PREMIUM
Rogers' Coach's Clinic SPECIAL ($20 Tuesday!) >> 6 Straight Winning Cards!
(NCAAB) George Washington vs. Harvard,
Point Spread: -2.50 | -102.00 Harvard (Home)
Result: Loss
Point Spread: -2.50 | -102.00 Harvard (Home)
Result: Loss
The set-up: George Washington started the season 3-0 but has lost three straight despite holding a lead in each game. The Colonials look to get back to their winning ways as they hit the road for the team's first true road game of the season, taking on Harvard Tuesday in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Crimson are just 1-3 with their only win coming over Fisher College, while losing to Stanford, Holy Cross and UMass.
George Washington: GW won the NIT last season but gone are guards Garino (14.1 & 4.2) and McDonald (8.8-5.4-3.1) plus the 6-10 Larsen (12.3 & 8.3). The 6-9 Cavanaugh was the team's best player last year and he's back, averaging a team-leading 18.2 PPG and 8.2 RPG. He's joined up front by the 6-9 Watanabe (13.4 & 5.2) but this duo is GW's only double digit scorers. A bigger issue is that Watanabe missed Saturday's loss to Penn St with a leg injury and is questionable for this one.
Harvard: Head coach Tommy Amaker is in his 10th season with Harvard and after six straight 20-plus win seasons and four straight NCAA appearances, Harvard was just 14-16 last year, including 4th in the Ivy League at 6-8. He has a roster that includes seven freshmen and six sophomores this season but one of those newcomers, 6-7 freshman forward Seth Towns, leads the team in scoring (11.8 PPG), while fellow Henry Welsh (at 6-10), is averaging a team-best 7.0 RPG (adds 8.3 PPG). A third freshman, guard Aiken, is averaging 9.7 PPG while the top-two returning players are senior guard Chambers (8.7 & 5.0) and sophomore guard Johnson (8.8).
The pick: A year ago, GW captured the NIT championship in March for its first-ever national postseason championship in basketball but this year's team is not in that class, especially if Watanabe misses. Harvard has gone 92-56 in non-conference play under head coach Tommy Amaker. The Crimson defeated Boston College in six straight seasons from 2009-2014 and has also topped Auburn, California, Cincinnati, Colorado, Florida State, Michigan, TCU and Utah in Amaker's tenure. Make Harvard an 8* play in this one.
George Washington: GW won the NIT last season but gone are guards Garino (14.1 & 4.2) and McDonald (8.8-5.4-3.1) plus the 6-10 Larsen (12.3 & 8.3). The 6-9 Cavanaugh was the team's best player last year and he's back, averaging a team-leading 18.2 PPG and 8.2 RPG. He's joined up front by the 6-9 Watanabe (13.4 & 5.2) but this duo is GW's only double digit scorers. A bigger issue is that Watanabe missed Saturday's loss to Penn St with a leg injury and is questionable for this one.
Harvard: Head coach Tommy Amaker is in his 10th season with Harvard and after six straight 20-plus win seasons and four straight NCAA appearances, Harvard was just 14-16 last year, including 4th in the Ivy League at 6-8. He has a roster that includes seven freshmen and six sophomores this season but one of those newcomers, 6-7 freshman forward Seth Towns, leads the team in scoring (11.8 PPG), while fellow Henry Welsh (at 6-10), is averaging a team-best 7.0 RPG (adds 8.3 PPG). A third freshman, guard Aiken, is averaging 9.7 PPG while the top-two returning players are senior guard Chambers (8.7 & 5.0) and sophomore guard Johnson (8.8).
The pick: A year ago, GW captured the NIT championship in March for its first-ever national postseason championship in basketball but this year's team is not in that class, especially if Watanabe misses. Harvard has gone 92-56 in non-conference play under head coach Tommy Amaker. The Crimson defeated Boston College in six straight seasons from 2009-2014 and has also topped Auburn, California, Cincinnati, Colorado, Florida State, Michigan, TCU and Utah in Amaker's tenure. Make Harvard an 8* play in this one.
