Saturday, March 8th, 7:30 p.m. (et).

FACTS & STATS: Site: Smith Center (5,000) -- Washington, D.C. Television: None. Home Record: UMass 11-3, GW 8-3. Away Record: UMass 6-6, GW 1-12. Neutral Record: UMass 3-0, GW 0-1. Conference Record: UMass 9-6, GW 5-10. Series Record: George Washington leads, 33-24.

GAME NOTES: Atlantic 10 Conference foes at opposite ends of the spectrum will close out the 2007-08 regular season tonight in the nation's capital, as the George Washington Colonials host the Massachusetts Minutemen. UMass comes in with the momentum of a five-game win streak, and is currently in a three-way tie for third place in the A-10 standings with a 9-6 ledger. On Wednesday night, the Minutemen posted a 100-63 thrashing of La Salle to improve to 20-9 on the season, marking their seventh win in the last 10 outings. As for George Washington, it has dropped two straight, with the most recent setback being a 77-61 verdict at Charlotte on Thursday night. The Colonials fell to 9-16 overall with the loss, and currently own a miserable 5-10 mark in league play. GW does, however, own a 33-24 advantage in the all-time series with UMass

The Minutemen shot an impressive 52.1 percent from the field in Wednesday's 37-point rout of La Salle, including a commendable 14-of-31 effort from beyond the arc. UMass held the Explorers to a mere 31.8 percent shooting effort, and forced 15 turnovers while dominating the boards, 55-33. Gary Forbes achieved game-highs in both points (26) and rebounds (11) to pace UMass in the win, while Ricky Harris added 21 points to go with seven boards off the bench. Chris Lowe logged a triple-double with 14 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds, while Dante Milligan contributed 18 points and six boards. Etienne Brower chipped in 11 points in the victory. Forbes drives the UMass offense, averaging a whopping 20.3 ppg while grabbing a team-best 8.0 rpg. He is joined in double figures by Harris and Brower, who contribute 18.0 and 12.7 ppg, respectively. Brower has also been responsible for 6.5 rpg, while Lowe leads the Minutemen in assists with 167 and nets 12.3 ppg.

The Colonials shot a miserable 33.8 percent from the field, including 7-of-27 from long range, during Thursday's 16-point loss at Charlotte. Rob Diggs scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to pace George Washington, while Wynton Witherspoon tallied 14 points in the losing effort. Noel Wilmore added 13 points off the bench for the Colonials, and Xavier Alexander pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds. Diggs leads GW both in scoring (14.2 ppg) as well as on the glass (7.8 rpg), followed by Witherspoon who checks in with 11.1 ppg.

UMass is clearly the superior team in this matchup, and the Minutemen should have little trouble disposing of the lowly Colonials, even on the road.

Predicted Outcome

Massachusetts 84, George Washington 62