NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP SECOND ROUND
#8 MEN'S BASKETBALL (26-6, 16-2 CAA) vs. #9 VILLANOVA (21-11, 9-9 BIG EAST)
When:
Friday, 2:10 p.m.
Where:
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland
Tickets:
Click
Here
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All-Time Series:
Villanova
leads, 4-0
The George Mason men's basketball team makes its sixth trip
to the Big Dance as the eighth-seeded Patriots take on Big East foe Villanova
in NCAA second-round action Friday in Cleveland.
It is Mason's fifth trip to the NCAA Tournament under head coach Jim Larranaga
and the third in the last six years, including two at-large bids. Mason and
Villanova have met four times prior, including two neutral-site games in the
last four seasons ... Villanova stands at 21-11 on the season and was 9-9 in BIG
EAST play, tying for ninth place. The Wildcats are one of 11 schools from that
conference to earn a bid, and stood 31st in the latest Ratings Percentage Index
ranking. VU is on a fivegame winless streak, including a 70-69 decision to USF
in the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament. Three Wildcats average
double-digit scoring, led by Corey Fisher who contributes 15.4 points per game ...
The Patriots have amassed a record of 4-5 in NCAA Tournament play, including a
68-50 loss to No. 5-seed Notre Dame in Denver
on Mar. 20, 2008, their most recent tournament action. All four of Mason's
victories came during the 2006 run to the Final Four, wins over Michigan State, North Carolina,
Wichita State
and Connecticut.
This is the third straight trip to the NCAAs that Mason will square off against
an opponent from the BIG EAST. The number-eight seed that Mason earned is the
highest in school history and second only to the seventh-seeded 1986 Navy squad
among Colonial Athletic Association schools.
