Tonight, George Mason faces VCU for the CAA championship. Mason, the two seed, is the underdog. It should be a tough contest. VCU is very good. They have a good team minus their two best payers. Point guard Eric Maynor is a pro prospect. He seems to take the ball to the basket at will and is an excellent finisher. In recent years, he's added NBA three-point range. But his best offensive attribute is his ability to see the floor and run a team. And, oh by the way, he can take over a game defensively, as he did in the 2007 CAA championship. Larry Sanders is an incredible athletic big man, who follows Maynor's lead.
GMU is an excellent defensive team. Opposing teams find themselves in prolonged slumps. Even the easiest shots feel like full-court heaves against Mason. Offensively, Mason has been inconsistent. Cam Long, John Vaughn, or Darryl Monroe are the likeliest players to take over a game. But Dre Smith, who holds the NCAA record for most threes in a game without a miss (10), can also light it up. The Patriots don't have one go-to guy. But they have four who could fulfill that role. GMU's freshmen need to make a few hustle plays and avoid hurting the team.
This won't easy. Mason is going to have show more effort than they did against James Madison and Towson. They will. They should come away with a hard fought victory and a second straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
No comments:
Post a Comment