WHEN: Saturday, 4 p.m.
WHERE: EagleBank Arena - Fairfax, Va.
RECORDS: Mason (5-3), Mercer (4-3)
SERIES RECORD: Series tied, 1-1
LAST MEETING: Mercer def. Mason, 69-60, on 11/16/15 in Macon, Ga.
VIDEO/LIVE AUDIO: A10 Digital Network
GAME NOTES: Click here (PDF)
TICKETS: Click here
GAME OF THE WEEK: Mason students will receive a free Ugly Christmas sweater beanie cap with valid Mason Student ID (while supplies last)
FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason University men's basketball team (5-3) returns to EagleBank Arena to take on mid-major power Mercer on Saturday (Dec. 3) inside EagleBank Arena.
Tip-off between the Patriots and Bears is set for 4 p.m. Saturday's game will be streamed live on the A10 Digital Network. Bill Rohland will call the game, with pregame radio coverage beginning at 3:45 p.m.
PATRIOT POINTS
* Mason returns home to battle mid-major power Mercer on Saturday (Dec. 3) inside EagleBank Arena.
* The Patriots are in the midst of a four-game winning streak, highlighted by a 54-50 victory at then top-5 RPI team Northern Iowa Wednesday in Cedar Falls.
* Mason held the Panthers to season lows in FG% (.259) and 3pt FG% (.250) in the contest. The Patriots limited UNI to 1-of-17 shooting to start the game.
* UNI entered the contest 26-1 in November games in the McLeod Center. Mason now owns two of the 11 non-conference victories by opponents in McLeod since it opened in 2006. UNI is 56-11 against non-conference foes in the arena.
* Sophomore
Jaire Grayer led Mason with 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the game. Freshman
Justin Kier chipped in nine points and eight rebounds and hit all six of his free throws in the final five minutes (4-4 under 2 min).
* Senior Marquise Moore grabbed 13 rebounds at UNI, marking his fifth game with 10+ rebounds. He is the top rebounding guard in the nation (9.8 rpg) and joins Lonzo Ball (UCLA) as the only two guards in the country with 4+ double-doubles.
* Mason held a +24 (53-29) rebounding margin against the Panthers. The Patriots are 4-1 when they outrebound their opponent this season and are 38th nationally in rebounding margin (+7.3).
* Mason is one of the best teams in the nation in drawing fouls and getting to the line. The Patriots are 38th nationally in free throw attempts and 41st in free throws made.
* The Patriots are holding opponents to 39.3 percent shooting (92-234) and 29.4 percent (30-102) from beyond the arc during the current four-game win streak.
* Mason's nine-man rotation over the last four games has featured five freshmen and two sophomores. According to KenPom.com, Mason is 309th out of 351 Div. I teams in experience (1.25 years/player).
HISTORY vs. MERCER
Saturday's game marks the third ever meeting between George Mason and Mercer in men's basketball. The two teams have split the previous two meetings. Mason upended the Bears, 62-59, during the 2012 Paradise Jam, but Mercer won last season's meeting, 69-60, in Macon. Otis Livingston tallied 17 points and five assists in last season's meeting, while
Jaire Grayer chipped in 10 points.
HISTORY vs. SOCON OPPONENTS
Mason has posted a 5-6 (.454) all-time record against current members of the Southern Conference. The Patriots' most common foes are UNCG (3-0), Mercer (1-1), VMI (1-1) and East Tennessee State (0-2).
A LOOK AT THE BEARS (4-3, 0-0 SOCON)
Mercer was picked to finish 4th out of 10 teams in the 2016-17 Southern Conference preseason poll. A perennial mid-major power, the Bears have made a postseason appearance in each of the past five seasons, highlighted by an upset of third-seeded Duke (78-71) during the 2014 NCAA Tournament. This season the Bears are 4-3, with Div. I victories over Georgia Southern (80-67), Radford (58-47) and East Carolina (70-66). Junior guard Ria'n Holland ranks fourth in the SoCon in scoring (18.6 ppg) and is shooting 42.3 percent (22-52) from 3-point range. Fellow junior Demetre Rivers chips in 11.0 ppg while junior guard Jordan Strawberry averages 7.6 points and dishes out a team-high 4.0 assists/contest (t-8th in the SoCon).
UP NEXT
Mason hits the road for the first game of a two-game road swing. The Patriots will head to State College to take on Penn State on Wednesday (Dec. 7) at 7 p.m. The game will air live on the Big Ten Network.
