After a few days off for finals, George Washington is back to work preparing for its second trip to California this month. Next week the Colonials open the Cable Car Classic in Santa Clara against No. 24 Air Force (11-1). Their Atlantic-10 Conference slate begins at home against Fordham on Jan. 3.

Q How difficult will it be to come off your longest break of the season on the road against Air Force, which runs the Princeton offense and could be the best team you’ll face all season?

A This is the toughest stretch and [Air Force is] probably the best offensive team in the country. If you look at the way they’re shooting from three-point range, when you look at their record, it makes it a very difficult game.

But it’s one of those games where we’re excited. We’re the underdogs, and no one’s expecting us to win. Most people are probably expecting us to lose by 20 because they’re beating everybody else by 20.

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The biggest obstacle is going to be defending the 3-pointer. All five guys they put on the court shoot the 3-pointer, and they all shoot a high percentage. They are playing probably as good as anyone in the country, maybe playing the best basketball of anyone.

Q Despite a 7-2 record, the Colonials continue to face scrutiny over the strength of non-conference opponents. How do you feel about your schedule this season?

A I don’t want to give a false sense of who we are. Because I’ve been at Connecticut, I know the difference between George Washington and Connecticut. Some of the things that we could do at Connecticut, we can’t do at George Washington.

In terms of scheduling, the biggest thing is to try to get as many home games as possible, and I don’t care who they are. I would play all my non-league games at home if I could get away with it.

For our program to be in a rebuilding year, and to be 7-2 with a win over Virginia Tech and about 36 minutes of terrific basketball against Southern California — putting ourselves in a position to win that game — I think that’s pretty good.

Q Carl Elliott had just seven points but also had seven steals against UMBC. Can you win consistently without him having a big game offensively?

A Can we win if Carl has two rebounds, two assists and one steal? No. I think that he’s got to continue to do those other things that he’s been doing, and he’s got to make an impact on the game. Sometimes it’s going to require him to score, or it may require him to make a defensive stop.

It’s important that Carl do all of those things. When he is doing all those things and scoring, we’re just that much better of a basketball team. Period.

— As told to The Examiner’s Craig Stouffer