George Washington Colonials men's basketball

History

Mike Jarvis coached GW in the 1990s, and led the team to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 1993, where they were beaten by the Fab Five University of Michigan team (which later vacated its wins due to NCAA rule violations). Jarvis also coached former Colonials Head Coach Karl Hobbs in high school. Former NBA player Yinka Dare also played at George Washington for two years before being drafted in the first round by the New Jersey Nets.

GW's basketball team returned to the national stage in 2004 after defeating No. 9 Michigan State and No. 12 Maryland in back to back games to win the 2004 BB&T Classic. That year, the men's basketball team went on to win the Atlantic 10 West Title and the Atlantic 10 Tournament Title, earning an automatic bid to the 2005 NCAA Tournament. The team received a #12 seed, losing to #5 seed Georgia Tech in the first round.

The team began the 2005–06 season ranked 21st in the Associated Press poll, reaching as high as sixth in the polls, and after some tournament success they closed out the year ranked 19th in the nation. They had a record of 26–2 going into the 2006 NCAA Tournament. The 2005–06 team achieved the school's highest ranking in the last 50 years, peaking at #6 in the nation, had been one of the team's best ever, and received an #8 seed in the NCAA Tournament. In the tournament, they came back from an 18-point second-half deficit to defeat #9 seed UNC-Wilmington, but lost to Duke University, the top overall seed, in the second round.

While only one Colonial from the 2005–06 team was drafted in the 2006 NBA Draft, J. R. Pinnock, two other Colonials from that team have played in the NBA. Pops Mensah-Bonsu played for the Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs and Toronto Raptors and Mike Hall played for the Washington Wizards.

The 2006–07 basketball season was considered by many to be a rebuilding year for the Colonials after graduating their entire starting front court and losing Pinnock to the NBA. Coach Karl Hobbs and Senior guard Carl Elliott managed to lead the team to a 23–8 record, winning the 2007 Atlantic 10 Tournament in Atlantic City, New Jersey, once again earning an auto-bid to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship. The Colonials were placed as a #11 seed, but they lost to #6 seed Vanderbilt University in Sacramento, California 77–44.

After finishing the 2010–2011 season with a record of 17–14 (10–6 in Atlantic 10), capped by a disappointing 71–59 overtime loss to St. Joseph's in the conference tournament, Karl Hobbs was dismissed as head coach. Mike Lonergan, former head coach of the University of Vermont Catamounts, was hired to replace Hobbs.

The 2011–2012 basketball season, Lonergan's first with the Colonials, resulted in a 10–21 record (5–11 in Atlantic 10). By the 2013-14 season Lonergan had rebuilt the program with the team finishing 3rd in the Atlantic 10 Conference with a 24-8 record (11-5 in Atlantic 10). The team qualified for its first NCAA Tournament since 2007 earning a #9 seed in the East Region. Their season concluded with a second round loss to Memphis in the NCAA Tournament.

NCAA tournament results

The Colonials have appeared in the NCAA Tournament 11 times. Their combined record is 4–11.

NIT results

The Colonials have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) six times. Their combined record is 6–5. They were NIT champions in 2016.

CBI results

The Colonials have appeared in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) one time. Their record is 0–1.

Coaches

The Colonials have had 27 coaches in its history including two seasons with two head coaches.

Significant games in Colonials men's basketball history

GW 97, No. 5 West Virginia 93 – February 17, 1960
After falling to the Mountaineers earlier in the season, an announced crowd of 6,400 watched the Colonials host Jerry West and the nation’s fifth-ranked basketball team. Despite giving up 40 points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists to West, GW Athletic Hall of Famer Jon Feldman exploded for a career-high 42 points on 17–25 shooting to stun West Virginia.

GW 111, No. 12 Syracuse 104 (OT) – November 16, 1994
The Colonials were invited to participate in the pre-season NIT at Manley Field House at Syracuse, and though they gave up a last-second three-pointer to allow the Orangemen to send the game to overtime, the Colonials controlled the extra period to secure the win on national television.

GW 78, No. 1 UMass 75 – February 4, 1995
President Bill Clinton joined the Colonials at Charles E. Smith Center when John Calipari and the top-ranked Massachusetts Minutemen came to Washington. Kwame Evans scored 27 points, including his 1,000th and fans rushed the court as the Colonials scored their first-ever upset of a number one team.

GW 78, No. 18 Xavier 73 – OT, January 14, 1998
The Colonials hosted James Posey and the 18th ranked Musketeers at the Charles E. Smith Center. After trailing most of the game, Xavier took control of the game midway through the second half. GW forward Yegor Mescheriakov sprained his right ankle jumping for a rebound and limped off the court with 16:32 remaining. Without its leading scorer, and with Koul on the bench with four fouls, GW sagged. With GW's offense sputtering, Mike King entered the game and rescued the Colonials. King scored eight straight points and tied the game at 63-63. The clock then showed all zeros and the GW men's basketball team trailed 18th-ranked Xavier 68-66. King, a freshman playing his third collegiate game after achieving academic eligibility, calmly made two free throws - sending the game into overtime and the Smith Center into a frenzy. In the overtime, King continued his heroics scoring 8 of GW's 10 points in OT to a 78-73 win over Xavier.

GW 77, Xavier 74 – February 27, 1999
With the Atlantic 10 West Division Title on the line in the final game of the regular season, the Colonials hosted the Xavier Musketeers. Seniors Shawnta Rogers and Yegor Mescheriakov were playing their final home games. Despite missing a game-winning three with five seconds left Rogers received a pass following a Mike King rebound and broke the 74–74 tie as time expired to win the game and the division. The Colonials would later receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament under first-year coach Tom Penders.

GW 96, No. 11 Michigan State 83 – December 4, 2004
GW 101, No. 12 Maryland 92 – December 5, 2004
In the 2004 BB&T Championship, the Colonials upset ranked teams on two consecutive days, winning each by at least 9 points. Karl Hobbs guided his team to wins over the Michigan State Spartans and Maryland Terrapins. Pops Mensah-Bonsu scored 23 points in the first game and T.J. Thompson poured in 27 against the Terrapins for the Colonials. The next week, the Colonials entered both national polls for the first time in six years.

GW 76, Saint Joseph’s 67 – March 12, 2005
The Colonials clinched their first-ever Atlantic 10 Tournament title in 2005 behind 20 points from Omar Williams. The Colonials were given a 12th seed and faced Georgia Tech in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

No. 6 GW 86, Charlotte 85 (OT) – March 4, 2006
The sixth-ranked Colonials secured a perfect Atlantic 10 record and Charles E. Smith Center record when Carl Elliott tipped-in an errant Noel Wilmore three-point shot to finish a 26–1 regular season, solidifying the nation’s best record, and the best regular season record in Colonials history.

(8) GW 88, (9) UNC-Wilmington 85 (OT) – March 16, 2006 After drawing a surprising 8-seed following its 26–1 regular season campaign and reaching as high as 6th in the nation, the Colonials were sent to take on UNC-Wilmington in nearby Greensboro, North Carolina. Pops Mensah-Bonsu returned from a meniscus injury and helped the Colonials overcome an 18-point second half deficit to take on top-seeded Duke in the second round of the 2006 tournament.

GW 78, Rhode Island 69 – March 10, 2007
The Colonials controlled the entire second half in winning their second Atlantic 10 Tournament championship in school history (and second in three years), giving the Colonials their third consecutive NCAA Tournament bid and first time in school history with three consecutive 20-win seasons. The Colonials drew an 11th seed and travelled to Sacramento to play 6th-seeded Vanderbilt.

GW 49, Saint Louis 20 – January 10, 2008
The Colonials held the Saint Louis Billikens to just 20 points for the entire game, which set the record for the lowest point total since the inception of the shot clock in Division I College Basketball. Saint Louis was held to 14.6% shooting for the game, and made only one of nineteen three-point attempts. They had seven points in the first half.

GW 66, Memphis 71 – March 21, 2014
The Colonials drew the Memphis Tigers in the East Regional of the NCAA Tournament. The game was held in Raleigh, NC. The Colonials trailed Memphis for the bulk of the game but had two shots to tie in the final minute that didn't connect leaving them with a loss in their first NCAA Tournament Appearance since 2007.

GW 73, No. 6 Virginia 68 − November 16, 2015
Hosting UVA a year after losing 59-42 in Charlottesville, the Colonials held a lead for most of the game and knocked off Virginia for their first win over a top 10 team since defeating UMass 20 years prior. It was the third straight year GW had beaten a ranked team, and a sold out crowd at the Smith Center stormed the court as GW pulled off the upset. Patricio Garino led GW with 18 points and had many key buckets to spur momentum the Colonial's way.

(4) GW 76, (1) Valparaiso 60 - March 31, 2016
The Colonials made their way through the NIT tournament as a 4 seed by beating 3 higher seeds than them. They won their first National Invitation Tournament and first postseason title starting 3 foreign players and player of the tournament Tyler Cavanaugh. GW set a new school record with 28 wins with this game.

Colonials in the NBA

Other Colonials of note