Game 24: GMU (12-11 / 5-5) at St. Joe’s (10-13 / 4-8) on February 16 at 7PM.

[NewPatriot]

Mason played great d in OT.

Oduro ...33 pts and 8 rebounds.

ISO oduro at the key one on one against any big with the floor spread...its an automatic bucket.

 

[MasonSAE4]

We have the potential POY in the A10 and we will likely finish 7th in the conference. If that doesn't hammer home how bad our bench is, nothing will.

 

[gmutom]

Can we pause for a moment to appreciate Josh’s fourth game with 30 or more points this season? That’s practically unheard of in college basketball these days.

Tonight, he shot an incredibly efficient 67% from the floor, hit 7 of 8 FTs on a night when his teammates shot an anemic 50%, and grabbed 8 boards.

There have been many ups and downs with this team, but we are also witnessing one of the greatest individual performances in Mason history. Enjoy!

 

[tblack33]

I was ready to quit when we went down 10, even texted @mkaufman1 and @sleeperpick that it was over, but this team can’t even spell quit. There’s lots to complain about, but I’m just gonna sit back and enjoy all these year 1 wins as they come. I stand by what I’ve said — I would pray to be on the other side of the bracket from Mason down in DC.

 

[GMUgemini]

We have the potential POY in the A10 and we will likely finish 7th in the conference. If that doesn't hammer home how bad our bench is, nothing will.

We are probably fighting for top 4 if he played against GW and La Salle. That’s both praise for Oduro and an indictment of our bench.

 

[NewPatriot]

Looking at schedule ahead...barring any unforeseen injuries to the starting 5.

Mason could go 4-1 the rest of the way with a road win against Davidson. (Yes. Im calling it).

Mason matches up better against Davidson than vcu.

Leaving Mason with a 9-7 or 10-6 record heading into the tourney.

 

[MasonSAE4]

Looking at schedule ahead...barring any unforeseen injuries to the starting 5.

Mason could go 4-1 the rest of the way with a road win against Davidson. (Yes. Im calling it).

Mason matches up better against Davidson than vcu.

Leaving Mason with a 9-7 or 10-6 record heading into the tourney.

Neither of those gets us in the top four

 

[psyclone]

I just love watching this team play. Just a pure joy to watch. Imagine when we have more pieces in play.

GREAT WIN!!!

Glad to win but it was far from "pure joy". We got a lot of help from St Joe's who did everything they could in the last 3 min of regulation and overtime to hand the game to us. Josh was outstanding but we can't have others seeming to sleepwalk through most of the game. When you're not making 3's you need to contribute in other ways. Not much ball movement tonight.

 

[gmujim92]

Credit to the former staff for identifying Josh when almost nobody else thought he could develop into an impact player in the A-10.

Credit to Kim for fueling Josh’s confidence and taking his game to another level. It’s amazing what a talented person can do with a healthy dose of self belief.

 

[NewPatriot]

Neither of those gets us in the top four

Yeah. But mason can most definitely.reach the semis this year. Which is fantastic considering Mason's never gotten past the second round since joining the A10.

 

[JimP]

We are probably fighting for top 4 if he played against GW and La Salle. That’s both praise for Oduro and an indictment of our bench.

Be nice if that Duquesne game wasn't cancelled. Looks like it would have been a road win if not canceled. Mason would definitely have been the favorites against Rhody at home too.

 

[MasonSAE4]

Yeah. But mason can most definitely.reach the semis this year. Which is fantastic considering Mason's never gotten past the second round since joining the A10.

This team will not play on Saturday if it has to play Thursday. There is a negative six billion percent chance of this team winning on back to back days having to ride the starters for 40 minutes.

 

[Leesburg Chankenstank III]

Glad to win but it was far from "pure joy". We got a lot of help from St Joe's who did everything they could in the last 3 min of regulation and overtime to hand the game to us. Josh was outstanding but we can't have others seeming to sleepwalk through most of the game. When you're not making 3's you need to contribute in other ways. Not much ball movement tonight.

For me it was pure joy. Win or lose this team fights their a** off. You can’t win them all but you can control how much effort and grit you have each night out and this team has it.

We haven’t had it in 10 years. So yes, pure joy.

 

[NewPatriot]

This team will not play on Saturday if it has to play Thursday. There is a negative six billion percent chance of this team winning on back to back days having to ride the starters for 40 minutes.

Well. Bona did it last year so who knows

 

[JimP]

Well. Bona did it last year so who knows

Didn't Bona finish in 1st last year?

 

[GMUgemini]

Didn't Bona finish in 1st last year?

Tourney was basically chaulk last season: top 4 seeds made the semis, top 2 seeds made the final.

SLU did come out of nowhere as the 6 seed and won it in 2019, though. They went 10-8 that season in conference play too.

 

[MasonSAE4]

Tourney was basically chaulk last season: top 4 seeds made the semis, top 2 seeds made the final.

SLU did come out of nowhere as the 6 seed and won it in 2019, though. They went 10-8 that season in conference play too.

Without doing one single bit of research, I will definitively state that the 2019 SLU squad had a better bench than our current squad.

 

[GMUgemini]

Without doing one single bit of research, I will definitively state that the 2019 SLU squad had a better bench that our current squad.

They went legit 7 deep after Gordon transferred. Their big 4 played 37, 34, 33 and 30 mpg (that’s Bess, Goodwin, Isabell, and French respectively).

But that team was also monster defensively and didn’t mind getting into a rock fight (current iteration is still that way).

It’s too bad two of Henry, Otis, Polite, Hartwell, or Blake Jones couldn’t have turned into reliable 6th and 7th men (forget even having an 8 or 9 man rotation).

 

[MasonSAE4]

They went legit 7 deep after Gordon transferred. Their big 4 played 37, 34, 33 and 30 mpg (that’s Bess, Goodwin, Isabell, and French respectively).

But that team was also monster defensively and didn’t mind getting into a rock fight (current iteration is still that way).

It’s too bad two of Henry, Otis, Polite, Hartwell, or Blake Jones couldn’t have turned into reliable 6th and 7th men (forget even having an 8 or 9 man rotation).

They got 8 points off their bench in the final. If we miraculously made the final this year, would you take the over or under on 7.5 bench points?

 

[emjayar08]

Be nice if that Duquesne game wasn't cancelled. Looks like it would have been a road win if not canceled. Mason would definitely have been the favorites against Rhody at home too.

The Duquesne game was cancelled?? I didn't know any A10 games were cancelled, assumed they were just postponed.