In the wake of Saturday’s heartbreaking 71-63 overtime loss to rival Xavier, the GW men’s basketball team will travel to face another Atlantic 10 power Thursday night when the Colonials take on Temple at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia. At stake for the 9-12 Colonials is the fleeting chance to turn around a disappointing season.
GW has proven it can compete against high-powered opponents this season, knocking off St. John’s University, falling to Xavier twice by two points and battling to the very end with Maryland and the University of Tennessee.
The Owls own an above-average 13-10 record this season, but have played one of the nation’s toughest schedules, including two games against Duke University and a contest with the University of Wisconsin. Temple has taken advantage of most A-10 opponents and holds an 8-2 conference record. Their losses came to St. Joseph’s and Massachusetts.
“They’re still a tough team,” GW coach Tom Penders said. “They’re more talented this year, just a little younger than in the past.”
The Colonials will have to contend with Temple’s familiar match-up zone, a defensive scheme that has long been the hallmark of coach John Chaney’s vaunted defense.
“They challenge you to make (three-pointer’s),” Penders said. “We’re going to have to hit at least ten of them and keep the turnovers under ten to have a shot.”
To counter the match-up zone, the Colonials will look to leading scorer Chris Monroe (19 points per game) to penetrate the inside. GW will look for sophomore SirValiant Brown to create scoring opportunities with a balance of drives and jump-shots.
“We want to play our game,” Monroe said. “The zone is designed to slow us down, but we have to make them play at our pace.”
Despite showing they can compete on the road, Brown said that a “true team effort” will be needed to beat Temple on the road.
A victory would mean GW’s first win against an NCAA Tournament-caliber opponent since the team beat St. John’s in early December. With Duquesne and Rhode Island coming up on the schedule, a win at Temple could begin to set GW in the right direction.
