Feb. 22, 2008

Athens, Ohio - The George Mason men's basketball team will play on national television on Saturday afternoon as the Patriots take on Ohio in the ESPN BracketBuster. The contest, at Ohio, will tip off at 1 p.m. and be televised on ESPN2. Mason is 2-1 all-time in the ESPN BracketBuster and 1-0 on the road. Two years ago, Mason beat Wichita State in a game also televised on ESPN2.

The Patriots (19-8) and Bobcats (17-9) have never met. This season, they share two common opponents. Mason split a pair with Delaware while Ohio beat the Blue Hens at home. Ohio split a pair with Kent State while Mason lost to the Golden Flashes on the road.

Will Thomas has been the centerpiece of the Mason offense this year. He is attempting to become just the seventh player in school history to average a double-double on the season. He currently is averaging 16.5 points and 10.6 rebounds while shooting 63.5 percent from the field. He has 14 double-doubles on the year, most in the CAA, and he's had a double-double in five straight games. Thomas entered this week eighth in the nation in field-goal percentage and 14th in rebounds per game. He leads the CAA in rebounding, is second in field-goal percentage and third in scoring. He is third all-time in CAA history in career field-goal percentage at 61.3

Thomas will match up with Leon Williams, who is averaging 15.6 points and 9.9 rebounds while shooting 59.8 percent from the field. The Ohio senior has 12 double-doubles on the year, and, like Thomas, hails from Baltimore, Md. He is top 10 all-time at Ohio in points and rebounds. Two other Ohio players average in double figures. Jerome Tillman is scoring 12.8 points while grabbing 7.2 rebounds and shooting better-than 50 percent from the field. Bubba Walther is averaging 11.5 points and more than three assists per game. Michael Allen, the team's starting points guard, has 109 assists in 25 games with just 66 turnovers.

Thomas has support as well from a pair of scorers. Over the past 11 games, Folarin Campbell is averaging 20.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists while shooting 50.0 percent from the field. On the year he's averaging 15.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists. John Vaughan is averaging 13.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and is shooting 76 percent from the free throw line.

As a team, Mason is shooting 46.8 percent from the field while holding the opposition to 42.3 percent shooting. The Patriots are 5-5 on the road this season. Ohio is shooting 45 percent from the field while holding teams to 42.6 percent shooting. The Bobcats are 10-0 at home and have won 19 straight non-conference home games.