Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904

The GW Hatchet

Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

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GW to face VCU in annual BB&T Classic

bb&t classic, Bryan Bynes, Navy
Junior guard Bryan Bynes goes for a basket at last season's BB&T Classic against the Navy Midshipmen in the Verizon Center. File Photo

GW’s upcoming match-up against a 2011 Final Four team is official, with the Colonials set to square off against Virginia Commonwealth University in the annual BB&T Classic. The game is scheduled for Dec. 4 at 2:30 p.m.

The Classic is an annual doubleheader basketball showcase, hosted by GW and the University of Maryland. The Terrapins will face Notre Dame in the second game this year, completing the 2011 lineup of games that will benefit the Children’s Charities Foundation.

VCU was a true Cinderella story last season, advancing to the program’s first-ever Final Four in the 2011 NCAA Tournament. The Rams posted a 28-12 overall record on their way to becoming just the third 11-seed team in Tournament history to advance to the Final Four, before falling to Butler. Coached by Shaka Smart, VCU finished sixth in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll at the end of the season, the highest ever rating earned by the program.

The Colonials seek to re-establish themselves as a basketball powerhouse under new head coach Mike Lonergan in the upcoming season. GW is coming off their best season in the past four years, where former head coach Karl Hobbs lead the team to a 17-14 overall record, tying for fourth place in the Atlantic 10.

The Rams and the Colonials last squared off in the 2010 College Basketball Invitational tournament, where VCU ended GW’s season with a narrow 79-73 victory. Prior to that, the programs had only competed against each other once, when VCU beat GW 74-64 at a tournament in Charlottesville, Va., in the first game of the 1978-79 season.

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