March 16, 2004

George Mason is making its fourth appearance in the postseason in the past six years with its berth in the National Invitation Tournament. It is the sixth trip to the postseason for the Patriots, who competed in the NCAA Tournament in 1989, 1999 and 2001 as the Colonial Athletic Association champion, and the third to the NIT (1986, 2002, 2004). This is the second time Mason has hosted an NIT game (2002).

The Patriots (21-9) will face the Tennessee Volunteers (15-13) Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Patriot Center. The contest will mark the first-ever meeting between the two schools on the hardwood. A win would earn Mason a school record 22 wins in a season, and would also give the Patriots a school record 13 Patriot Center victories. Mason is 12-1 this season at home.

The Mason roster sports two players from the state of Tennessee in junior guard Terry Reynolds and senior center Deon Cooper. Mason assistant coach Eric Konkol spent the 2001-02 season as a graduate administrative assistant at Tennessee. He was also a student assistant on Peterson's 2000-01 staff at Tulsa that won the NIT.

Patriot assistant coach Scott Cherry (1993 NCAAs) and Peterson (1982 NCAAs) are both UNC graduates and have won NCAA titles for the Tar Heels. Cherry and Tennessee graduate manager Dustin Kerns both served on Tennessee Tech's coaching staff last year.

The contest can be seen live on Comcast SportsNet Southeast and on tape delay in the 1:00 o'clock hour on Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic.

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