Emerald Coast Classic Website

FAIRFAX, Va. – The 2018-19 George Mason University men's basketball team will receive an early chance to compete against some of the nation's premier programs when the Patriots play in the Emerald Coast Classic this November.
 
Mason joins a field of four teams that includes Cincinnati, Baylor and Ole Miss. The tournament will be played Nov. 23-24 in Niceville, Fla. In addition, the Patriots will play two opening round games in Fairfax prior to the Florida portion of the event.
 
About the Competition
Cincinnati has amassed a record of 207-72 (.742) over the past eight years and has qualified for the NCAA Tournament in each of those seasons. The Bearcats have won at least one NCAA game in five of those eight seasons and reached the Sweet 16 in 2011-12. Cincinnati is 61-11 (.847) over the past two seasons and was ranked as high as No. 5 in the nation in 2017-18.
 
Baylor has enjoyed similar success during the past decade as one of the top teams in the Big 12. The Bears are 171-79 (.684) over the last seven seasons and have made four Sweet 16s since 2009-10, including a pair of Elite Eight berths.
 
Ole Miss has won at least 20 games in nine of the past 12 seasons and reached the NCAA Tournament in both 2012-13 and 2014-15. Mason played the Rebels during head coach Dave Paulsen's first year in Fairfax in 2015-16. The Patriots knocked off Ole Miss 68-62 in the opening game of the Charleston Classic.
 
The remaining contests in Mason's non-conference schedule will be released this summer.  
 
About the Patriots
George Mason returns every letter winner from a 2017-18 team that placed fifth in the Atlantic 10. That finish marked Mason's best in its five-year tenure in the league. The Patriots will be led by 2018 All-Atlantic 10 second team selection Otis Livingston II, who is one of just six Div. I players returning who has posted at least 1,400 points, 350 assists and 250 rebounds in a career.
 
In addition to welcoming back all five 2017-18 starters, the Patriots also will add former University of Virginia forward Jarred Reuter (Marion, Mass.), as well as a recruiting class that features guards Jason Douglas-Stanley (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) and Jamal Hartwell II (Los Angeles, Calif.), as well as forward Jordan Miller (Purcellville, Va.).