The Troy Trojans have a rather tall task at hand tonight in the nation’s capitol city. The Trojans (3-4) are facing the Colonials of George Washington (6-3) on the road, and Trojans head coach Michael Murphy said tonight’s game will be tough.

“This is one of the premier programs in the nation,” Murphy said. “They have been to three sweet 16’s in the last six or seven years. There’s a big tradition here.”

The tradition at George Washington is making an appearance in the NCAA tournament. The Colonials have done so 12 consecutive times.

“We’re going to have to play with a great deal of confidence,” Murphy said. “We’re going to have to combat their size.”

The size Murphy referred to was height of the Colonial players.

“They’re a very big team,” Murphy said. “Physically they’re huge.”

The Colonials have eight players listed on their roster that are taller than six feet.

“We’re going to have to box out and rebound,” Murphy said. “I’m really concerned with their size, but they do have to defend us at the other end of the court too.”

The Trojans were very thankful for the home game against Spring Hill before hitting the road, and they hope they can keep their confidence high on the road.

“I think what Saturday allowed us to do is play a lot of people,” Murphy said. “We had a 10 day break for finals, and we really needed that home game before we went on the road. Anytime you shoot well it builds confidence. 95 points in a game will give you some confidence.”

Murphy expressed how a win at George Washington could do great things for the Trojans’ season, but he and the Trojans will have to have a good night shooting the basketball.

“They’re a very proud program on the east coast,” Murphy said. “Everybody knows UCONN and Duke, but they’re right there with them. This is one of the top programs in the country.

The Trojans road trip doesn’t get any easier after the George Washington test. The Trojans will face Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky on the road in their next two games following tonight.

Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. Central Time and 7:30 p.m. Eastern at the Charles E. Smith center.