Men’s basketball unveiled its Atlantic 10 schedule pairings late last month, according to a release.
The Colonials will take on an 18-game schedule complete with five home-and-away series with Dayton, Duquesne, Fordham, George Mason and St. Bonaventure. The remaining eight games will be split evenly with four games at the Smith Center and four games on the road, the release states.
The team’s home-and-away series are nearly identical to last season’s pairings, but Dayton will sub for Richmond. The Flyers were the team to beat in both the A-10 and around college basketball. Dayton was ranked No. 3 in the nation and swept its conference schedule before the COVID-19 pandemic cut the postseason short.
In its only meeting, GW kept pace with Dayton throughout the first half but fell by 25 points to close out its regular season.
The Colonials split last season’s meetings with Duquesne. The Dukes edged the squad by five points in January, but GW bounced back to take down Duquesne by three points in Pittsburgh.
Despite a 27-6 all-time record against Fordham, the Rams were a thorn in the Colonials’ side last season. Fordham earned half of its six wins during the 2019-20 season, taking down GW in both regular season matchups and expelling the squad from the A-10 tournament in game one.
The team fared better against George Mason last year, sweeping the Patriots at the Smith Center and Eaglebank Arena. Head coach Jamion Christian picked up his first conference win at the helm over the Patriots. The second win over George Mason ended a three-game skid. Next season, former head coach Maurice Joseph will sit on the opposing bench as an assistant.
St. Bonaventure started the Colonials’ conference slate on a sour note, handing them a six-point loss. The Bonnies completed the season sweep in February, defeating the team by 25 points.
The Smith Center will welcome Massachusetts, Saint Joseph’s, Saint Louis and VCU. The Colonials will hit the road for matchups with Davidson, La Salle, Rhode Island and Richmond.
Dates, times and national television information for the conference season will be released at a later date, the release states.
