After ugly loss, Patriots try to rebound at Rams
Trips north to schools along I-95 have been unkind to George Mason. Losses at Drexel, Delaware and Northeastern have prevented the Patriots from winning their second straight CAA regular-season title.
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But the toughest league tests await the next two weekends as the Patriots travel south. On Saturday, George Mason (23-7, 14-3) closes the regular season at Virginia Commonwealth (24-6, 14-3). A week later, George Mason will return to Richmond for the CAA tournament and a likely semifinal rematch with VCU.
| Up next |
| George Mason at VCU |
| When » Saturday, 6 p.m. |
| Where » Siegel Center, Richmond |
| TV » ESPN2 |
Wednesday’s 85-82 loss in overtime to Northeastern in Boston has taken some of the buzz out of Saturday’s game. Riding a 16-game winning streak, Drexel (24-5, 15-2) is the regular-season champion. All the Patriots and Rams have left to play for is seeding. The winner will enter the tournament No. 2, the loser No. 3.
“The higher seed you get the better,” George Mason coach Paul Hewitt said. “First of all, it’s VCU. It’s an important game. We’re one of the top teams in the league. They’re one of the top teams in the league. Just from a competitive standpoint, you want to be ready to play.”
George Mason won the last meeting 62-61 on a 25-foot buzzer-beater by Sherrod Wright, but the Patriots were fortunate considering they committed 16 turnovers. They weren’t as lucky Wednesday. Their 21 turnovers were costly.
“It was a tough environment,” point guard Bryon Allen said. “We didn’t execute down the stretch. But it’s in the past. We’re getting ready for this game on Saturday.”
This is not a good matchup for the struggling George Mason backcourt. VCU leads the conference in steals (10.5 per game) and turnover margin (plus-5.9 per game). On Monday, Rams coach Shaka Smart said his team was playing better pressure defense than at any time last year on its run to the Final Four.
“We have a little bit better personnel for the defense we want to play,” Smart said. “Unfortunately we have a little worse personnel for the offense we want to play.”
Last February, George Mason won decisively at VCU, but in the CAA tournament a mile away at Richmond Coliseum, the Rams used their pressure and homecourt advantage to rattle the Patriots.
