Game 10: Men at Maryland-Baltimore County

The men travel some 30 miles north to face Maryland-Baltimore County (3-1) in GW's first road game of the season. The Colonials (2-0) haven't played since November 14, when they knocked off Boston University 69-56. In that one, Rob Diggs led the way with 20 points and 12 rebounds, while freshman Xavier Alexander added 11 points, four rebounds, and three assists.

The Retrievers, who were picked to finish fifth out of nine teams in the America East Conference, are coming off of a 12-19 campaign that saw the program reach the semifinals of the conference tournament. UMBC returns three starters from last season's squad, most notably 6-3 senior guard Brian Hodges (16.3 points per game this season), who was one of only two unanimous All-America East selections. The Retrievers are also led by 6-8 senior forward Cavell Johnson (17 points, nine rebounds), 6-4 junior forward Darryl Proctor (15.8 points, 7.8 rebounds), and 6-2 senior guard Ray Barbosa (15 points, 5.3 rebounds). Coach Randy Monroe is in his fourth season at UMBC, where he has a record of 36-58.

Maryland-Baltimore County is already 2-0 against Atlantic 10 squads, having won at both LaSalle and Richmond. On Tuesday, the Retrievers suffered their first loss of the season, falling 87-84 in overtime at Lafayette. In that one, Barbosa led the way with 26 points, while Johnson added 22 points and nine rebounds. Proctor (13 points, nine rebounds) and Hodges (12 points) also reached double figures in scoring, but UMBC allowed Lafayette to shoot 10-25 (40%) from three.

This is the fifth-ever meeting between these programs; GW is 2-2. The last meeting came on December 12, 2006, which the Colonials won 72-51 at the Smith Center. In that one, Maureece Rice had his first career double-double (22 points, 10 rebounds), while Cheyenne Moore was the only other Colonial in double figures with 10 points. The only meeting in Baltimore took place on December 19, 1989, which the Retrievers won 78-75.

UMBC is balanced enough to keep this thing close, but expect GW to pull away late. It will be interesting to see if the 10-day layoff has any sort of impact on coach Karl Hobbs' team.

Jordan Teller and Sammy Gelfand have the call for WRGW with David Earl handling production duties. You can listen here starting at 1.40 p.m. Our own Greg Shapiro will join Byron Kerr for the 3WT broadcast. You can listen here starting at 1.50 p.m.

Game notes: Rice is six points shy of becoming the 40th player in program history with 1,000 career points...GW is 25-4 all-time against America East schools...Rice is two threes away from passing SirValiant Brown for eighth on GW's all-time list...The Colonials were 4-3 in regular season non-conference games away from the Smith Center last season and 11-8 away from home overall...GW has won three out of its last four road openers, with the only loss coming at #2 Wake Forest 97-76 on November 15, 2004...Travis King is out for the season with a knee injury...UMBC's 3-1 start is the best under Monroe...Maryland-Baltimore County's women's team will face Mount St. Mary's following the conclusion of today's men's game.

Almost all of my staff is home for the holiday, but we'll try to get some information from the RAC Arena as we get closer to tip-off. Please check back later.

Update, 1.21 p.m. - Rice will not start and might not play due to disciplinary reasons, per WRGW's Greg Shapiro. Hobbs said he would not offer any additional details until after the game.

Update, 1.39 p.m. - Interesting mysterious situation with Rice. You have to hope it's nothing too serious, but who knows at this point. No King and now no #33 does not bode well for the Colonials. GW was able to pull away from Boston University without its starting backcourt of King and Rice, but this UMBC game has suddenly become a lot more interesting. The Retrievers have finished at #214, #296, and #286 in the RPI over the last three seasons. This certainly isn't a game GW can afford to lose.

UMBC is averaging nearly 18 points per game more this season than they did last year. In addition, the Retrievers feature five players who are averaging 15 points per game or more. This is a dangerous game for Hobbs' bunch.

Update, 5.43 p.m. - Here were the starting lineups:

GW
G - Xavier Alexander (6-6 freshman from Forest Park, OK)
G - Damian Hollis (6-8 sophomore from Ft. Lauderdale, FL)
F - Cheyenne Moore (6-5 junior from Baltimore, MD)
F - Wynton Witherspoon (6-7 junior from Duluth, GA)
F - Rob Diggs (6-8 junior from Brandywine, MD)

Maryland-Baltimore County
G - Jay Greene (5-8 junior from Whitehall, PA)
G - Ray Barbosa (6-2 senior from Allentown, PA)
G - Brian Hodges (6-3 senior from Upper Marlboro, MD)
F - Darryl Proctor (6-4 junior from District Heights, MD)
F - Cavell Johnson (6-8 senior from Fort Washington, MD)

The Colonials had dodged a handful of bullets in non-conference play over the past few years, overcoming opponents' 'A'-games with superior talent. That streak ended today, as GW suffered perhaps its worst defeat in four years; it's the first loss to a mid-major school since the fateful Fairfield overtime loss in 2003.

Without knowing what infraction kept Rice out of the game, it's hard to make a definitive judgment. However, you definitely expect more from a senior leader. In addition, not even an NBA team has to deal with a 10-day layoff during the regular season. You can chalk the extended break up as a mistake by Jack Kvancz, Hobbs, and company. Sure, the players are ultimately the ones to blame for the loss, but all of the time off certainly didn't do the team any favors.

This could be a crippling loss for the Colonials because they picked a bad time to lose. Can we really expect them to bounce back at UCLA on Wednesday? The following Sunday brings Auburn to the Verizon Center for the BB&T Classic. At the end of next week, GW could easily be 2-3 for the first time since 2002. This isn't a program that has had to endure a lot of losing in recent years. You never know how an untested team is going to respond when the going gets tough.

It's a long season (after all, who really expected last year's squad to be an NCAA Tournament team during that four-game losing streak?), and this team is only going to get better as time goes by. However, the already slim hopes for an at-large bid may have gone out the window in Baltimore today barring some unexpected run.

Postgame audio to follow later tonight.

Update, 9.24 p.m. - The sound quality is shaky but you can listen to Hobbs' postgame here:


Update, 10.27 p.m. - Monroe's postgame: