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Game 21 - George Washington (14-6) vs. Richmond (7-13)
Nuts & Bolts
Date: January 29, 2025
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Venue: Charles E. Smith Center - Washington, DC
How to Watch: ESPN+
Matchup History: George Washington leads all-time series 64-46
Last Meeting: Richmond def. George Washington 66-61 on 12/31/24
Prediction: George Washington 82, Richmond 69
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Head Coach: Chris Caputo (3rd season, 45-39 record at George Washington)
Record: 14-6 (3-4, 8th in Atlantic 10)
Last Time Out: Won vs. Saint Louis 67-61 on 1/25/25
Player to Watch: Rafael Castro
George Washington got a much-needed victory on Saturday afternoon in DC as Chris Caputo’s squad snapped a three game losing streak, taking down Saint Louis 67-61.
Within minutes from tip, GW took the lead and never again trailed, taking a 36-22 lead into the locker room and leading by double digits for most of the second half.
In the victory, the Revolutionaries scored 40 points in the paint, many of which came from junior forward Rafael Castro, who had 21 points to go along with 9 rebounds and 2 blocks. It’s the third time in four games he’s scored 20+, having previously never cracked 16 points through GW's first 16 games this year.
Castro’s emergence on the offensive side of the floor has opened up things outside for GW’s shooters, who had an off shooting afternoon against SLU. GW shot just 4-19 from long range (21%), with two of the four 3P's coming from freshman point guard Christian Jones, who added 16 points to Castro’s 21.
Besides Castro and Jones, George Washington shot 11-31 (35%) as the duo combined for 35 of the team’s 67 points.
Defensively, the Revs were sensational. The GW defense hounded SLU shooters all game long, keeping the Billikens to a measly first half shooting performance and holding them to 6-28 from three.
SLU’s ‘big three’ of Avila, Swope, and Jimerson entered the game averaging 53 PPG as a trio, but were held to 36 points, paving the way for a GW victory.
On Wednesday night, the Revs have the first reverse fixture of the season, facing a Richmond team that beat them just 30 days ago, 66-61 in Richmond.
In that game, GW was abysmal offensively, shooting just 18-54 (33%) from the field and scoring just 21 points in the first half.
If the Revs shoot closer to the season average, they’ll likely find much more success this time around against a Richmond team that is just 2-5 in the A10 and has a league-worst 7-13 overall record.
Head Coach: Chris Mooney (20th season, 355-281 record at Richmond)
Record: 7-13 (2-5, 14th in Atlantic 10)
Last Time Out: Lost vs. Davidson 72-66 on 1/25/25
Player to Watch: Dusan Neskovic
Richmond’s 66-61 win over George Washington on New Year’s Eve is its best win of the season so far.
The Spiders, under the direction of long-tenured Head Coach Chris Mooney, are off to a rough 7-13 start this year, including a 2-5 start in the conference, and enter Wednesday’s game in DC riding a five game losing streak after a 2-0 start in conference play.
It was just four years ago that Mooney took Richmond to the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the second round after defeating Iowa in the first round.
Two years ago, Richmond went 15-18 and 7-11 in the conference before a tremendous season last year, where the Spiders went 23-10 and 15-3 in A10 play.
The worst season Richmond has had with Mooney at the helm came in his second season in 2006-07, when the team went 8-22 overall and 4-12 in the conference.
Despite the slow start this year, the Spiders still have GW’s number. Richmond had won nine of the last ten meetings with the Revs, including three straight. However, Richmond will now have a much steeper mountain to climb this time around.
The Spiders will be without leading scorer DeLonnie Hunt, who had foot surgery just over two weeks ago and will be out for two months, potentially the rest of the season.
With Hunt sidelined, keep an eye on senior Forward Dusan Neskovic, who has averaged 17.5 PPG over the last four games.
In the paint, it’ll likely be Neskovic and Rafael Castro battling it out for Richmond and GW, respectively. The winner of that battle might ultimately decide the result of Wednesday night’s game.
Final Thoughts
Overall, it feels like GW’s game to lose; they’re at home, against a team who beat them after leading by 13, and now will play without its leading scorer.
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