By PAUL GOTHAM
Five nationally-televised games including a pair of head-to-head battles among the Atlantic 10’s top five teams and a cross-town rivalry take place this weekend. St. Bonaventure and VCU bring their unbeaten conference marks on the road. The weekend tips off Friday night on ESPN2. Here’s your guide:
Friday
George Washington (14-3/3-1) at Dayton (13-3/3-1) ESPN2 7 p.m.
Dayton is 3-0 when Steve McElvene rebounds in double figures. Can the redshirt freshmen stay out of foul trouble long enough for that to happen? Dyshawn Pierre is scoring a touch under 11 points and grabbing more than seven rebounds in five games for Dayton. GW ranks 21st nationally holding opponents to 30.2 percent behind the arc. Tyler Cavanaugh (17.2 ppg/7.2 rpg) has scored in double figures in all 17 of GW’s contests. Kevin Larsen is averaging more than 17 points and grabbing 8.3 over the last three games.
Saturday
Fordham (10-5/1-3) at Saint Joseph’s (13-3/3-1) 1 p.m. WPHL
DeAndre B’embry (16.7 ppg) and Isaiah Miles (18.3 ppg) pace a Saint Joseph’s offense which is 18th in the country committing just 10.2 turnovers per game. Fordham forces 16.7 miscues, but that number has dropped to 12.8 in conference games. The Rams’ Ryan Rhoomes leads the A-10 and is tied for eighth in the nation with a 68.8 field goal percentage. The senior forward also paces the conference and is 22nd in the country with 3.67 offensive rebounds per game.
VCU (12-5/4-0) at Richmond (10-6/2-2) CBS Sports Network 2 p.m.
VCU has won seven straight with what appears to be a familiar recipe: forcing a conference-leading 17.5 turnovers (3rd nation) per game. Unlike its teams of the past which brought 94 feet of pressure, this Rams club generates miscues in the half-court. They will be challenged by their cross-town rivals who rank 25th in the land handing out 17.2 assists. The Spiders lead the conference hitting 49.6 percent from the floor. Melvin Johnson tops the conference with 3.8 3-pointers and paces VCU with 18.5 points per game. Richmond’s Terry Allen is the conference’s third leading scorer at 20.1 points per game.
St. Bonaventure (12-3/4-0) at Duquesne (11-6/1-3) ASN 6 p.m.
St. Bonaventure is 4-0 in the A-1o for the first time since the 1999-2000 season. Jaylen Adams, Marcus Posley and Dion Wright combine to score 51 points for an offense which is second in the nation hitting 78.2 percent from the free throw line. Adams leads the conference hitting 47.1 percent behind the arc. The sophomore point guard also hands out 4.9 assists. The Bonnies take on a Duquesne team which started the season 10-2 – a stretch that included a win over Penn State and six-point setback at Georgia Tech. Injuries have slowed the Dukes since then. Derrick Colter (17.1 ppg/3.6 apg) will look to get Duquesne back on track. The Dukes are 8-1 on their home court this season.
OTHER GAMES
Saturday
UMass (8-8/1-3) at Davidson (10-5/2-2) NBCSN 12:30 p.m.
La Salle (5-9/1-3) at Rhode Island (10-7/2-2) NBCSN 2:30 p.m.
Sunday
George Mason (6-11/0-4) at Saint Louis (6-10/1-3) 3 p.m. NBCSN
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