Coach Dave Paulsen and the Mason basketball team packed for the long haul when they left Tuesday for the A-10 Championship in Pittsburgh. 

   Paulsen put five dress shirts in his suitcase, one for each of the four games the Patriots will have to win to earn the conference title and automatic NCAA Tournament berth plus a spare. "I always have to pack an extra one anyway," Paulsen said. "There's always a good chance I'll spill something." 

   After the team lost its regular-season finale last Saturday at VCU, Paulsen gave the team Sunday and Monday off to rest. 

   "I don't know when I last did that," the coach said. "I told the team, 'I'm doing this because I'm anticipating we're going to play four games in four days.' That's our mindset. Don't leave any stone unturned." 

   Here's how Paulsen put it after the Patriots beat Duquesne 63-62 on March 1: "I don't want anyone coming to practice if they're not consumed with cutting down the nets next Sunday … if there's anything but an unwavering consummation: We are going to cut down those freakin' nets.  

    "Then if we do fight and scratch and claw and another team happens to be better, then we can go to bed and sleep. But there can't be one ounce left in our tank." 

   To get to Sunday's title game, the #7 seed Patriots have to open the tournament Thursday with a win against #10 Fordham. Mason won a home game against the Rams 73-67 in February despite committing 18 turnovers that led to 21 Fordham points. 

   "We have to play better than we did then," Paulsen said. "In stretches we played really well.  

  "I think they're the No. 2 team in the country in forcing turnovers. So they're going to force some turnovers, but we can't turn it over in flurries. We have to limit our turnovers." 

   Turnovers are a major reason the Patriots went 1-4 over the last five regular-season games. "We have to shore that up," Paulsen said. 

  The Patriots also faced tough teams during that closing stretch, losing 77-74 at home to #4 seed Rhode Island, losing on the road 83-70 to top seed Dayton, losing 83-74 at #6 GW and losing 72-60 at #2 VCU. That stretch contained three teams mentioned as NCAA contenders plus GW, which enters the tourney on a five-game winning streak. 

    "Those are tough teams," Paulsen said. "I thought in all of those games we played really well for a decent chunk of the game, but then just kind of fell apart at bad times. Those teams played well." 

   The Patriots pose problems for any opponent with Marquise Moore, the top rebounding guard in the country and winner of the A-10 Most Improved Player award and second team all-conference; post Jalen Jenkins, who leads the conference in field goal percentage; and Otis Livingston II, a point guard who leads the A-10 in foul shooting and possibly in highlight reel plays on fast breaks. 

   The path to the title would not be easy. After Fordham, the Patriots would face VCU. The coaching staff has been telling the team all season that they can beat anyone or lose to any team in the A-10. 

    "We just have to keep getting better and then leave it all out on the floor," Paulsen said.