EC Basketball

Have you ever been to an NCAA game where it is played in the teams home state. Over 99% of the fans are absolutely going hysterical for their team.

GW is playing in Greensboro against UNC Wilmington? Over 20,000 cheering for Wilmington.

What a crime. Shame on the NCAA. They put the screws to GW and set them up for road kill. This team should be playing in Philly.

GW needs some prayers to get by this one.

They better come out from the beggining and play with heart. Or their done.

Hoops131

They have seniors and they're probably furious over their seed. I admit I haven't seen UNC-W play that much but they're obviously a good team. GW was ranked #6 last week so they're better and should win...It would not be good for the league if they lost.

ChampNiner

It may be a pro UNCW crowd, but they will only get into it if it is late and the SeaChickens are still around. Most in the building won't care about UNCW one way or the other....... I imagine the crowd will pretty apathetic.

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SlickSpider

I saw the CAA final and Wilmington is definitely a quality basketball team. Very balanced attack, well-disciplined, good shooters. (And Wilmington's dance squad is top notch.)

I still don't know what to think about GW. Obviously very talented, but they really stumbled to the finish line this year. And the committee used GW to send a message to all the major conferences that OOC schedule will have a dramatic effect on your seed come tourney time. Play all cupcakes and you'll pay later.

I'll pick Wilmington and hope I'm wrong.

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We are UR!

homogeneousweasel

Incidentally, how does Vegas see this game?

gony4983

I think it's going a little far to say they need prayers. They did go 26-2.

And I think people forget that this same exact group of players beat two top 10 teams on back to back nights and ran over everybody in the A-10 tournament last season. They've played tough games against tough opponents.

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Aww GDub...

xu1990

i have no rational for this other than GW is over due for an NCAA victory, and senior laden.....I think they are double gdigit victors over UNCW.

bkaniecki

I would not be surprised if they go on to beat Duke. On the other hand, I wouldn't be surprised if they layed an egg against the Seahawks either.

JoDete93

I have very similar thoughts. Just finished telling a friend that I think GW can beat Duke, *if* they get past UNCW. I am not a Duke hater, in fact have actually sort of liked them over the years, but I think that team is very beatable and GW can take them down. UNCW is a tough first game though.

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Free Quebec

This is the worst, most incorrect piece of conventional wisdom I've ever seen.


GW won 18 of it's last 19 games. How is that stumbling to the finish line.

They trailed LaSalle when Pops got hurt and played a fantastic second half to run away with the game.

They beat Fordham by double figures. They beat the Bonnies by double figures (Bonnies hung around, but much credit goes to them for playing their best game in a few years).

And they won a close game against Charlotte with the miracle ending. But if anyone saw that game, they'd know it was more a case of Charlotte playing extremely well than GW struggling. Charlotte playing like a team that would win a first round game that day, as did GW.

The Temple game looks bad on paper, but it really seemed like GW didn't want to be there -- that they wanted to get healthy, take a break from all the controversy, and get ready for the tourney.

I guess people have an expectation that unless a 26-2 team is winning every game by 20 points from the first half on, they are "struglging" nevermind that virtually every team in America would be classified as struggling if that were the standard. I mean, you don't see people saying Washington struggled down teh stretch after losing to sub-150 Oregon, etc.

duq81

Agreed. GW is capable of laying an egg, but is also capable of still being alive next week.

Free Quebec

GW has laid two eggs this year (and one of those was in a game where they generally seemed more interested in getting out without injury so they could focus on the NCAAs).

Based on that, what makes anyone think GW is capable of laying an egg any more than any other team?

VA49er

GW should blow UNCW out of the freaking building. As far as GW's seed, Pops injury had a lot to do with it in my opinion. At least a couple of spots. Best of luck to GW.

SlickSpider

Point taken. Maybe "really stumbled" was a bit strong. But I just don't think the Colonials are playing as well right now as they were earlier in the season. I think the GW-UNCW game will be a good one, and like I said, I'll pick UNCW in a squeaker, and then not be crushed if I'm wrong. And it'll definitely be a pro-UNCW crowd: those first-round crowds ALWAYS get behind the underdog. Greensboro is ACC-land, and they'll all think GW is overrated. Gonna be a great game.

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BM-GW

UNCW vs GW is an easy "upset" to pick in people's brackets. Eight vs nine seed, where all they heard on TV all year was that GW is over-rated. And if they're wrong, no problem: They picked Duke to win the next game anyway. The early line is GW by 2.5.