NCAA Basketball Thursday Preview: Bradley Braves vs. George Washington Colonials

The Bradley Braves (4-4) and George Washington Colonials (4-5) are set to meet on the hardwood Thursday night inside the Charles E. Smith Center in Washington, DC.

Bradley Braves at George Washington Colonials

The George Washington Colonials are seven-point home favorites against the Bradley Braves

Bradley returns to the hard court following an eight-day break for final exams and will being a two-game, East Coast road swing Thursday night.  The Braves are still looking for their first win away from home under first-year head coach Geno Ford.

The Braves shot just 26 percent from beyond the arc in the first month of the season, but could find more success in this particular matchup due to the Colonials allowing opponents to shoot 42 percent from three-point range on their home court.

Thursday’s game will be the fifth in the all-time series between the two schools, with the home team winning each of the first four meetings.  The Braves came away with a 75-65 win over the Colonials in their last meeting on Dec. 8, 1999.

Ford inherited a team with some experience, bringing back nine returning lettermen, but two of the program’s top three scorers from a year ago graduated.  Three players are averaging double figures—led by senior forward Taylor Brown who is averaging 16.1 points per game and scored in double figures in all eight contests.

Bettors will find that the Braves have failed to cover six of their last seven games versus lined competition, while the ‘under’ is 4-0 in their last four road games.

George Washington will look to snap a four-game losing streak and comes off an 85-50 loss to the Syracuse Orange as 21-point road underdogs.  The Colonials have played a very challenging schedule in being the only Atlantic 10 Conference team to have played three true road games against programs from the six power conferences this season.

After the first two weeks of the season, the team was 4-1 overall and leading the nation in three-point field goal percent, but that has changed drastically during its four-game losing streak.  The Colonials are shooting just 26.6 percent from beyond the arc in that span.

First-year head coach Mike Lonergan knows it will take time to get the program going in the right direction.  “Nobody takes losing harder than I do,” commented Lonergan.  “But in the long run it will be good for us that we played a schedule like we’re playing now.”

Offensively, senior guard Tony Taylor is the lone reliable option early on, averaging 13.1 points per game and is the only starter averaging double figures at this point in time.  Interestingly enough, he didn’t start against the Orange, as junior guard Lasan Kromah was the only starter in double figures last time out.

Bettors will likely back the Colonials due to their 7-1 ATS mark after suffering a straight-up loss of more than 20 points, while the Braves are 1-5 ATS in non-conference action.

Recommendation: George Washington Colonials -7