The Sports Network

DATE & TIME: Saturday, January 19, 4 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Mullins Center (9,493) -- Amherst, Massachusetts. Television: None. Home Record: GW 4-4, UMass 5-1. Away Record: GW 2-5, UMass 5-1. Neutral Record: GW 1-0, UMass 2-2. Conference Record: GW 1-2, UMass 2-1. Series Record: GW leads, 35-27.

GAME NOTES: The Massachusetts Minutemen welcome the George Washington Colonials to the Mullins Center for an Atlantic 10 Conference showdown.

George Washington has struggled of late, dropping three of its past four contests. The Colonials let one slip away on Wednesday night, as they led Temple for most of the contest only to watch the Owls put together a late rally and claim a 55-53 victory. Following this tilt, GW will travel to Rhode Island this coming Wednesday.

Meanwhile, UMass has been on a roll since early-December with wins in nine of its last 10 outings. Most recently, the Minutemen notched a 79-66 victory over Duquesne on Thursday night, their second straight victory after opening A-10 play with a loss at Saint Louis.

GW leads the all-time series, 35-27, although UMass claimed an 86-75 road victory when these teams met last February.

The Colonials played frontrunner for 38 minutes against Temple, but the Owls closed out the game with a 10-0 run to steal the victory. For the Colonials, it marked only their second loss this season when holding an opponent to less than 60 points. Isaiah Armwood tallied 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds in the loss, as he came up just one rebound shy of his sixth double-double of the season. However, he was also the only player in double figures for GW, as the team made only 8-of-23 field goals (.348) in the second half. Armwood, a 54-percent shooter from the floor, paces the squad with 12.3 points, 8.6 rebounds and nearly three blocks per game. But he also has not gotten much help, as second-leading scorer Patricio Garino averages less than 10 points and is shooting just 39 percent from the floor.

The Minutemen received some tough news earlier this week when it was announced that starting shooting guard and second-leading scorer Jesse Morgan (13.4 ppg) would miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL, which he suffered last Thursday at Saint Louis. The injury was initially diagnosed as a sprain, but Morgan saw doctors on Tuesday and the tear was revealed. It certainly won't be easy finding a replacement for Morgan, who exploded for 35 points against Ohio on Dec. 19. Derek Kellogg has turned to senior Freddie Riley while also sliding point guard Chaz Williams (16.2 ppg, 7.4 apg) off the ball when freshman Trey Davis comes in to play the point. Riley, a bench player for most of his career, has averaged better than 11 points over his last seven games. He scored 12 against Duquesne behind a 4-of-8 effort from the perimeter, while Williams also knocked down four 3-pointers en route to a team-high 22 points and nine assists. Terrell Vinson (12.3 ppg) finished with 17 points and five assists in the win.

The Minutemen may have a little extra juice tonight as the school is retiring the No. 21 jersey of former star and Naismith Player of the Year Marcus Camby (96). Despite the loss of Morgan, UMass still has the pieces to make a run at the school's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1998.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Massachusetts 78, George Washington 72