The No.5-seeded Hofstra Pride get together with the No.4-seeded George Washington Colonials in the first round of the NIT tournament at Charles E. Smith Center. The game begins at 8:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Mar. 16 and will air on ES3.
The Colonials are expecting better results after their 86-80 loss to Saint Joseph’s in the 3 of the Atlantic 10 tournament. Despite the loss, Kevin Larsen earned his 12th double-double this season with 10 points and 11 rebounds. The Pride, meanwhile, are coming off an 80-73 loss to UNC Wilmington in the 4 of the Colonial Athletic tournament. Ameen Tanksley led the game in scoring with 24 points.
The Colonials come into this game 23-10 Straight Up (SU) and 14-16-1 Against The Spread (ATS). The Colonials are an incredibly accurate shooting team from the line with a .757 free throw percentage, one of the highest marks in Division I. Crossing over to the defensive side of the court, the Colonials prevent teams from making three-pointers, ranking 49th in the nation with a .341 opponent field-goal percentage from three-point range.
Across the court, the Pride have 24-9 SU and 14-15-1 ATS records.
With the Colonials’ last win against the Pride, their SU record rises to 2-0 over Hofstra. The Colonials also lead the matchup ATS with a record of 2-0.
Predictions: SU Winner – Hof, ATS Winner – Hof
Notes
“George Washington is 19-4 SU in its last 23 games at home”.
“George Washington is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games “.
“Hofstra is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games “.
The Hofstra Pride rank 65th for their offensive rating of 111.0. The George Washington Colonials have a defensive rating of 102.1 (ranked 53rd).
George Washington has an average field goal percentage of 44.4%. Hofstra is 9-6 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The George Washington Colonials and the Hofstra Pride both rank higher in average effective field goal percentage when compared to their field goal percentages. George Washington is 170th and 164th in the nation for FG% and eFG% respectively, while Hofstra is 171st and 125th in these categories.
Hofstra ranks 71st in assists, recording 15.0 per game. George Washington performs worse at 130th with 14.0 assists per game.
George Washington ranks 88th in rebounds per game with 37.9 and Hofstra ranks 43rd with 39.2 rebounds per game.
The Hofstra Pride rank 93rd in offensive rebounds. The George Washington Colonials rank 121st in the nation in defensive rebounds.
On average, George Washington forces a turnover rate of 17.6%. When Hofstra turns over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a winning 9-4 record.
