Wright State starts off a busy week of holiday basketball Tuesday against George Mason who is coming off back-to-back games where the Patriots scored over 86 points.
Meanwhile, the Raiders come into Tuesday’s contest on a four-game winning streak coming off of a 69-56 win at Western Carolina last Thursday. The Raiders are slowly getting back to the defensive form they have showed in years past holding three of their last four opponents below 60 points.
George Mason’s depth and variety of looks could pose some challenges for the Raiders.
“They can score and they’re relentless off the glass,” Wright State head coach Billy Donlon said. “It is a game for us that we have to try to attack tempo and they’re taking the shots we want them to take.”
The Patriots regularly play 11 players. While Donlon isn’t concerned with the Patriots’ depth, the number of options on George Mason’s bench can make matchups a bit more challenging.
“Both teams can make adjustments,” Donlon said. “It kind of reminds me of Belmont where both coaches—if one coach wants to go big, the other can go small. And it is just a question of what players are playing well.”
George Mason’s program has had a lot of success in recent years for a program that has transitioned from being a mid-major to the Atlantic 10 Conference. In 2006, the program went to the Final Four. In 2011, the program won a game in the NCAA Tournament before falling to Ohio State in the round-of-32. George Mason only has four wins this year, but it has played a tough schedule.
Several weeks ago, George Mason took newly top-25 ranked Northern Iowa to overtime in a contest in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
Offensively for Wright State, Donlon expects the Patriots to give the Raiders a number of different defensive sets. He said Mason will press and show zone at times in tomorrow’s game along with a man-to-man defense.
While George Mason has suffered from a number of close losses, Wright State has found a way to win tight games. A win Tuesday would make back-to-back years the Raiders sweep their home nonconference schedule. Even with the 8-4 start, Donlon said the Raiders still have room to grow.
“We have played a tough non-league schedule,” Donlon said. “This is going to be a really hard game tomorrow but we’re just trying to get better each day. To be fair to our guys, it has been an incredibly long journey already with the travel and the schedule. And with Christmas, we only get one day off and we’ll be back Christmas Day.”
Part of Wright State’s recent success can be attributed to the play of freshman guard Grant Benzinger. In the last five games, Benzinger has made 61 percent of his 3-point attempts (19-of-31) and has averaged 13.6 points a game. Despite his phenomenal shooting of late, Donlon does not want Benzinger to be defined as just a shooter.
“Because of his work ethic and love of the game, he could have a significant career here,” Donlon said. “I want to define it as he could have a really good basketball career by the time he is done. He has a great instinct for the game.”
In Benzinger’s first collegiate game, he took a charge and a steal in the final 90 seconds of a 73-70 win over Belmont on Nov. 14.
“He was actively involved in that game,” Donlon said. “Like any freshman, he’ll probably a wall. This is what is important when a freshman becomes a sophomore that year two is tougher than year one in terms of his career moving forward.”
Another strong performer for WSU recently has been junior JT Yoho who has two of his three career double-doubles in the last two contests.
Following Tuesday’s contest versus Mason, the Raiders conclude nonconference play at No. 21-ranked Ohio State Saturday.
