

  • Player to Watch: Darius Maddox


George Mason hasn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since Jim Larranaga was the head coach in 2011.


Of course, it was Larranaga who led the Patriots to the Final Four in 2006 on one of the greatest Cinderella runs of all time and eventually moved on to coach Miami before retiring earlier this season. 


With Larranaga’s longtime understudy on the other side in Chris Caputo, second-year Head Coach Tony Skinn will take his team into DC on Wednesday night sitting atop the Atlantic 10 Conference standings at 17-5 overall and 8-1 in the league, with VCU only one game behind.  


In his first season in taking over the program from Kim English, who left for the head coaching job at Providence, Skinn led the Patriots to a 20-12 season, matching English’s win total from the year prior and putting together George Mason’s best winning percentage season since 2012-13.


In year two, the program has taken another step forward. Skinn is just three wins shy of matching his year one win total still with nine games to play. 

The team is winning close low-scoring games thanks to one of the best defenses in the country. The Patriots are giving up 62.1 PPG on average, good for 8th in the nation and 1st in the A10. 

Besides that, George Mason ranks 22nd nationally in rebounding margin, out-rebounding opponents by an average of 7 rebounds per game.


The Patriots are slightly below average when it comes to scoring and well below average when it comes to sharing the basketball and dishing out assists. All year, it’s been a physical style of play and winning with defense that has catapulted the team to a 17-5 record. 


As mentioned above, of the eight George Mason wins in conference play, six have been by single digits, including two wins in overtime.


Over the past two games entering Wednesday, the Patriots have scored an average of 61 PPG, but have held opponents to an average of 56.5 PPG. 


For George Washington to hang with the Patriots, Chris Caputo’s team will have to knock down the open looks they get and rely on its own much-improved defense compared to a year ago.


Expect another tight and low-scoring contest between these DMV-area rivals.

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