Who: Men’s basketball
Where: Lavietes Pavilion, Cambridge, Mass.
When: Saturday, Dec. 22 at 2 p.m.
Men’s basketball (3-8) will embark on its first road trip in three weeks to face Harvard (4-5) on the Crimson’s home court.
The two teams have seen opposite outcomes in their past few contests. The Colonials won two of their last three outings, most recently relying on defense to pull out a close win over Howard. But the Crimson head into the match on a two-game losing streak after dropping contests to Siena and Vermont.
The Colonials earned a 10-point victory over Harvard last season on their turf and were led by former forward Patrick Steeves – who transferred from Harvard.
Case for the Colonials:
The Colonials proved in their last three games they can rise to the occasion in close contests.
GW is heating up from beyond the arc, averaging 7.3 made three-point shots per game in the last three outings after averaging 4.0 three-point shots per game in the three games prior. Sophomore guards Terry Nolan Jr. and Maceo Jack are leading the charge and have been potent scorers from deep. The Crimson have relaxed their perimeter defense and allowed opponents to pick up at least eight threes in their last three outings, so with Nolan and Jack picking up the pace, the Colonials should be able to find some extra points beyond the arc.
Also on offense, the Colonials average 14.9 points from turnovers and Harvard averages 16.4 giveaways per game, so they should look to disrupt the Crimson’s offense even more to hunt down extra points and come away with a win.
GW has been tallying final scores above its 63.6 point per game average in the last three games, but even without an offensive stronghold in Saturday’s match against Harvard, GW’s defense could help them secure a win.
Opponents have held Harvard to below-average point totals in their last two games, but the team still managed to shoot nearly 50.0 percent from the field in both outings – proving its offensive prowess. The Colonials held Towson and Howard to below-average scoring in their latest wins so if they put the same pressure on Harvard, the team should be able to keep the Crimson’s offense at bay.
Case for the Crimson:
On paper, Harvard’s offense produces more points – and does so more efficiently – than the Colonials. With a 70.0 points per game average on 49.4 percent shooting from the field, the Crimson put up relatively high-scoring games despite only winning four contests so far this season. In their last two losses against Siena and Vermont, the Crimson still shot 50.0 percent and 49.0 percent from the field, respectively.
But the Crimson could be a nuisance for the Colonials from the three-point line. Harvard has consistently relied on picking up points from beyond the arc, only scoring less than five three-point shots in a game once this season.
The Colonials held Towson and Howard to four or fewer three-point shots, but Valparaiso was able to reign down 15 shots from deep against GW. The Crimson should continue to see results from their three-ball against GW if the Colonials’ defense shrugs off Harvard.
Harvard also holds a slight height advantage over the Colonials and grab an average of 33.8 rebounds per game. While the Colonials are not far behind with a 32.6 rebounds-per-game average to their name, the Crimson’s extra height will give them a boost under the rim.
Bottom line:
The Crimson’s offense packs a slightly heavier punch than what the Colonials bring to the table, but GW’s defense has stood strong in recent games.
The Colonials have struggled to come out on top of tight contests but have finished the last few games on a high note, so if their defense shows up, GW could serve Harvard a home loss.
