The Davidson Wildcats (17-11), the Atlantic 10’s top scoring team, will be in action against the George Washington Colonials (22-8) at Belk Arena. Action starts at 3:30 pm ET on Saturday, Mar. 5 and will air on NBS.
The Wildcats are hoping for a better outcome after their 70-60 loss to VCU on Wednesday. Jack Gibbs was the team’s leading scorer with 18 points. The Colonials, meanwhile, are coming off a 74-52 win against George Mason on Tuesday. Kevin Larsen had a good game for George Washington, posting 17 points, eight rebounds, and two assists.
Peyton Aldridge has been playing at a high level recently for the Wildcats, averaging 19.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.0 block, and 2.2 three-pointers over the last five games.
The Wildcats may have trouble getting to the line in this one. They’re 267th in the nation in FTA rate (33.1), while George Washington is among the nation’s least foul-prone squads (yielding a FTA rate of just 27.4, 19th in the country).
This is the second game of the season between these two teams, with the Colonials winning the first matchup 79-69. Despite the loss, Gibbs was a top performer in the game with 25 points, two rebounds, two assists, two steals, and three three-pointers.
Even with a positive Straight Up (SU) record of 17-11, the Wildcats are 10-16-1 Against The Spread (ATS) in those games. The Wildcats are a high-volume three-point shooting team with 9.0 made per game, one of the highest marks in Division I. Davidson is one of the most disciplined teams in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.48. The Davidson defense has been on fire lately, allowing an average of 66.2 points per game, well under their season average of 78.1.
On the other side, the Colonials head into the game with records of 14-13-1 ATS and 22-8 SU. George Washington is one of the top foul-shooting teams in the nation, making .762 of their shots from the line. The last 10 games have really brought the worst out of the Colonials on the defensive end. They allowed 75.3 points per game during that span, which is higher than their season average of 67.7.
George Washington won the last meeting this season between these two teams, but the win was not enough to overtake Davidson in the head-to-head series. Its record is now 1-2 SU. Furthermore, Davidson leads the matchup ATS with a record of 2-1.
Predictions: SU Winner – GW, ATS Winner – GW
Notes
The Davidson Wildcats average 79.5 points per game, ranking 33rd in the nation. The George Washington Colonials rank 69th in points allowed with 67.7.
In its last game, George Washington won by a margin of 22 points. Davidson is 2-3 in games decided by a margin of 18 points or more. George Washington has a 5-2 record in blowouts.
Ranked 59th, the George Washington Colonials have an offensive rating of 111.8. The Davidson Wildcats rank 232nd with a defensive rating of just 110.0.
Davidson has an average field goal percentage of 44.3%. George Washington is an even 4-4 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Davidson Wildcats rank lower for their field goal percentage (173rd) than they do for their effective field goal percentage (85th), but the George Washington Colonials have a better FG% ranking (174th) than eFG% ranking (191st).
Davidson ranks 61st in assists, registering 15.3 per game. George Washington performs worse at 151st with 13.7 assists per game.
George Washington, the 74th-ranked team in rebounding, registers an average of 38.3 rebounds per game. Davidson does worse, ranked 241st with 35.0.
The George Washington Colonials rank 99th in offensive rebounds. The Davidson Wildcats rank 170th in the nation in defensive rebounds.
On average, Davidson forces a turnover rate of 16.6%. When George Washington turns over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a solid 10-5 record.
