In a season where the Colonials have struggled to stay above .500 at times, GW is closing it out with as much momentum as any team in the Atlantic 10 (aside from maybe URI).Take a look back at the past two seasons, and you’ll find heart-wrenching late-season collapses that have taken GW from a near NCAA Tournament lock to the NIT two years in a row. Tweets like this may resonate with Colonial fans who have endured a team that has put them through about every possible emotion over the past few seasons.
https://twitter.com/ClampTeddy/status/829541785345081344
(This was tweeted after GW’s heartbreaking loss to VCU).
On January 24, 2015, George Washington was coming off a 74-59 win over Duquesne, and was looking at the possibility of a second consecutive NCAA Tournament birth. GW then went on to lose seven of its next nine games and receive a 5-seed in the NIT Tournament.
Last season, GW didn’t lose an obscene amount of games in a row, but rather was simply unable to win games they had to win. On December 22, 2015, George Washington was ranked #21 in the nation before falling on the road to DePaul 82-61. Later on in the season came an inexplicable collapse at Saint Louis where the Colonials fell 65-62. Not to mention losses at Dayton, vs. Richmond in double OT, vs. Saint Joseph’s, at Saint Bonaventure, vs. VCU and a brutal one at Davidson to close the regular season. Granted, the Colonials did go on to win the NIT last season, but the team’s inability to win key games, especially down the stretch of the regular season, killed it.
This season’s GW team sits at 17-13 (9-8 A-10) and is probably not even in the conversation for an NIT birth. This is why the Colonials’ 4-game winning streak (and having won 5 out of 6 overall) is just so ironic. In a year where the Colonials have struggled all year long and are solidly out of contention for an NCAA Tournament appearance, they’ve finally put it together and have strung some wins together down the stretch.
Granted, crazy things can happen in March, and 2007 in an example of a GW team that came out of nowhere and won the Atlantic 10 Tournament. But to put in perspective how long ago that was, the A-10 Tournament was still being held at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, and neither Barclay’s Center nor PPG Paints Arena were built yet. So it’s not very likely that GW will run the table and win it all in Pittsburgh. It’s just ironic they chose this season to finally learn how to close out a season. That’s A-10 basketball for you.
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