Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
George Washington
Men's Basketball Heads to Nation's Capitol for Showdown with Revolutionaries
December 12, 2024 | Men's Basketball
WEST POINT, N.Y. — Army West Point (5-4) hits the road for the last time in 2024 on Friday as they head to Washington D.C. for a matchup against the George Washington Revolutionaries (8-2).
The matchup between the two teams will be the first time since 2015 that the two teams have played against each other. In their last matchup over nine years ago, the Revs took a 92-81 win over the Black Knights.
The game between the Black Knights and the Revolutionaries is slated to begin at 7 p.m. on Friday in the Charles E. Smith Center. The game will stream live on ESPN+ and the Army Sports Network.
ARMY STORYLINES:
LAST GAME: The Black Knights saw its first loss in Christl Arena, falling to Cornell, 103-84. The Big Red shot 61 percent from the floor and 63 percent from the three-point line which was enough to hold off a 16-4 run by Army to end the game Jalen Rucker and Josh Scovens led the way for Army, both scoring 17 points in the shootout. Ryan Curry added 13 points and a team-best six assists. AJ Allenspach had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Jalen Rucker earned the fifth Patriot League Player of the Week award of the season. The senior guard finished one point short of his career-high with 34 points to go with 13 rebounds and five assists in the Black Knights' win over Le Moyne last week, becoming the second Div. I player this season to finish with more than 30 points, more than 10 rebounds and more than five assists in a single game, the first one to do it against a Div. I opponent.
SETTING THE STANDARD: Alongside earning Player of the Week honors, Jalen Rucker not only leads the team but also the Patriot League in several areas. Rucker averages a league-best 19.2 points and 2.0 steals every game. He is also third in the Patriot averaging 4.0 assists a game.
MASTER OF BOARDS: Senior forward AJ Allenspach has been a consistent paint presence for the Black Knights all season. Allenspach averages a league-best 77.8 percent from the floor and leads the team and second in the Patriot League with 8.7 rebounds a game. He earned his third career double-double of the season on Sunday against Cornell.
SENSATIONAL SOPHOMORES: Sophomore forward Josh Scovens and guard Ryan Curry have continued to shine after having an impressive freshman season. Scovens is second on the team and third in the conference in scoring, averaging 17.7 points per game. He also averages five rebounds and a team-best 1.1 blocks a game. Meanwhile, Curry shoots a team-best 47.5 from the three-point line and averages a team-best 4.3 assists per game, good for second in the Patriot League.
OFFENSIVE PLAYMAKERS: The Black Knights are some of the best in Division I in offensive efficiency. Army averages 83.9 points every game, good for being in the top 40 in the country. The team is also sixteenth in the nation in assists per game, currently averaging 18.3 every game. Those numbers are also good for best in the Patriot League.
ON THE GLASS: Army has quickly become one of the best rebounding teams in the Patriot League. The Black Knights are first in the league with 40.3 total rebounds and 27.9 defensive rebounds every game. Army is also second in the league with 12.4 offensive rebounds per game and third in rebounding margin, averaging +3.0 margin per game.
History with George Washington
- George Washington leads the series, 9-5
- Current Streak: GW, 5 wins
- Last Army win: 1971, 73-68
- Last GW win: Nov. 22, 2015, 92-81
- Last Five Meetings: Cornell leads 5-0
- Nov. 22, 2015 (Washington DC): ARMY 81, GW 92
- Dec. 27, 1997 (Washington DC): ARMY 59, GW 91
- Jan. 1972 (Washington DC): ARMY 69, GW 79
- Jan. 1971 (West Point): ARMY 73, GW 68
- Dec. 1969 (Washington DC): ARMY 73, GW 50
Scouting the Revolutionaries
- George Washington currently sits at an 8-2 record in their first 10 games this season. Their most recent win came on Saturday against Old Dominion, 78-70. The Revs are also 5-0 at home this season
- Head coach Chris Caputo enters his third season in charge at GW. Before his time at George Washington, he served as the associate head coach of Miami from the ACC.
- Darren Buchanan Jr. leads the team averaging 16.4 points per game while also averaging a team-high 8.4 rebounds every game. Gerald Drumgoole Jr. is second on the team posting 11.9 points a game.
- Rafael Castro and Jacoi Hutchinson round out the team averaging 10.1 points a game. Hutchinson also leads the playmaking efforts with a team-high 3.3 assists per game.
