For George Washington University men’s basketball head coach Chris Caputo, Wednesday night at the Smith Center showcased his vision for GW men's basketball's potential—not just on the court, where the team controlled a Power Five opponent for a 79-55 win over South Carolina, but also in the stands, where students, in particular, overfilled the seats.
"The student section was incredible,” Caputo said. “It gives you a chance to build a great program when you have that type of support. This is an awesome building to play in to begin with but then to have it filled up with students that are doing what they're doing, it's incredible.
"No matter what happened in the game, I wanted this to look like what this could be."
There was a buzz in the air throughout the day Wednesday in Foggy Bottom, made possible by the highly anticipated Miracle on 22nd Street pregame tailgate. The energy carried over inside the Smith Center as a packed George's Army student section spilled over its allotted 1,000 seats into a second side of the arena.
Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports Network, which broadcast the game, compared the environment to Times Square on New Year's Eve and the passion didn't go unnoticed by those donning the Buff and Blue.
"The fans are like a sixth player on the floor for us," said senior guard James Bishop, who scored 24 points, dished out eight assists and grabbed three rebounds. "They were there from the jump, and we love that support."
Senior forward Ricky Lindo Jr., who was the recipient of a new Fan Club banner in the student section, called the crowd in the Smith Center “amazing.”
"We love it,” Lindo said. “We need them every single game. It's an amazing crowd we had, and we just need to keep it up."
Bishop got the crowd involved early with a slick pass to senior forward Hunter Dean for a slam dunk on the opening possession that was just a harbinger of things to come.
GW never trailed and led by as many as 35, shooting an efficient 51% from the field. The production has become commonplace for the Buff and Blue, who rank 22nd in the country in shooting percentage (50.0%) and 12th in effective field goal percentage (58.3%), a formula that accounts for the extra value of a 3-pointer.
The threes were falling all night, a season-high 12 on 27 attempts. Bishop matched a season-best with five and reigning Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Week Brendan Adams tied a career-high with four of his own three pointers, part of his 18-point, five-assist showing.
GW assisted on 21 of its 30 made field goals, including the game-high eight from Bishop.
"We had two really good days of practice and preparation," Bishop said. "We knew we were ready, and everyone was juiced up to play well. When you have good preparation days, you're really able to play well."
Perhaps more impressively, though, was the GW defense that limited South Carolina to just 20 points and 24% shooting in the first half, 32% shooting overall.
Lindo drew the defensive assignment on South Carolina’s prized recruit GG Jackson, who is averaging 17.7 points per game and shooting 46% from the floor. With numerous pro scouts in attendance, Lindo showcased his ability to disrupt a game on the defensive end, frustrating Jackson and limiting him to a season-low 11 points on 4-of-17 shooting.
"We did such a good job of keeping the ball out of [Jackson's] hands," Caputo said. "We had a game plan for when he caught it that we never had to execute because he never got the ball on the block."
To his own right, Lindo added 15 points and six rebounds.
The GW men’s team plays local foe American on Dec. 10 and a battle with Coppin State on Dec. 13. Tickets are still available at GWsports.com/tickets.
