Armwood had a very good game both defensively and offensively. Never gave up, always continued to hustle. Very impressive. Kromah had another very good game and Dwayne really stepped it up off the bench.

They destroyed us on the offensive boards and that really decided the game (or at least made a major impact)

Overall, I am pleased with the game and saw a lot of positive things.

 Not quite sure what happened on the last posession - Our 4 threats (Garino, Mikic, Kromah, McDonald) are on the floor and Smith takes the 3? No idea what was drawn up....

 Garino passed him the ball with about three seconds left.   No choice. And he had a good look. 

I'll write more when I have time but I am proud of the way they defended and competed and battled.  Needed just a couple of more breaks or plays.  If they can remember how to play that hard every game we will get it turned around nicely.   That's really the key. 

And HAIL to the students for a great college atmosphere.   That's the smith center I love. 

GW26 give credit to a good coach.  He played the odds and forced GW to have only one option - Smith.  I am sure he could live with himself had Smith hit th 3 and forced OT (although Smith did hit a 3 earlier).  My observations: BOX OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  A few shots almost dropped on nice drives by Kromah and McDonald and a bad call on a Garino charge (should have been a no call).  GW almost pulled this one out.  

I'm still giddy about the student turnout. The weekend before finals start, and we post our best crowd in years. That and a competitive game... wow. Smitty can be an intimidating crowd if people show up. Let's hope that trend continues.

This game proved FQ right when he said we were closer than people think and if we could limit the turnovers and we'd see dramitic improvement.  That's exactly what happened today.

 If thought going in what would probably hurt is was offensive rebounds and turnovers - and that is what happened.

I'm never happy with a loss, but a good learning experience for our freshman in a big game atmosphere. I am pessimistic about us sustaining that level of play when conference play starts, but here's to hoping.

 The atmosphere at the game is what makes college basketball so exciting .  Lots of  kudos  to the ADs office for the publicity, the shirts, the Marine with a ton of medals and of course the team for playing a great first half. When a team plays like this , one has to wonder why we did not show up for lesser opponents. K-State has great guards. They control tempo. , hit outside shots but are capable of driving and do not turn the ball over. Joe McDonald is not from the same mold. Last Sunday, at The BB&T ,I saw three freshman guards who were 1st Team All Met last year. Two played for GW. Unforetunately, the best played for George Mason: that being Patrick Hollaway. He was fluid , handled the ball well. Came off the bench and scored 17 against Maryland. Unless, GW brings in a better ball handling guard next years class and the Armwood year will not be very productive. Good game today but too many people are deluding themselves to think that GW has all the pieces in place to win in league play.

Just remember, there were plenty of people calling for Elliot's head his frosh year running the point (and a lot of times they were correct to do so)....and simply went on to become the winningest Colonial of all-time. Same could be said for both TJ and TT's frosh campaigns at the point.

 notta, you are right on that charge call... Garino should have had an and 1. That was an undercut cheap play on D. The refs were letting all sorts of illegal picks go, but I don't mind that as it teaches the Defenders to work through the play.There were some nice defensive efforts. 

Great atmosphere!  I also liked how the students were imploring the alums to stand in the final minutes. 

Both teams battled hard all game, but as noted above, guard play on K State was superior and their work on the offensive glass was decisive.  There were a fair number of strange foul calls (and non-calls), including the one charge on Garino, but every game is like that and they go both ways--can't say it mattered. (For those watching on TV, was really that a foul on the three pointer which led to their 4 point lead?).   I would note that we fouled one of their big guys with 20 seconds left and the refs didn't call it--forcing us to foul a shooter (Spralding) and costing at least five seconds in time.    

Only 12 turnovers was nice, but K State never really pressed the entire game.  Young Mr. McDonald was still pick-pocketed for an easy lay-up, although I thought he should a few more flashes of aggressiveness and quickness on the dribble than I have seen all year.

Mr. Bynes played hard, but one has to question how he ends with the ball about four times in the final five minutes with the clock winding down and takes the show on his own--missing every single time except when he was called for travelling (didn't look like he traveleed to me).  

Bottom line: If sports is entertainment, today was a success, if less successful than it could have been. 

I too was quite happy with the game except , as GWAA14 stated,  we were creamed on the offensive boards.  Armwood was a man today.   Ifr we could only box out their big men, but there were bigger and stronger than us in almost all positions.  Except for that bad call, who knows what could have happened.

We played our hearts out today. I think we don't have the confidence to put these things away more than anything else.  IMO, were an attitude adjustment away from a 0.500 record.  We're weak at PG, but we knew that before the season and so does every other team we play.

 BM, you also have to say that PG is improving. For McDonald, once he gets into the play, he is a force for a freshman.

This question is in several threads. But kind of odd that we go to Dwayne and have Nemanja on the far side. Have to look at TV replay to see if he moved much, but didn't see it, nor any effort to screen for him. Isn't there a way to design a play with a pick for Nemanja?

This is a recurrent GW flaw throughout the years, but needing a three-pointer with five seconds left, Nemanja would seem like the most natural option. And even if you wanted to deploy him as an obvious decoy instead, did not notice (will check replay) any move toward that, except keeping him standing on the far side, away from Dwayne.