CINCINNATI, March 9 -- If it's true that George Washington needs to win the Atlantic 10 tournament to receive an NCAA tournament bid, at least the Colonials can't complain about their draw.
While winning the Atlantic 10's West Division, the Colonials beat all three of the teams on their side of the tournament bracket including Fordham, which earned a meeting with George Washington with a 65-53 first-round win over Duquesne Wednesday night.
"To me, it all starts with our defense and rebounding,"said forward J.R. Pinnock, the Colonials' second-leading scorer. " . . . That allows us to get out and play our kind of game. We're just a better, more loose team when we play fast."
(Joel Richardson -- The Washington Post)
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If George Washington (19-7) beats Fordham (13-15) in Thursday night's quarterfinal round, it would face the winner of Thursday's Dayton-Temple game in Friday's semifinals. The Colonials swept the season series with Dayton and turned in one of their most complete performances during a 74-58 win at Temple on Feb. 5.
The first time George Washington could play a team it lost to during the regular season would be in Sunday's championship game.
Still, Colonials Coach Karl Hobbs isn't placing much stock in regular season results as he attempts to do what no other George Washington coach has done: win the Atlantic 10 tournament.
"The thing about this time of year is, if you come out and your best player has a bad game, you're losing," Hobbs said. "If the other team comes out and gets hot from the three-point line, you're losing. If a few calls go against you down the stretch, you're losing. That's the thing that's so great about the tournament, about March Madness. It's all about how you play that night, nothing more."
If the Colonials learned anything during the regular season, it was that they are almost unbeatable when they establish a fast-paced, end-to-end kind of game, but that they can be beaten by anyone if the game's pace is bogged down.
The Colonials were off and running in signature wins over Michigan State and Maryland in the BB&T Classic at MCI Center in December but found themselves locked in half-court wrestling matches in late season losses to Xavier and St. Joseph's.
"To me, it all starts with our defense and rebounding," said junior swingman J.R. Pinnock, who was George Washington's second-leading scorer during the regular season with 13.5 points per game. "If we get up on people, make them take tough shots and then if we rebound and don't give them second shots, that allows us to get out and play our kind of game. We're just a better, more loose team when we play fast."
The losses to Xavier and St. Joseph's put George Washington's hopes of receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament in serious jeopardy. Since the tournament field was expanded to 64 teams in 1984-85, no Atlantic 10 team with eight or fewer overall losses has failed to receive a bid. (The field since has expanded to 65, including the play-in teams.) However, ranked 17th in the conference Ratings Percentage Index, the Atlantic 10 is in danger of receiving only its automatic bid for the first time since 2000-01.
In the only meeting between George Washington and Fordham this season, the Colonials won, 80-70, on Feb. 16 at Smith Center. The Rams led, 55-45, with 12 minutes 38 seconds remaining before George Washington took control with a 16-3 run.
Fordham's 12 regular season wins were the school's most since 2000-01, and Wednesday night's was Fordham's first Atlantic 10 tournament victory in 10 attempts.
Second-year Fordham coach Dereck Whittenburg, a Washington native and former DeMatha star, is building a dangerous team around a pair of talented freshmen, forward Bryant Dunston and guard Marcus Stout.
Stout, who scored four points in the loss at George Washington, was spectacular Wednesday night, scoring 18 of his game-high 31 points in the first half. Unlike most George Washington opponents, Fordham won't be afraid to push the ball and get involved in a fast-paced game.
In the first meeting, the Rams attacked George Washington's full-court zone press and even did a little pressing of their own.
"We like that kind of game," Whittenburg said. "We believe we have a chance against every team we play. My team doesn't lack confidence, and it doesn't lack toughness. We don't fear anybody."
