George Washington University

Dec. 8, 2006

Game Notes in PDF Format

Game 8 • John R. Wooden Classic Date: Saturday, Dec. 9, 2006 • Time: 2:00 pm (PST) Location: Honda Center (17,600) • Anaheim, CA Radio: WTWP 107.7 FM, 1500 AM (Byron Kerr) TV: WGN, HDNet (Joel Meyers, James Worthy, John Ireland) Series: First meeting

GW COACH: Karl Hobbs (Connecticut `85)
Record at GW: 97-57 (.629) 6th season
Atlantic 10 Record: 48-32 (.600) 6th season
Career Record: 97-57 (.629) 6th season
Hobbs' Record vs. USC: 0-0

USC COACH: Tim Floyd (Louisiana Tech `77)
Record at USC: 22-15 (.595) 2nd season
Career Record: 265-145 (.646) 14th season
Idaho 35-25; New Orleans 127-58; Iowa St. 81-47
Floyd's Record vs. GW: 1-0 (w/New Orleans)

ANAHEIM, CA - GW makes its first appearance in the John R. Wooden Classic Saturday against local entry USC at Honda Center in Anaheim, CA.

Today's Game: George Washington (6-1) faces Southern California (5-2) for the first time in the second half of the John R. Wooden Classic doubleheader.

• This is the first of two trips to the west coast this month for GW which returns to Santa Clara for the Cable Car Classic Dec. 28-29.

• The Colonials have won six of their first seven games this season including Tuesday's 79-56 victory over visiting Maryland-Eastern Shore. The Colonials overcame a slow first half and shot 63 percent (17-27) in the second half to pull away. Maureece Rice led the Colonials with a game-high 20 points, including 4-6 from long range.

• The victory was GW's 24th regular-season win in their last 25 regular-season games and its 18th straight victory at Charles E. Smith Athletic Center.

• The Trojans are coming off a 72-62 loss at Kansas last Monday at Lawrence, KS, in a game that featured twin brothers Lodrick (USC) and Rodrick (KU) Stewart on opposing teams. Lodrick Stewart paced USC with 23 points, including 5-for-8 from three-point range.

• GW has an all-time record of 2-2 against teams from the Pacific-10 Conference (0-1 vs. Oregon; 1-0 vs. Oregon St. and 1-1 vs. Stanford). The last time GW faced a Pac-10 team was in the consolation game of the 1998 BB&T Classic when the Colonials fell to #5 Stanford, 70-56, in Washington.

A Closer Look at USC: A member of the Pac-10 Conference, USC (5-2, 0-0 Pac-10) is coming off a 72-62 loss at Kansas last Monday in Lawrence, KS. The Trojans were led by senior G Lodrick Stewart (23 points) and freshman F Taj Gibson (15 points, 9 rebounds).

USC shot 41.7 percent (20-46) from the field at Allen Fieldhouse but were outrebounded by the Jayhawks, 39-30, including 20-8 on the offensive glass. The Trojans committed 25 turnovers in their first road game of the season. Head coach Tim Floyd's team is led by Stewart (15.9 ppg), junior G/F Nick Young (15.3 ppg) and Gibson (12.1 ppg). The Trojans opened the season with six straight home games in their brand new Galen Center. After a season-opening loss to the other USC (South Carolina) in overtime, USC reeled off five straight victories by an average of 16.2 points. USC is picked to finish sixth in the Pac-10 Preseason Media Poll.

Next Game: The Colonials return to Washington to host Maryland-Baltimore County on Tuesday, Dec. 12, at Smith Center. The GW-UMBC game will tip off at 7:30 p.m. (EST) and, although not televised, will air live in the Washington area on Washington Post Radio 107.7 FM, 1500 AM and on www.GWsports.com.