Game 8: GMU (4-3) at JMU (4-3) on Friday, November 29, at 4:00 PM.

[Patriotsince81]

Madison is well remembered for their 32-4 overall record, winning the Sun Belt Championship, and beating Wisconsin in the NCAA tourney last season. They lost to Duke in the 2nd round last season. They have had trouble, so far, recreating that magic.

JMU is a member of the Sun Belt Conference. They were picked to finish 2nd in preseason polls just behind Arkansas St. Senior guard Mark Freeman was selected to the Preseason 1st Team. Junior guard Xavier Brown was selected to the 3rd team.

The game is on ESPN+.

KenPom: Gives us a 57% chance of winning.
GMU - 92
JMU - 152
NET:
Mason - 93
JMU - 52

We are 49-51(.490) against JMU all-time. We have won 24 out of the past 26 meetings.

JMU is currently 4-3 on the season. They are 2-0 at home, 0-2 on the road, and 2-1 at neutral sites.

Schedule: https://jmusports.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule

Wins: Ohio (88-78), Mary Baldwin (100-52), UIC (99-81), Jacksonville St. (71-65)
Losses: Norfolk St. (83-69), Towson (67-63), UC SanDiego (73-63)

Probable Starters:
6’2” Xavier Brown - 15.3ppg & 3.1 reb - Junior
5’11” Mark Freeman - 12.0 ppg - Senior
6’11” Elijah Hutchins-Everett - 11.4 ppg & 6.6 reb -
6’6” AJ Smith - 8.4 ppg & 6.9 reb - Junior
6’7” Eddie Ricks III - 7.1 ppg - Sophomore

Reserves averaging double figure minutes:
6’3” Bryce Lindsay - 14.4ppg - Freshman
6’6” Justin Taylor - 2.0 ppg - Junior
6’7” Luke Anderson - 4.4 ppg - Senior
6’11” Ebenezer Dowuona - 2.0 ppg - Senior

Roster: https://jmusports.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster

Team Stats:

JMU averages 79.6 points per game while giving up 71.3.

The Dukes shoot 47.7% from the floor and 38.0% from 3.
Opponents are shooting 47.9% from the field and 32.8% from 3.

The Dukes shoot 69.5% from the free throw line.

They have out rebounded opponents by 9.9 boards per game and average 12.7 turnovers per contest.

Stats: https://jmusports.com/sports/mens-basketball/stats

Thoughts: Their best player may well be Freshman Bryce Lindsay. He’s averaging 14.4 ppg and is a 48.8% shooter from 3. Xavier Brown and Mark Freeman are also threats from deep. They average almost 10 made 3’s per contest, we average about 7. Captain Obvious reports that if we can limit them from deep our chances for a win go up.

Discuss.

 

[Patriotsince81]

If we're going to win this one we need Darius to snap out of his funk. He's 3-16 (2-13) over his last two games. It happens to everyone but we'll need him to break out if we're going to win this one.

 

[Old Man]

 

[mkaufman1]

I’ll begin the jmu thread tradition of posting memes and gifs with an old favorite. A hot dog.

 

[Mason2006Patriot]

Who else is going to this game?

 

[Pablo]

Men's Basketball vs Jax State on 11/23/2024 - Box Score - James Madison University Athletics

The official box score of Men's Basketball vs Jax State on 11/23/2024

jmusports.com

	1	2	Total	Records
James Madison	40	31	71	4-3,0-0 Sun Belt
Jacksonville St.	29	36	65	4-3,0-0 CUSA

 

[mkaufman1]

Harrisonburg townies get together for the Halloween parade

 

[phoenix-arizona]

The AI mascot looks like some video game character from the 90s that desperately wants to be a Sonic clone. Bubsy maybe.

 

[mkaufman1]

If the name Bryce Lindsay sounds familiar, he had a Mason offer according to Verbal Commits back in 2020. Paulsen was one of the first coaches to offer him a scholarship. Former 4 star kid out of Baltimore, point guard. Took a redshirt at Texas A&M last year and I wouldn't be surprised if he hits the portal this upcoming year with Power 5 intentions. If Billups is available I suspect he might be defending him.

Otherwise JMU looks pretty average this year, but going into a rivalry road game is always going to be challenging. If we rebound, defend and shoot the ball well I think we take this one. If we go back to how we played at ECU and against Central Michigan, its going to be awfully tough.

Also I hate (I know wrong thread), how their overall record finished last year.

 

[jruby]

If the name Bryce Lindsay sounds familiar, he had a Mason offer according to Verbal Commits back in 2020. Paulsen was one of the first coaches to offer him a scholarship. Former 4 star kid out of Baltimore, point guard. Took a redshirt at Texas A&M last year and I wouldn't be surprised if he hits the portal this upcoming year with Power 5 intentions. If Billups is available I suspect he might be defending him.

Otherwise JMU looks pretty average this year, but going into a rivalry road game is always going to be challenging. If we rebound, defend and shoot the ball well I think we take this one. If we go back to how we played at ECU and against Central Michigan, its going to be awfully tough.

I think mason wins the mental game. Skinn will want to win and Mason owns the mental toughness advantage in series as they have dominated them the last 2 decades. Mason should in theory win easily but we all know road games are tough so expect a close game that is pulled out in the end after JMU loses their composure and can’t match talent.

 

[TweederGMU]

Depends on what team shows up.... Haynes gonna not turn the ball over more than 2 times? Will Woody be more consistent in scoring the ball? Can Darius put up 18+ points and lead tis team to victory? Can KD limit turnovers and not get a Technical?

 

[GSII]

Depends on what team shows up.... Haynes gonna not turn the ball over more than 2 times?

And its day after Thanksgiving. He may have the farts.

 

[Falco]

I’ll begin the jmu thread tradition of posting memes and gifs with an old favorite. A hot dog.

Can someone explain the hotdog game to me. It’s aways mentioned, but i think it happened before I started following Mason basketball

 

[GMUgemini]

Can someone explain the hotdog game to me. It’s aways mentioned, but i think it happened before I started following Mason basketball

Highlights:

View: https://youtu.be/P1SaqqWWp4k?si=c8QFopBV2Zd7a5S4

Article: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/...oom-jmu-in-loss-to-gmu-82-71/#google_vignette

Quote: Madison (8-9, 2-5) never led, but made a strong run late, reducing a 15-points deficit to four. But with Bowles at the foul line with a chance to cut the lead further, a hot dog flew out of the stands and landed a few feet away as Bowles missed his first free throw.

 

[GMU79]

Highlights:

View: https://youtu.be/P1SaqqWWp4k?si=c8QFopBV2Zd7a5S4

Article: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/...oom-jmu-in-loss-to-gmu-82-71/#google_vignette

Quote: Madison (8-9, 2-5) never led, but made a strong run late, reducing a 15-points deficit to four. But with Bowles at the foul line with a chance to cut the lead further, a hot dog flew out of the stands and landed a few feet away as Bowles missed his first free throw.

Another win for Coach L and the Patriots!

 

[Jack Strop]

Quote: Madison (8-9, 2-5) never led, but made a strong run late, reducing a 15-points deficit to four. But with Bowles at the foul line with a chance to cut the lead further, a hot dog flew out of the stands and landed a few feet away as Bowles missed his first free throw.

...and, as I recall, a technical foul was called on the fans allowing Mason to extend their lead. The hot dog was thrown out of frustration because some JMU fan was upset with the play where Bowles got fouled and he missed a crucial free throw.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/16/AR2010011602137.html

The frustration had been building because Mason was making plays on both ends of the court that the JMU fans didn't appreciate. It was a pivotal moment where JMU was making a strong push toward the end of a contentious game. The hot dog on the court crushed JMU's momentum and they lost.

Do I have that right? My memory of that game is starting to fade. Can anyone corroborate or add details?

 

[GMUgemini]

Yes. That sounds right. The fan was also ejected from the game.

 

[mkaufman1]

Can someone explain the hotdog game to me. It’s aways mentioned, but i think it happened before I started following Mason basketball

Others have hinted and summarized about it. It was in the middle of the 16 game winning streak and probably the last time (and only times) GMU/JMU had legit national juice. Anyway, both teams were top 100 RPI and in the conversation of at large bids so there was a ton on the line and pretty much everyone who would be interested was watching.

Needless to say, the score got close, a JMU fan threw a hot dog and it turned momentum in Mason's favor as they continued towards winning 16 in a row and the last time Mason was legitimately nationally relevant.

Its forever known as the hot dog game. Of course another memorable moment (and theres been tons) was when Louis Rowe and Dave Paulsen started barking at each other in EBA randomly. This also led to a post game meltdown by Rowe (needless to say he also was soon fired after the season).

 

[Patriotsince81]

Ahhh, the memories. The old picture thread, the hot dog incident, George Evans dunking on David Fanning, and the chant of 66 West, 81 South while shaking our car keys at Madison fans and the JMU bench at the end of every home win! Best crowds we ever had regularly getting 9,000. After "Hot Dog Gate" a friend and I talked to Brion Sumser (Brion's Grille) before the next Madison game at Mason about serving free hot dogs to fans that showed up early. Noon tip off as I recall so Brion opened up at 9AM and let the good times roll. Those were the days!

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0ZbGnx7ZKg


Number 5. "He jumped, but he shouldn't have." LMAO.

 

[gmubrian]

Who else is going to this game?

I'll be there.