Feb. 22, 2006

Hempstead, N.Y. - The George Mason men's basketball team takes the court tomorrow evening as a ranked school for the first time in school history. The 25th-ranked Patriots will need to be at the top of their game if they want to avoid losing for the first time as a ranked team.

For the third straight road game, Mason plays in an arena in which the opposition rarely experiences the joy of winning. Against Virginia Commonwealth, Mason handed the Rams their only home-loss of the year. Against Wichita State, Mason became the first non-conference school to win there this season.

Now Mason faces Hofstra, which has the third-longest active home winning streak in the nation, having defeated 18 straight visitors. Mason hasn't won at Hofstra since Feb. 9, 2002. The two teams meet for the only time in the regular season this year at 7 p.m. on Thursday.

The Pride (20-5, 12-4) are the second-highest scoring team in the CAA behind Northeastern and the second-best shooting team in the conference after Mason. Hofstra is converting on 46.1 percent of its shots and averaging 74.4 points per game. Mason is shooting .486 from the field but has attempted 79 fewer shots, averaging 69.7 points per game. Where the teams differ greatly is on the defensive end.

Mason (21-5, 14-2) is sixth in the nation in field-goal percentage defense (.378) and eighth in scoring defense (57.9). Hofstra is sixth in the CAA in field-goal percentage defense (.425) and scoring defense (67.6). Mason has held 23 straight opponents to fewer than 70 points. Hofstra has allowed 10 of its past 23 opponents to score 70 or more

Hofstra uses a perimeter-oriented four-guard offense, led by last year's Rookie of the Year Antoine Agudio (17.0 points per game) and Loren Stokes (16.5 points per game, .488 shooting percentage), who was All-CAA in 2004-05. Both were named NABC All-District 2. Aurimas Kieza and Adrian Uter provide support inside, meanwhile, combining for 15.5 rebounds per game.

Mason is the only team in the CAA with five players scoring in double figures. Hofstra has four players scoring 11.6 or more per game and Uter, who is fifth on the team, can join them with a double-figure average if he scores 19 against Mason.

Either way the game will be filled with drama. With a win, Mason would clinch the top seed in the CAA Tournament. With a loss, Mason could fall as far as third before the season is over, and Hofstra could eventually climb to the top of the conference. Many eyes will be focused on the UNC Wilmington at Virginia Commonwealth tilt that tips at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, as that game has implications in the standings as well.

Even with a loss, each team will benefit from having played the other, as both have RPIs in the top 50. Mason is currently 20th in the official NCAA RPI while Hofstra is 47th. The CAA has four teams in the top 52 as UNC Wilmington is 38th and Old Dominion is 52nd. Virginia Commonwealth is 69th.

One landmark that should come early in Thursday's game is Mason welcoming the 26th member of the school's 1,000 point club. Tony Skinn needs just four points to reach 1,000 for his career. He would join teammates Jai Lewis and Lamar Butler as just the second trio of teammates in school history with 1,000 points.