“We have a new cafeteria that is the most incredible eating facility you’ve ever seen on a college campus,“ Larranaga said. “You walk in, pay one price and there’s a salad bar, a fruit bar, a hamburger and hot dog grill, a pizza place, wraps. It’s got a cappuccino machine. “My wife and I went there for Sunday brunch, and they not only serve omelets, they make them right there.“

Eric Maynor leaves Virginia Commonwealth University as the Rams’ all-time leader in scoring and assists. The hope now is that his assists keep on coming for VCU, and the Colonial Athletic Association, in recruiting.

Craig Littlepage, athletic director at the University of Virginia, hasn’t called, texted or Twittered for advice on his search for a men’s basketball coach. Surely that’s just an oversight. He must be caught in traffic on Route 29. Hey, been there, done that. His call no doubt will come at any moment, but here’s the list of top candidates, just in case the line is busy.

So who’s the favorite in the tournament? Top seed and regular-season champion VCU? Red-hot Old Dominion? Northeastern, which led the CAA much of the season? Don’t discount second-seeded George Mason (20-9), which has reached the championship game three of the past five years and enters this year’s event as the defending champs. “There are circumstances that lead to your performance [in the tournament], and how a coach is able to get his team motivated, focused and play consistently throughout a threeor four-day period is the whole key,“ GMU coach Jim Larranaga said. “Quite frankly, that has a lot to do with your personnel.“

For Virginia Commonwealth, the path to the Colonial Athletic Association regular-season title is clear: Win its final two games against James Madison and Georgia State this week, and the top seed for the CAA tournament belongs to the Rams for the third consecutive year. Lose one of those games, and VCU likely introduces the tiebreaking procedure to complicate things.

SCOREBOARD PEEKING commences in earnest this week around the Colonial Athletic Association. Seven teams are jammed within two games of first place with three conference games to play. The top four earn first-round byes in the CAA tournament. “It makes for a very, very interesting and complicated ending,“ George Mason coach Jim Larranaga said. “The number of potential ties has to be ridiculous.“

There are players who shy away from taking game-deciding shots. And then there’s Eric Maynor. Virginia Commonwealth University’s superlative senior point guard lives for those times. He has made so many during his career that they have become known as Maynor Moments. Another one presented itself yesterday in an electric atmosphere at the sold-out Siegel Center. And Maynor did what he always seems to do, making a momentum-changing basket and more clutch plays that kept the Rams atop the Colonial Athletic Association with a 76-71 victory over George Mason.

Virginia Commonwealth’s basketball series with George Mason dates to 1981. But a rivalry between the state schools, in the opinion of GMU coach Jim Larranaga, didn’t really develop until a few years ago, when both became consistent contenders in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Rams (7-1, 14-5) and Patriots (7-1, 14-4) are a big enough draw now that they’ll be on national television (ESPN2) today at 4 p.m., battling for first place in front of what’s expected to be a sellout crowd at the Siegel Center.

FAIRFAX—George Mason coach Jim Larranaga always begins practice with a thought for the day. He didn’t have to think hard to come with one today. “Yes, we can!“ he told his players as they gathered at midcourt at 11:30 a.m. at the Patriot Center, about a half-hour before Barack Obama was sworn in as president. Then came laughter as the group singled out senior Chris Fleming, the team’s sole Republican.