March 12, 2007
2007 NCAA Tournament Central
BAND TOGETHER: Wear White During NCAAs
2007 Men’s Basketball NCAA Tournament
Thursday, March 15 – East Region – Sacramento, Calif.
[6] Vanderbilt vs. [11] George Washington – 4:10 p.m. CT
George Washington’s coach Karl Hobbs waves the net over his head after cutting it down after winning the Atlantic 10 Men’s Basketball Championship Finals against Rhode Island in Atlantic City, N.J. on Saturday, March 10, 2007. George Washington won, 78-69. (AP Photo/Tim Larsen)
SCOUTING GEORGE WASHINGTON
The Colonials captured the Atlantic 10 Tournament title last weekend over Rhode Island behind a relentless pressure defense that forced 21 turnovers in the finals on March 10. George Washington defeated St. Joseph’s 58-48 in the Atlantic 10 quarterfinals, dispatched of St. Louis University 60-40 in the semifinals before downing Rhode Island 78-69 in the finals. Junior guard Maureece Rice, the Colonials’ leading scorer, earned Atlantic 10 tourney MVP.
The Colonials, 23-8 overall and 11-5 in conference play, are making their third consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament. In 2006, George Washington defeated UNC-Wilmington 88-85 in overtime in the NCAA first round before dropping a 74-61 decision to No. 1-seeded Duke. One year earlier, George Washington fell to Georgia Tech 80-68 in the NCAA tourney first round as a 12th seed.
George Washington is led by Rice, senior guard Carl Elliott, senior forwards Regis Koundjia and Dokun Akingbade, and sophomore forward Rob Diggs. Rice has started every game for the Colonials, averaging 16.2 ppg, and is a dynamic outside shooter, hitting 43.8 percent of his 3-point attempts. Elliott averages 13.1 ppg and 4.9 assists, and leads the Colonials with 82 steals. Diggs is the Colonials’ third double-digit scorer, averaging 10.7 points on 54.9 percent shooting, and is the team’s top shot-blocking specialist with 60 on the year. Akingbade and Koundjia patrol the interior, ranking among the team’s rebounding leaders.
A sixth Colonial player, freshman forward Damian Hollis, has been productive scoring and rebounding since becoming a late-season starter. Freshman guard Travis King also gets substantial minutes off the Colonial bench.
Sixth-year Head Coach Karl Hobbs guides the Colonials into the NCAA Tournament. Hobbs has enjoyed a highly successful tenure at George Washington. In addition to leading the Colonials to the last three NCAA tournaments and a berth in the 2003-04 NIT tourney, Hobbs was named Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year in 2006 after directing George Washington to a final national ranking of No. 14, and a 27-3 overall record, the most victories in school history. He was also a finalist for the Naismith Award, given to the national men’s basketball coach of the year.
THE GEORGE WASHINGTON SERIES
Series Record: Vanderbilt leads 1-0
In Nashville: 0-0
In Washington, DC: 0-0
Neutral Site: Vanderbilt leads 1-0
Vanderbilt and George Washington have met just once previously on the hardwood. Strangely, it also occurred in Northern California.
Participating in the Apple Invitational at the Stanford campus in Palo Alto, the Commodores and Colonials squared off on Dec. 1, 1990, with Vanderbilt winning a close decision, 76-74. Later that season, the Eddie Folger-coached Commodores advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
The Colonials will be Vanderbilt’s first Atlantic 10 Conference opponent this year. Vanderbilt is 16-13 alltime versus the league. In its most recent outing versus an Atlantic 10 Conference foe, Vanderbilt won at Dayton 63-60, on Dec. 30, 2005.
Vanderbilt and George Washington have no common opponents this season.
