WASHINGTON — The ignorance-is-bliss theory is about to be tested by George Washington's Karl Hobbs. Before facing St.Bonaventure in his first Atlantic 10 game, the first-year head coach called the Bonnies the league's best team.

        GW since has lost to Dayton, and it tonight begins a three-game stretch against league powers Xavier, Saint Joseph's and Massachusetts — all of which also might have something to say about Hobbs' claim.

        “They are, without question, the best team in the league,” Hobbs said of the Bonnies two weeks ago. “They've got the best player (J.R. Bremer). ... This is obviously the most difficult team we've faced all year.”

        Consider that the Colonials (10-5, 3-1 A-10) already had played Connecticut and Western Kentucky. Tonight, they play host to an XU team (11-3, 3-0) that is the A-10 West favorite, has won six consecutive games and has the league's reigning player of the year in David West.

        “I don't care what he said, man,” West said of Hobbs. “He hasn't played a full league schedule yet, so he hasn't seen various types of players.”

        Hobbs didn't back off his comment this week but said he has been impressed watching XU on film.

        “David West is one of the best players in the league, and no question that is one of the top teams,” he said. “Trust me, no one underestimates West and the Xavier basketball team.”

        Few A-10 coaches know what to make of the league race yet, largely because of the turnover in their ranks. In just one of his next eight games, the Jan.26 rematch with UD, will new XU coach Thad Matta face a coach that isn't new either to the league or to his school.

        This much is clear: UD and GW are XU's top threats in the West Division. Win tonight, and the Musketeers will be a leg up with road victories at both those schools.

        “Teams that win a conference are steady; they just keep taking care of business,” Matta said. “That's what we're preaching: Get better every time we step on the floor.”

        GW is a surprise contender. The Colonials, picked to finish fifth in the West, were a mess at the end of last season.

        They had suffered their first losing season (14-18) in 11 years, and coach Tom Penders resigned under pressure. High-scoring guard SirValiant Brown left early for the NBA. (He went undrafted.) Two players, Marquin Chandler and Darnell Miller, violated NCAA rules and were suspended early this season for improperly using an assistant coach's telephone access code. Center Attila Cosby was convicted of sexual assault, sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison and kicked off the team.

        Yet with three freshmen and three sophomores among their top eight players, the Colonials have thrived. Junior forward Chris Monroe has blossomed into a league player-of-the-year candidate, averaging 21.5 points and 6.8 rebounds. Jaason Smith (10.2 ppg, 7.7 rebounds) has five double-doubles this season and leads the A-10 in blocks (2.7 average).

        Matta said, “They're probably the second- or third-best team we've played this year,” and the RPI backs him up. GW ranked 46th Wednesday, just one of two A-10 teams higher than XU's No.52 ranking. (St.Bonaventure is 44th.) The only opponent on XU's schedule with a higher RPI is Cincinnati, at No.11.

        A victory tonight would make for XU's longest winning streak since a 10-game run in the 1998-99 season. The Musketeers are 4-1 in road games this season and have won 11 of their last 15 such games. What's more impressive is that this run followed a stretch in which they won just six of 22 road games.

        Before a two-point victory here last season, XU was 1-4 at GW in league play.

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