Nov. 20, 2007
The George Mason men's basketball team will play three games on national television this coming week as the Patriots play in the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Fla. Mason will take on 18th-ranked Kansas State on Thursday at 9 p.m. on ESPN2. On Friday, Mason will play either Villanova or Central Florida. A third game will follow on Sunday.
The Patriots are off to just their second 3-0 start in school history. The previous time Mason opened a season 3-0 was 1980-81. That season, like this year, the Patriots opened the year with three straight home games. Only once between then and now have the Patriots managed to open a season with three straight home games. Mason has never won four straight games to open a season.
The Patriots have struggled shooting the ball this season making just 35.8 percent of their shots. Mason has survived off strong rebounding, particularly on the offensive end, and by getting to the free throw line almost three times as often as the opposition. The Patriots are 57 of 75 from the line while the opposition is 21 of 30.
Mason is coming off the finest free-throw shooting performance in school history as the Patriots went 21 of 21 from the stripe against Dayton. The Patriots had gone 19 of 19 from the line in 1988 against William & Mary, 14 of 14 in 2006, also against the Tribe, 14 of 14 against Niagara in 2002 and 11 of 11 against Penn State in 1997.
Will Thomas tied his career high with 17 rebounds in Saturday's win over Dayton. He is averaging 17.3 points and 14.0 rebounds through three games. He was named CAA Player of the Week on Monday. Jordan Carter is coming off a career-high 15-point performance. He is leading the team with 11 assists and five steals.
Kansas State has been led by Michael Beasley. The 6-foot-, 10-inch freshman is averaging 30.0 points and 20.0 rebounds through three games. The Frederick, Md. native was considered a consensus Top 5 high school recruit and he was selected preseason Freshman of the Year in the Big 12. He has taken more than twice as many shots as anyone else on Kansas State while shooting 61.8 percent.
Blake Young, Bill Walker and Jacob Pullen are all averaging double figures on the year as the Wildcats have outrebounded the opposition 50-31 while outscoring them 82-64.
