Week 15: 2.13-19.84
The top five stays intact, though BYU and Duke flip-flopped. There was much moving in the bottom half of the top ten, though, as Southern Cal and UNC both fell out. They were replaced by TCU, Baylor, and George Washington.
The Colonials, with the nation's best record at 27-1, are up to tenth. It is their first top ten ranking since they ranked 9th in DC Magazine's "Top Ten Homages to George Washington".
Looking at the top ten, there are FOUR SWC teams, two WAC teams, two ACC teams, one Big Eight, and one George Washington. The Ivy, which has been top-flight all season, has cannabalized itself. They still have five teams in the rankings, beginning with Princeton at 11.
Code:
Top 25
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
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1. Maryland (69) 21-4 1796 1 Atlantic Coast Conference
2. Rice (3) 20-2 1731 2 Southwest Conference
3. Missouri 21-4 1652 3 Big Eight Conference
4. UTEP 20-3 1564 5 Western Athletic Conference
5. Duke 19-4 1469 4 Atlantic Coast Conference
6. Brigham Young 22-3 1466 6 Western Athletic Conference
7. Texas A&M 20-4 1287 9 Southwest Conference
8. Texas Christian 21-2 1271 15 Southwest Conference
9. Baylor 17-5 1268 14 Southwest Conference
10. George Washington 27-1 1121 12 Independent
11. Princeton 19-4 1120 10 Ivy League
12. Southern California 19-5 1029 8 Pacific-8 Conference
13. Yale 18-3 882 13 Ivy League
14. Kansas 18-6 863 20 Big Eight Conference
15. North Carolina 20-5 844 7 Atlantic Coast Conference
16. Washington 21-3 719 19 Pacific-8 Conference
17. Wake Forest 19-5 627 16 Atlantic Coast Conference
18. Cornell 18-5 556 11 Ivy League
19. Southern Methodist 18-5 485 18 Southwest Conference
20. Nebraska 17-6 390 17 Big Eight Conference
21. Virginia 18-5 346 23 Atlantic Coast Conference
22. Columbia 18-5 328 22 Ivy League
23. Indiana 19-4 251 21 Big Ten Conference
24. Pennsylvania 16-6 218 NR Ivy League
25. California 19-5 102 25 Pacific-8 Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Davidson 20-5 8 Southern Conference
Clemson 16-8 7 Atlantic Coast Conference
If the season were to end today, Jack Dawkins would rank 2nd in scoring, 1st in rebounding, 1st in assists, 4th in steals, and t-34th in blocks. His scoring is the worst in his career, too, at just 26.0 a game. His threes are down, hence the scoring dip. His turnovers are up, too, at 2.1. Gee, this season has been a tremendous failure for him.
2.15.84: at Marshall (16-9)
Finally, a challenge, on the surface. The Thundering Herd is considered the last of six independents in the field. They, like many independents, have not played a terrifically difficult schedule. Their RPI (86th) could end up haunting them in March. They are woeful on offense (187th), but play great defense (27th). Usually, this means, to me, that they haven't played a particularly good schedule...especially when they've been outrebounded, All of the evidence suggest they've preyed on weaker teams.
They have two solid players, led by point guard Lee Burris (G/B), who averages 17.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.8 assists. Nobody else averages in double figures. The next leading scorer puts up 8.5 a game (Jerry Hazen). The game is on the road, so this may prove more difficult. But, the way GW has been playing as of late...
Jerry Reiss wins the jump, and Burris finds Royal Burton for the basket. Jack finds Armbruster...he's going to need a good game. Jerry Hazen hits a three, but Jack responds for his first points. Armbruster gets an offensive board and draws a foul on Reiss to tie the game. Davis takes a three to give GW an 8-7 lead after five inutes.
Jack draws a foul, but hits only one of two. Jack finds Davis for the bucket, but JOhn Barlow answers. Davis and Sandy complete a rather remarkable oop, as Sandy throws it in backwards. Jack has an early 3-7-2 line, as he is controlling the glass early on. With 10:20 left, GW leads 15-9. Jack hits two free throws, and Ali scores, as Marshall's early spurt has been nullified.
The second group comes in, with Chris Davis. Hmmm. Sandy has been getting a lot of minutes lately. The starters return with no change. Hulett gets fouled and hits both, and John Barlow responds. Jack gets fouled, he hits both. He's up to 7-9-2. Reiss hits. Jack gets fouled again. He hits both. He's up to 9-9-2 with 6:31 left. Woods gets his second foul, but he stays in. GW has just two fouls so far. Jack hits from the line, and it's 25-19.
Jack goes back to the line, and he hits both again. I think he's 9-10 this half. The Herd looks run over. Armbruster scores, and he's fouled by Burton! He's got five poitns and five rebounds. Jack gets his first foul...Jack goes to the line AGAIN, and hits both again. Jerry Hazen hits a three. Jack finds Davis, and it's 33-18 with 1:26 left. Reiss gets a tip. Burris hits a three, so Marshall cuts the lead to ten, 33-23. Jack had a 15-10-3 half. He was dominant, and Marshall bounced off him repeatedly. Only five turnovers combined in that half. GW holds a 22-16 rebounding edge, while neither team is shooting from outside well.
Armbruster scores off a Jack pass, and the foul, to open the half. He then fouls Reiss, who goes 1-2. Marshall fouls an awful lot. Jack hits a three...it's 38-24 with 18:00 left. Jack finds Davis. He has five assists. Jack gets a block and a rebound. Howard gets one to go, making it 42-26. Jack gets his second foul with fifteen minutes left. Then he gets another block and board.
Reiss scores. Back to fourteen. GW has gone cold...namely, Jack has. Barlow scores. Ali misses a three. Hazen scores, and the foul...back to ten, and GW calls time with 12:48 left.
Davis gets a dunk off a Jack lob. Hazen hits another three. He has 13. Jack finds Hulett for the answer. Jack scores quickly on the inside. He has 20-13-7. Jack gets another block, and another. Barlow with a steal off Sandy, and Howard scores. Jack finds Davis for a response, and Jayson Tidwell scores. Jack responds. Burris hits a three. This game is getting hot. Jack fouls Burris, who hits both. It's 52-44 with six to go. Jack takes a break for a moment., and Marshall is taking advantage, as GW looks helpless.
The starters come back, but Hazen cuts it to three. Reiss with a steal, but he misses the dunk. Hazen with the board and the foul, and the lead is one. Hulett gets a three off a Jack pass. Jack has four fouls...he needs to be very careful. Two minutes to go. Jack gets a huge block of a layup by Hazen. 55-51. Hulett to the line, but he misses. Burris drills a three, and it's 55-54.
Davis is fouled with :45 left. He misses the front end. Barlow scores! 56-55...Davis is fouled with seven ticks left.
He hits the first.
The second rims in and out.
And back in again.
GW 57, Marshall 56. Seven seconds left.
Frank Hendershot (of the infamous Hendershot craze of 1983) inbounds to Hazen. He races up the court, takes a three from the wing...and just misses. Sandy gets the rebound, and George Washington survives their scariest game in months, 57-56.
This game punctuated with GW has been doing wrong as of late. They have let teams back into games, usually in quick runs, and they fail to get back in sync, once they get out. Jack finished with a 22-14-9 line. His fourth foul (a cheapie) really threw GW out of sync. Davis finished with 15, but Hulett had just nine. Woods went scoreless in just 23 minutes, as the team went small with Sandy for a lot of the game.
If this were to happen in, say, the second round of the NCAA, it would be against a better team. And GW may not make their third Sweet Sixteen in a row. This is a major concern for the Colonials.
Code:
George Washington 57, Marshall 56
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George Washington (28-1, 0-0):
Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Bruce Woods C 23 0-3 0-0 0 2 1 2 0
Brian Armbruster PF 37 3-4 1-4 2 8 0 2 7
Jack Dawkins PF 37 5-10 11-12 2 14 9 4 22
Dwight Davis SG 32 6-11 2-3 0 3 1 1 15
Richie Hulett PG 35 3-6 2-3 1 2 1 2 9
John Sandy SF 23 1-4 0-0 1 3 1 2 2
Hector Patterson PG 3 0-0 0-0 0 0 1 0 0
Porter Ali SF 6 1-3 0-0 0 1 0 0 2
Glenn Grayson PF 3 0-0 0-0 0 2 0 0 0
Chris Davis SG 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0
Turnovers: 9 (B.Woods 1, B.Armbruster 1, J.Dawkins 1,
D.Davis 1, R.Hulett 1, J.Sandy 2, P.Ali 2)
Blocked Shots: 7 (J.Dawkins 6, J.Sandy 1)
Steals: 3 (B.Armbruster 1, J.Sandy 1, P.Ali 1)
3P FGs: 3-11 (J.Dawkins 1-2, D.Davis 1-3, R.Hulett 1-2,
J.Sandy 0-2, P.Ali 0-2)
Marshall (16-10, 0-0):
Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Jerry Reiss C 35 3-11 1-4 3 6 0 2 7
Derick Howard PF 29 2-10 0-0 3 7 1 3 4
Royal Burton SF 32 1-4 2-2 1 5 2 4 4
Jerry Hazen SG 36 6-15 2-3 5 9 1 4 18
Lee Burris PG 32 3-13 2-2 1 4 3 4 11
John Barlow SF 12 4-5 0-0 0 1 2 2 8
George Vanderpool PG 8 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0
Frank Hendershot PF 9 1-2 0-0 1 2 0 0 2
Jayson Tidwell PF 7 1-2 0-0 1 2 1 1 2
Turnovers: 4 (J.Reiss 1, R.Burton 2, J.Tidwell 1)
Blocked Shots: 2 (J.Reiss 1, R.Burton 1)
Steals: 5 (J.Reiss 1, D.Howard 2, R.Burton 1, J.Barlow
1)
3P FGs: 7-22 (D.Howard 0-2, R.Burton 0-2, J.Hazen 4-8,
L.Burris 3-9, J.Barlow 0-1)
Player of Game: PF Jack Dawkins (GW)