The George Mason men's basketball team's path to a fifth Colonial Athletic Association title has been set, as the Patriots announced their 2012-13 opponents today. In addition to the 12-game non-conference schedule previously announced, the Patriots will square off against conference opponents 18 times, including a home-and-home series with all but two of the CAA member schools.

All game dates and times are subject to change as a result of television broadcast scheduling.

Mason opens the season at home against Atlantic Coast Conference foe Virginia (November 9), travels to Bucknell (Nov. 13) and the Paradise Jam (Nov. 16-19) before returning home for a tilt with Boston University (Nov. 24). A road trip to Rhode Island (Nov. 28) follows before facing Maryland in the BB&T Classic at Verizon Center on December 2.

The Patriots play two home games against UMBC (Dec. 4) and Northern Iowa (Dec. 8) before breaking for exams, then close out 2012 with a trip to Richmond Coliseum to play the Richmond Spiders in the Governor's Holiday Hoops Classic (Dec. 22), which also includes Virginia-Old Dominion in the second game of the doubleheader.  Mason's final non-conference game comes on Dec. 29 at BIG EAST foe South Florida.

CAA play begins on Thursday, January 3, as the Patriots host Northeastern. A trip to William & Mary follows on Saturday, Jan. 5, before Mason returns to face Old Dominion on Thursday, Jan. 10 at the Patriot Center. Another road trip south will be on January 12, when the Patriots visit UNCW for a Saturday showdown.

Back-to-back home games against James Madison on Wednesday, Jan. 16 and Hofstra (Saturday, Jan. 19) are followed by the first of a pair of two-game conference road trips. The Patriots visit Towson on Wednesday, Jan. 23 and head to Boston to face Northeastern on Saturday, Jan. 26. Mason closes out the month with a Thursday tilt at home against Drexel (Jan. 31), the reigning regular season conference champions.

The Patriots stay in the Commonwealth for the first week of February, with road trips to rivals James Madison (Saturday, Feb. 2) and Old Dominion, where Mason clashes with the Monarchs on Monday, Feb. 4. Delaware will visit the Patriot Center on Saturday, Feb. 9, while the Patriots will travel to Philadelphia for the return game at Drexel on Valentine' s Day Thursday, Feb. 14.

Mason welcomes Georgia State for the lone matchup between the two teams on Saturday, Feb. 16, and four days later, visits Hofstra for the final mid-week road game when the teams battle on Wednesday, Feb. 20. The Patriots host William & Mary (Saturday, Feb. 23) and Towson (Wednesday, Feb. 27) to finish the month before concluding the regular season on Saturday, March 2 at Delaware.

The seven-team 2013 CAA Championship will be played from March 9-11 at the Richmond Coliseum. 

Basketball season tickets start at just $9 per game!  Deposits are being accepted now.  Now is the time to buy!  To place your deposit, call the Athletic Ticket Office at 703-993-3270 or online. Single game tickets will go on sale October 27 at the Patriot Center Box Office and through all Ticketmaster locations.