Colonials Have Been Cooking Thanks to Pressure Defense

Pressure Points The Way for GW as It Turns Up Heat on Defense

SACRAMENTO, March 14 -- For most of the season, 11th-seeded George Washington has lurked under the radar, perfectly content with its position out of the spotlight. The Colonials have surged, stumbled and surged again this season, all without the added pressure of expectations.

"Nobody's really talking about us right now," Colonials forward Dokun Akingbade said.

But while that might have been the case before, it isn't anymore, as GW prepares to face No. 6 seed Vanderbilt in Thursday's first-round NCAA tournament game.

Since the Colonials put on a dominating defensive display in last week's Atlantic 10 tournament -- a three-game stretch in which GW allowed little more than 52 points per game, allowed just 22 percent shooting from three-point range and forced 62 turnovers -- the team's profile has risen. Plenty of people are talking about GW's pressure and traps, even if the subject is disconcerting to some.

Vanderbilt Coach Kevin Stallings spent most of his 10-minute media session Wednesday addressing questions about how his half-court, three-point-oriented Commodores (20-11) plan to deal with the harassing Colonials (23-8).

"We've read things where we've never faced anything like what we're going to see tomorrow, and it will be a shock to our system, and that people can expect lots and lots and lots of turnovers," Stallings said.

The matchup has created a measure of intrigue because it features a direct contrast of styles. Vanderbilt's preference is to shoot from the perimeter; GW's defense is designed to put pressure on that same space.

"What we're trying to do is create the pace of the game, and the flow of the game," Colonials Coach Karl Hobbs said.

Despite upsetting defending national champion Florida and sweeping Kentucky this season, Vanderbilt enters the tournament just 5-5 in its last 10 games, the last two being back-to-back losses to Arkansas. The Colonials, by contrast, have won eight straight while playing their best basketball of the season.

"Apparently, we are the underdog, and we'll just have to deal with that," Stallings said after the line of questions about GW's defense.

Turning up the heat has been part of the GW repertoire during Hobbs's tenure, and the Colonials' long, athletic personnel reflects that emphasis. In the last three weeks, GW has sharpened its execution.

After his team stumbled through a four-game losing streak from Jan. 31 to Feb. 14, Hobbs called for a return to fundamentals, which included a refresher course on solid defense. The change began at the top, where the Colonials have managed to increase their pressure on ballhandlers, a key part of GW's success in its zone defense looks.