Mike Jarvis was hired as head coach in 1990. Led by Yinka Dare, the Colonials received an at-large bid to the 1993 NCAA tournament, the Colonials first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1961. GW advanced to the Sweet Sixteen before losing to the Fab FiveMichigan team (which later vacated its wins due to NCAA rule violations).
The Colonials would also make NCAA Tournament appearances in 1994, 1996, and 1998 under Jarvis. Jarvis would leave the school in 1998 to accept the head coaching position at St. John's.
The school then hired recently fired Texas head coach, Thomas Penders. Penders would spend three years at GW, before resigning amidst accusations of NCAA rules violations.[2]
21st century
On May 2, 2001, the university hired Karl Hobbs, who spent eight years as an assistant coach at Connecticut, as head coach. In 2004, Hobbs led GW to back to the national stage, defeating ninth-ranked Michigan State and No. 12 Maryland in back-to-back games to win the 2004 BB&T Classic. That year, the men's basketball team went on to win the Atlantic 10 West title and the Atlantic 10 tournament, earning an automatic bid to the 2005 NCAA tournament. The team received a No. 12 seed, losing to No. 5 seed Georgia Tech in the First Round.
The 2006–07 basketball season was considered by many[4][5] to be a rebuilding year for the Colonials after graduating their entire starting front court and losing Pinnock to the NBA. Coach Karl Hobbs and Senior guard Carl Elliott led the team to a 23–8 record, winning the 2007 Atlantic 10 tournament, once again earning an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The Colonials received a No. 11 seed and lost to No. 6-seed Vanderbilt.[6]
The Colonials would struggle the next three years and after finishing the 2010–11 season with a record of 17–14, capped by a disappointing 71–59 overtime loss to Saint Joseph's in the conference tournament,[7] Karl Hobbs was dismissed as head coach.[8]
On May 11, 2011, Mike Lonergan, former head coach of Vermont, was hired to replace Hobbs.[9]
The 2011–12 basketball season, Lonergan's first with the Colonials, resulted in a 10–21 record (5–11 in Atlantic 10). By the 2013–14 season, Lonergan had rebuilt the program and finished third in the Atlantic 10 with a 24–8 record (11–5 in Atlantic 10). The team received an at-large bid to the 2014 NCAA Tournament, its first NCAA Tournament since 2007. They received a No. 9 seed in the East Region and would lose to Memphis in the Second Round (formerly known as the First Round).
The Colonials regressed the following year, finishing 22–12. They did, however, receive a bid to the NIT where they defeated Pittsburgh before losing in the second round to Temple.
In 2016, the Colonials again missed the NCAA Tournament and again received a bid to the NIT. This time the Colonials would defeat Hofstra, Momouth, and Florida to reach the NIT final four at Madison Square Garden. In the NIT semifinal, they defeated San Diego State to advance to the championship game. In the championship game, they cruised to the NIT championship with a 76–60 win over Valparaiso.
However, the Colonials could not build on their NIT success as the school fired head coach Mike Lonergan on September 16, 2016, after an investigation found him guilty of verbally and emotionally abusing his players.[10][11]
The school named assistant coach Maurice Joseph interim coach for the 2016–17 season. The Colonials finished the 2017 season 20–15, 10–8 in A-10 play and received a bid to the College Basketball Invitational where they defeated Toledo in the first round before losing to UIC.On March 27, 2017, the school removed the interim tag and named Maurice Joseph full-time head coach.[12]
Joseph was fired after the 2018–19 season. He had an overall 44–57 record (.436) at GW including 21–33 (.389) in the Atlantic 10.
On March 21, 2019, former Siena head coach Jamion Christian[13] was hired as the new head coach. Christian accumulated a 29–50 record in three seasons and was let go. On April 1, 2022, longtime George Mason and Miami (FL) assistant Chris Caputo was hired as the new coach.
Postseason
NCAA tournament results
The Colonials have appeared in the NCAA tournament 11 times. Their combined record is 4–11.
The Colonials have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) six times. Their combined record is 6–5. They won the NIT championship in 2016.
NCAA Tournament '05, '06, '07; NIT '04; CBI'10; Atlantic 10 tournament champions '05, '07; Atlantic 10 Regular Season Champions '06; National Coach of the Year Finalist 2005–06
GW 97, No. 5 West Virginia 93 – February 17, 1960
After falling to the Mountaineers earlier in the season, an announced crowd of 6,400 watched the Colonials host Jerry West and the nation's fifth-ranked basketball team. Despite giving up 40 points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists to West, GW Athletic Hall of Famer Jon Feldman exploded for a career-high 42 points on 17–25 shooting to stun West Virginia.[18]
GW 111, No. 12 Syracuse 104 (OT) – November 16, 1994
The Colonials were invited to participate in the pre-season NIT at Manley Field House at Syracuse, and though they gave up a last-second three-pointer to allow the Orangemen to send the game to overtime, the Colonials controlled the extra period to secure the win on national television.[19]
GW 78, No. 1 UMass 75 – February 4, 1995 President Bill Clinton joined the Colonials at Charles E. Smith Center when John Calipari and the top-ranked Massachusetts Minutemen came to Washington. Kwame Evans scored 27 points, including his 1,000th and fans rushed the court as the Colonials scored their first-ever upset of a number one team.[20]
GW 78, No. 18 Xavier 73 – OT, January 14, 1998
The Colonials hosted James Posey and the 18th ranked Musketeers at the Charles E. Smith Center. After trailing most of the game, Xavier took control of the game midway through the second half. GW forward Yegor Mescheriakov sprained his right ankle jumping for a rebound and limped off the court with 16:32 remaining. Without its leading scorer, and with Koul on the bench with four fouls, GW sagged. With GW's offense sputtering, Mike King entered the game and rescued the Colonials. King scored eight straight points and tied the game at 63–63. The clock then showed all zeros and the GW men's basketball team trailed 18th-ranked Xavier 68–66. King, a freshman playing his third collegiate game after achieving academic eligibility, calmly made two free throws - sending the game into overtime and the Smith Center into a frenzy. In the overtime, King continued his heroics scoring 8 of GW's 10 points in OT to a 78–73 win over Xavier.[21]
GW 77, Xavier 74 – February 27, 1999
With the Atlantic 10 West Division Title on the line in the final game of the regular season, the Colonials hosted the Xavier Musketeers. Seniors Shawnta Rogers and Yegor Mescheriakov were playing their final home games. Despite missing a game-winning three with five seconds left Rogers received a pass following a Mike King rebound and broke the 74–74 tie as time expired to win the game and the division. The Colonials would later receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament under first-year coach Tom Penders.[22]
GW 96, No. 11 Michigan State 83 – December 4, 2004 GW 101, No. 12 Maryland 92 – December 5, 2004
In the 2004 BB&T Championship, the Colonials upset ranked teams on two consecutive days, winning each by at least 9 points. Karl Hobbs guided his team to wins over the Michigan State Spartans and Maryland Terrapins. Pops Mensah-Bonsu scored 23 points in the first game and T.J. Thompson poured in 27 against the Terrapins for the Colonials. The next week, the Colonials entered both national polls for the first time in six years.[23]
GW 76, Saint Joseph’s 67 – March 12, 2005
The Colonials clinched their first-ever Atlantic 10 Tournament title in 2005 behind 20 points from Omar Williams. The Colonials were given a 12th seed and faced Georgia Tech in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.[24]
No. 6 GW 86, Charlotte 85 (OT) – March 4, 2006
The sixth-ranked Colonials secured a perfect Atlantic 10 record and Charles E. Smith Center record when Carl Elliott tipped-in an errant Noel Wilmore three-point shot to finish a 26–1 regular season, solidifying the nation's best record, and the best regular season record in Colonials history.[25]
(8) GW 88, (9) UNC-Wilmington 85 (OT) – March 16, 2006
After drawing a surprising 8-seed following its 26–1 regular season campaign and reaching as high as 6th in the nation, the Colonials were sent to take on UNC-Wilmington in nearby Greensboro, North Carolina. Pops Mensah-Bonsu returned from a meniscus injury and helped the Colonials overcome an 18-point second half deficit to take on top-seeded Duke in the second round of the 2006 tournament.[26]
After winning the 2007 A-10 Championship
GW 78, Rhode Island 69 – March 10, 2007
The Colonials controlled the entire second half in winning their second Atlantic 10 Tournament championship in school history (and second in three years), giving the Colonials their third consecutive NCAA Tournament bid and first time in school history with three consecutive 20-win seasons. The Colonials drew an 11th seed and travelled to Sacramento to play 6th-seeded Vanderbilt.[27]
GW 49, Saint Louis 20 – January 10, 2008
The Colonials held the Saint Louis Billikens to just 20 points for the entire game, which set the record for the lowest point total since the inception of the shot clock in Division I College Basketball. Saint Louis was held to 14.6% shooting for the game, and made only one of nineteen three-point attempts. They had seven points in the first half.[28]
GW 66, Memphis 71 – March 21, 2014 The Colonials drew the Memphis Tigers in the East Regional of the NCAA Tournament. The game was held in Raleigh, NC. The Colonials trailed Memphis for the bulk of the game but had two shots to tie in the final minute that didn't connect leaving them with a loss in their first NCAA Tournament Appearance since 2007.[29]
GW 73, No. 6 Virginia 68 − November 16, 2015
Hosting UVA a year after losing 59–42 in Charlottesville, the Colonials held a lead for most of the game and knocked off Virginia for their first win over a top 10 team since defeating UMass 20 years prior. It was the third straight year GW had beaten a ranked team, and a sold-out crowd at the Smith Center stormed the court as GW pulled off the upset. Patricio Garino led GW with 18 points and had many key buckets to spur momentum the Colonial's way.[30]
(4) GW 76, (1) Valparaiso 60 – March 31, 2016
The Colonials made their way through the NIT tournament as a 4 seed by beating 3 higher seeds than them. They won their first National Invitation Tournament and first postseason title starting 3 foreign players and player of the tournament Tyler Cavanaugh. GW set a new school record with 28 wins with this game.[31]
Mike King – A 6'4" guard who had a great freshman year en route to Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team honors, in spite of becoming eligible mid season. King was part of the 1999 regular season champions. He then went on to having a successful basketball career in Europe playing for 11 years before retirement.
Chris Monroe – GW's All-Time Leading Scorer – A-10 Legend Inductee 2016 – GW Hall Of Fame Inductee 2012 – Retired European professional player – Currently the Director Of Marketing and Sales at George Washington University.
J. R. Pinnock – Drafted in the second round of the 2006 NBA draft.
Shawnta Rogers – A 5' 4" guard who led the nation in steals his senior season and won Atlantic 10 Player of the Year. He enjoyed a successful European career.
