Washington and Lee University
W&L vs. THE TOURNAMENT FIELD:
W&L has played a total of 114 games against the tournament field and carries a 39-75 record against the three teams that will participate in the W&L Classic. The Generals are 37-75 all-time against Roanoke, but carry 1-0 records against both Muskingum and Ferrum.
LAST MEETING WITH MUSKINGUM:
The Generals only meeting with the Muskies was on Dec. 19, 1978 at the Rose-Hulman Tournament held in Terre Haute, Ind. W&L escaped with a 56-55 victory.
LAST MEETING WITH FERRUM:
This marks the Generals' second meeting with Ferrum. Last season, W&L took a 71-67 decision in the championship game of the W&L Men's Basketball Tournament. Senior forward Greg Bienemann poured in 25 points and grabbed nine rebounds, senior forward Femi Kusimo added 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting, while guard Isaiah Goodman tallied nine points, seven rebounds and four assists for the Generals. Ferrum had a chance to tie the game at 70-70 with nine seconds remaining, but a three-pointer by guard Marcus Mayo would not fall and W&L secured a four-point victory. The Cougars were led by senior forward Jon Godsey and Mayo, who totaled 16 points apiece.
THE HEAD GENERAL:
Adam Hutchinson (Amherst '93) is in his sixth season as the head coach at Washington and Lee. Hutchinson has led W&L to a 39-85 record, including back-to-back seasons with double-digit wins for the first time since 1989-1991. For last season's winning effort (15-11) Hutchinson was honored as the ODAC Coach of the Year. In his nine seasons as a head coach, Hutchinson claims a 73-152 (.324) overall record. Hutchinson is assisted by Jamie Snyder-Fair (Colby '05), who is in his first year at W&L.
FOR OPENERS:
Washington and Lee will be playing in its 22nd season-opening tournament since the 1970-71 season. The Generals are 14-28 (.333) in those contests and have won three tournament championships (1987, 1988, 2002 W&L Tip-off Tournaments). Under current head coach Adam Hutchinson, the Generals have posted a 1-4 record in the first game of a new season and a 1-1 record when that game is played in the Warner Center. Overall, W&L's record in home-openers under Hutchinson is 3-2, including last season's 70-52 win over Dickinson.
STRONG START = STRONG FINISH:
W&L is 23-1 in its last 24 games (14-1 last season) when leading at the break and has compiled a 57-24 (.704) record over the past 10 years when it leads at the break. W&L has won a total of 73 games during that stretch, meaning that the Generals have led at halftime in just over 78 percent of their wins during the last 10 years.
SCOUTING THE GENERALS:
The Generals are coming off a 15-11 season, their first winning season since a 15-12 campaign in 1989-90. W&L returns three starters from a season ago. Senior guards Chris McHugh and Isaiah Goodman, and senior forward Kirk Jones started all 26 games last season. McHugh is the leading returning scorer after netting 8.8 points per game a season ago. McHugh also contributed 2.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. Goodman averaged 7.6 points and 2.6 rebounds per game, while Jones chipped in 5.4 points and 3.1 rebounds per night. W&L posted a a +3.8 scoring margin (70.4 - 66.6) on average last season. Also, the Generals posted a 9-3 record at home in 2007-08, their most home wins since posting 10 wins during the 1989-90 campaign.
SCOUTING MUSKINGUM:
The Muskies completed the 2007-08 campaign with a 15-11 overall record and they welcome back four players that started at least 13 games last winter. Muskingum's season came to an end with a 78-67 loss to Ohio Northern in the first round of the Ohio Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament. Senior forward Tyler Felt headlines the returnees. A Second Team All-OCAC selection a year ago, Felt averaged a team-high 15.3 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, while shooting 51.5 percent from the floor. Also back is senior guard Pat Byrne who started in 23-of-26 games in 2007-08 and posted nightly averages of 8.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists. Senior guard Trevor Scott also returns after seeing action in all 26 games, including one start, and putting up 9.1 points per game off the bench to go with 2.7 rebounds and 1.8 steals.
SCOUTING FERRUM:
The Cougars posted a 14-12 record last season and were regular season co-champions (Methodist) in the USA South after posting a league mark of 8-4. Of Ferrum's 14 wins last season, just three of them came away from home as it posted a 5-12 mark in road games. Three starters headline the returnees for reigning USA South Coach of the Year Bill Tharp, including the USA South and D3hoops.com South Region Rookie of Year Derek Mitchell. Mitchell, a junior forward, started 20-of-26 games a year ago and averaged a double-double with 12.6 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. Mitchell shot 57.2 percent from the floor and led the team with 30.3 minutes played per game. Junior guard Keith Crump, the Panthers' leading scorer last season, returns after putting up 15.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. Junior guard Jerrell Wade is also back after starting 24 games and averaging 8.5 points, 3.3 assists, 1.9 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game.
-- GENERALS --