Welcome to #ToBeFrank: Daniel Frank’s hot takes, analysis and recap of today’s Mason game.
George Mason is 4-1. It may be a little misleading given the margin of victory against middle of the road competition, but wins are wins, and Mason has won the games they were supposed to up to this point.
The Good
First and foremost, it was great to have GiantKiller guys back in EBA for a Mason Men’s game!
Home for CHRISTMAS 🎄 pic.twitter.com/xvuuy4csQH
— By George. (@ByGeorgeGMU) December 23, 2020
Be safe out here! pic.twitter.com/vJ7vYK5cMR
— By George. (@ByGeorgeGMU) December 23, 2020
There is no other way to talk about today’s game than to start with Josh Oduro. The Sophomore had a career day with 19 points and 8 rebounds.
Oduro on a little run all by himself, kid can cut to the basket and finish. HE’S UNSTOPPABLE!
— By George. (@ByGeorgeGMU) December 23, 2020
Josh has all 9 of our second half points. https://t.co/tpTabuQO8x
— By George. (@ByGeorgeGMU) December 23, 2020
Javon Greene had a better shooting game, going 5/9 from the floor, posting 13 points, while Jamal Hartwell II added in 12 points.
The Bad
AJ Wilson, once again was nowhere to be seen offensively. I genuinely don’t get it. He scored just 2 points combined in the two games he played in the Paradise Jam, but then dropped 22 points in 32 minutes against VMI two days ago. But today, another quiet performance: just 5 points, though he did make up for it somewhat with 6 rebounds. If Mason is going to get anywhere close to reaching their potential this season, AJ Wilson need to be a double-digit guy in scoring more often than he is not.
AJ now 2 for 14, that’s not a winning recipe.
— By George. (@ByGeorgeGMU) December 23, 2020
Also, lets be honest here, Mason struggled with 0-3, now 0-4, Towson far more than they should have.
This is about as classic of a DP game as we’ve come to expect. Mason leads 0-3 Towson by 6 at halftime.
— By George. (@ByGeorgeGMU) December 23, 2020
I understand it’s just their second game back after a month off, but that argument is invalid today because this was Towson’s first game in a month. So the math doesn’t add up. Don’t get me wrong, a win is a win, but in back-to-back games, Mason has defeat KenPom #240 VMI and #212 Towson by a combined 7 points.
Today was also the final game of the two-game suspension for Jordan Miller, Malik Henry and Otis Frazier III.
Looking Ahead
Norfolk State, coming up on Saturday is KenPom #246. Please, shut me up by smashing them into smithereens. Win by 25 just to make a point. That’ll be the final non-conference game before George Mason tips off Atlantic 10 Conference play next Wednesday at UMass.
