Game 9: GMU (7-1) at #10/11 Tennessee (4-3) on Tuesday, December 5, at 6:30 PM.

[gmujim92]

I really like Austin Ball. He tried to take a charge, boxes out, and plays with energy on defense

Gonna be a good one for us. Very high basketball IQ to go with a motor and obviously he can really score it. His minutes will go up as his defense improves.

 

[MASONscott]

Playing time tells a story. My interpretation (which is subject as hell) is we have expectations that were not met or some kids aren’t feeling well (or something else).

 

[psyclone]

GoMason.com summary:

Mason Drops Contest at #17/13 Tennessee - George Mason University Athletics

The George Mason University men's basketball team (7-2) went up against one of the nation's top defenses Tuesday night during an 87-66 setback to #17/13 Tennessee

gomason.com

And some pretty ugly +/- numbers from Kelly and Hall. This is 3 straight negative games for Keyshawn.

Mason vs. Tennessee Box (PDF) - George Mason University Athletics

Mason vs. Tennessee Box (PDF)

gomason.com

 

[DRK331]

 

[gmulion]

Tenn was the much stronger and the more physical team. It felt like game really turned at the end of the first half when Kelly missed the layup, Tenn hit a 3, Kelly didn't grab an offensive rebound and tried to tip it in instead, and Tenn came down and hit a shot before the buzzer.

Hopefully Hall learns from this game. It's great he lost weight, now he needs to get stronger. If he sticks around and hits the weight room he could be unstoppable.

 

[GMU_DCU]

Could have used Jalen Haynes in this one. Tennessee's defense was stifling midway through the first half through the end of the game. How can you not love Malik Henry? He gives maximum effort even down 20 with 5 minutes to go. If you could channel that effort through all of our players, the sky would be the limit.

 

[EXpatriot13]

Obviously wanted to snag the upset win but the result doesn't bother me. I'm glad they have a mini break here to get back in the lab...I'm sure Tony is going to ramp things up at practice.

We have a decent sample size at this point so below are a few things I'm interested in following as we head towards the end of OOC and into A10 play.

Hall: Not concerned about the production recently, but more concerned about how he's handled the adversity. His body language has been terrible when things don't go his way early on in the game, whether that's foul trouble or the other team making things more difficult for him. It seems to mentally knock him out of the flow of the game and I haven't seen him be able to overcome that and flip the switch back on yet.

Billups: I thought we'd see him in position to get more rebounds/points by being that scrappy, clean it up type player who can drive, get to FT line, etc. that he was at Siena. He's never going to light it up or be a shooter, but he's also not this inept. Need to see him be more active on offensive end.

Woody: He's pushing for more consistent minutes with the A team. Could we see a rotation of Polite/Maddox/Woody/Hall/Kelly? Can he defend the other teams 2/3 at a high level consistently enough?

Polite/Okojie: Can Polite be consistent enough offensively to move off the ball? Okojie is so good at drawing fouls and getting to the line, and his speed and athleticism is such a huge asset at the PG position, especially when the other team has an equally quick guard...Polite struggles in these matchups.

 

[Walter]

Could have used Jalen Haynes in this one. Tennessee's defense was stifling midway through the first half through the end of the game. How can you not love Malik Henry? He gives maximum effort even down 20 with 5 minutes to go. If you could channel that effort through all of our players, the sky would be the limit.

Spot on. I would start Henry.

 

[EXpatriot13]

Spot on. I would start Henry.

Henry is a great spark plug off the bench - he occupies and plays that role really well. Love his energy and every team needs someone like him.

Amari Kelly has been one of our best and most consistent players so far. Not going to take that away from him because of a game against Tenn where we were clearly outmatched down low; not often going to see that combo of size + talent in A10 play.

 

[GSII]

Finally getting over my hangover.....The crowd was wine and cheese. Very quiet 11k.

As for the game...wish we played UT first then Toledo. Maybe go with Coach L strategy vs Uconn in 06 with 2 bigs and play em alot of mins. I feel like Kelly can score it from mid range and/or attacking the rim. Maddux (40min), Polite/Barack, Hall/ Woody/Billups/Ball.

Worth the trip to see some guys I haven't seen in 25 years. Blessing.

 

[Old Man]

I should have posted this earlier, but just saw it to remember it.

This is a picture of one of my favorite giveaways GMU ever did. Mason gave away a series of glass pint glasses of former coaches. Notice the bottom of the glass looks like a basketball. This was a top notch chatchki.

 

[GMUSSTN]

I should have posted this earlier, but just saw it to remember it.

This is a picture of one of my favorite giveaways GMU ever did. Mason gave away a series of glass pint glasses of former coaches. Notice the bottom of the glass looks like a basketball. This was a top notch chatchki.

At one point the pep band kept a lot of their stuff in a closet at the Patriot Center that was also used as storage for a lot of the old giveaways. I wound up giving my set to a friend but I had all these pint glasses at one point plus a lot of fun old t-shirts from giveaways long before my time at Mason.

 

[DRK331]

Post game press conference I found on Youtube

 

[DRK331]

1st half:

2nd half:

Video of the Tennessee game I found on Youtube

 

[Mason2006Patriot]

 

[Pablo]

Purdue pops back to No. 1 after ousting Arizona

Purdue received 48 of 62 first-place votes after beating former No. 1 Arizona to assume the top spot in the AP men's college basketball poll.

www.espn.com

AP men's basketball Top 25 poll​

First-place votes in parenthesis:

TEAM	RECORD
1. Purdue (48)	10-1
2. Kansas (6)	10-1
3. Houston (8)	11-0
4. Arizona	8-1
5. UConn	10-1
6. Marquette	9-2
7. Oklahoma	10-0
8. Tennessee	8-3
9. Kentucky	8-2
10. Baylor	9-1
11. North Carolina	7-3
12. Creighton	9-2
13. Illinois	8-2
14. Florida Atlantic	9-2
15. Gonzaga	8-3
16. Colorado State	10-1
17. BYU	10-1
18. Clemson	9-1
19. Texas	8-2
20. James Madison	10-0
21. Duke	7-3
22. Virginia	9-1
23. Memphis	8-2
24. Wisconsin	8-3
25. Ole Miss	10-0

MOVING UP; MOVING DOWN

Kentucky's five-spot rise marked the biggest jump of the week. Oklahoma and Tennessee were next with four spots to push inside the top 10, while No. 13 Illinois rose three spots. In all, 10 teams climbed from last week's poll.

 

[Walter]

Barnes nominated to Hall of Fame

MSN

 

[Pablo]

Barnes nominated to Hall of Fame

MSN

Jim Larranaga and Jared Billups' cousin Chauncey were also nominated - https://www.hoophall.com/news/naism...es-eligible-candidates-for-the-class-of-2024/