George Washington University men's basketball team will begin its quest for an Atlantic 10 Championship on Thursday evening in the second round of the conference tournament, taking on either No. 10 seed Rhode Island or No. 15 seed Fordham. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Capital One Arena with coverage available on USA Network.
Ticket deals
Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets for the A-10 Championship through the GW Ticket Office. Both single-session and all-session tickets are available here.
GW students can purchase discounted tickets for Thursday's game through a special link available here. Students must enter their GW email address to unlock the discounted tickets.
Pregame Raise High tailgate
Join GW Athletics for a pregame event at Yard House, 812 7th St. NW in Chinatown, from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday prior to tip-off. Snacks, non-alcoholic beverages and one drink per person will be provided. RSVP for the event at this link.
All-Conference Revolutionaries
Redshirt junior Rafael Castro and redshirt first year Christian Jones garnered postseason awards from the Atlantic 10, the league announced on Tuesday. Castro earned a spot on the All-Conference second team and All-Defensive team while Jones was named to the All-Rookie squad.
In his first year in Foggy Bottom, Castro became one of the premier big men in the conference, leading the league in field goal percentage, total rebounds, rebounds per game, offensive rebounds per game and double-doubles, all within the top-25 nationally. He scored in double figures in the final 16 games with eight double-doubles and eight 20-point efforts, both top-three among league players.
Jones proved it was worth the wait following his redshirt year last season, becoming one of the best rookies in the A-10. He led the league's first-year players in steals and 3-point percentage and ranked second in scoring, steals, field goal percentage and minutes played. He was the only underclassmen in the circuit with 80+ assists and 50+ steals and one of just five players overall.
About the potential opponents
GW will square off with the Rams of Rhode Island or Fordham on Thursday evening having already secured road wins against both teams earlier this year.
The Buff & Blue topped Rhode Island, 75-67, on Jan. 8 behind a balanced scoring effort led by Castro's 16 points and Trey Autry's first career double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds. Rhode Island is led by third team All-Conference performer Sebastian Thomas, who scored 20 points in the January encounter and finished fourth in the A-10 with 17.5 ppg.
A rematch with Fordham would come just eight days after GW finished the regular season with an 81-58 trouncing of the Rams in the Bronx last Wednesday. The win was GW's largest margin of victory in a road A-10 game since 2020 and the second-most points scored in league play for the Buff & Blue. Jackie Johnson III finished second in the A-10 with 18.6 ppg and had 19 vs. GW last week.
How the bracket breaks
Should GW win, the Buff & Blue would advance to take on regular season co-champion and No. 2 seed George Mason on Friday night at 5 p.m. on USA Network. The two teams had a pair of memorable battles in the regular season with the Patriots pulling out a double overtime win in Fairfax on Jan. 18 and eeking out a three-point win at the Smith Center on Feb. 5.