10 things to know about George Washington, UF's next NIT opponent
The Gators have landed in Washington, D.C. for their next National Invitational Tournament stop, as No. 2 seed Florida (21-14, 9-9 SEC) is set to square off against No. 4 seed George Washington (25-10, 11-7 A-10) in the third round of the NIT on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. ET in a game that will air on ESPN2.
The winner of Wednesday night's contest will play in the NIT semifinals in Madison Square Garden against either Georgia Tech or San Diego State next Tuesday in New York City.
For those who aren't all too familiar with the Colonials, here are 10 things you should know about George Washington.
1. The Colonials are coached by Mike Lonergan, who is in his fifth year on the year. He is 94-70 in five seasons with GW and 471-226 in 23 seasons overall as a head coach. George Washington reached the NCAA Tournament in 2014 as a No. 9 seed, falling to No. 8 seed Memphis in its first game 71-66.
2. George Washington has victories this year against a couple NCAA Tournament teams in Virginia, Seton Hall and VCU, while also winning against Hofstra and Monmouth. However, the Colonials have dropped contests to DePaul, Saint Louis, Davidson, Dayton, Richmond, Saint Joseph's (twice), St. Bonaventure, VCU and Cincinnati.
3. GW is 68th nationally in RPI and 66th in Ken Pomeroy's team rankings, with the 88th most difficult schedule in the country this season. Meanwhile, Florida is 55th, 39th and fifth in those respective categories.
4. The Colonials' leading scorer is redshirt junior forward Tyler Cavanaugh, who is averaging 16.7 points per game on 51.1% shooting. The 6-foot-9, 235-pound Cavanaugh is also pulling down 7.6 boards per contest.
5. GW's starting lineup is overall a more experienced group than what the Gators have to offer. Three of its starters - forward Kevin Larsen and guards Patricio Garino and Joe McDonald - are seniors, while Cavanaugh is a redshirt junior and guard Yuta Watanabe is a sophomore. KenPom.com ranks George Washington as the 26th most experienced team in the country. UF is 288th in that category.
6. In addition to Cavanaugh, two other GW players are averaging double-figure scoring: Garino (14.2 PPG) and Larsen (12.1 PPG). Larsen is leading the team in rebounding with 8.3 boards per contest.
7. The Colonials are efficient from both three-point range and the free-throw line - two areas where UF has been inconsistent in Mike White's first season at the helm. GW is 37% from downtown (58th in nation) and 75.5% on free throws (18th nationally). The Gators are 32% (289th) from behind the arc and 64.3% (331st) from the charity stripe.
8. GW fares much better on the offensive side of the ball than on defense. The Colonials are 43rd nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency but 132rd in defensive efficiency, per KenPom.com. UF is 89th and 19th in those respective categories.
9. The Colonials generally liked to slow down the tempo and play in the halfcourt on offense. According to KenPom.com, George Washington's average possession length is 18.6 seconds, which ranks 304th in the nation. It's average possession length on defense is 16.6 seconds (46th in the country). Meanwhile, UF's is 16.2 seconds on offense (63rd nationally) and 17.7 on defense (278th nationally).
10. The Charles E. Smith Center, where the Gators and Colonials will play Wednesday night, holds a capacity of 4,538. To compare, the Stephen C. O'Connell Center's capacity before the renovation process started was more than double that at 11,548.
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