Dec. 3, 2004

George Mason clashes with local rival Maryland Saturday at 1 p.m. in the first game of the BB&T Classic in Washington, D.C. The Terps are ranked 12th nationally in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches polls.

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The winner of Saturday's game advances to Sunday's 3 p.m. championship contest against the winner of Saturday's later matchup featuring host George Washington and No. 11/9 Michigan State. The two other teams will meet in Sunday's consolation game at 12:30 p.m. All four games of the BB&T Classic will be televised live regionally on the Raycom/Jefferson Pilot Network and will air locally on UPN-20 (WDCA) in the Washington, D.C. area and WB-54 (WNUV) in the Baltimore region.

This will be the Patriots (3-1) first time in the BB&T Classic, which is entering its 10th year. Maryland also enters the contest at 3-1.

George Mason trails Maryland in the all-time series, 6-0. Patriot losses in 2001 and 1999 were by a combined six points. Last season, the Terrapins handed Mason a 79-64 setback.

The Patriots have played very well against the Terrapins overall, dropping four of six games by less than 10 points. Two of the six meetings occurred at neutral courts; the last game being played in the first round of the 2001 NCAA Tournament in Boise, Idaho.

12/5/1981	Away	Mason 62, MD 74
11/27/1985	Home	Mason 80, MD 81
12/22/1989	Neutral	Mason 86, MD 104
12/27/1999	Away	Mason 66, MD 69
3/15/2001	Neutral	Mason 80, MD 83
11/25/2003	Away	Mason 64, MD 79

Saturday's contest will mark the second consecutive season that the Patriots have faced two ranked teams.