The George Mason men's basketball team enters conference play tonight against VCU with a nine-game winning streak, the best non-conference record (10-3) in the A-10 and plenty of momentum.
The Patriots also begin A-10 play with what sophomore guard Otis Livingston II calls "a huge chip on our shoulder."
The Patriots, 13-39 in their three seasons in the A-10, were picked to finish 12th in the 14-team league in the pre-season coaches poll. No players were mentioned in the pre-season all-conference picks.
"I don't feel people are respecting us as much as we'd like," said senior guard Marquise Moore. "We feel like an underdog. We feel like we're capable of playing in the A-10 at a high level. We want to show people that. We're all excited, ready to go."
Moore and Livingston have been a major reason why the Patriots are 10-3 and tied with VCU for the league's best non-conference record. The 6-2 Moore is the leading rebounding guard in the country, averaging 11.1 boards to go with 18.1 points per game. Livingston is averaging 15.2 points a game.
They both average 3.5 assists. In the Dec. 29 non-conference finale, a 75-59 win against Prairie View A&M, Livingston and Moore had several highlight reel plays including a pretty Moore to Livingston back to Moore sequence for a fast break layup.
It's not just the 'Quise and O show. Senior Jalen Jenkins helps inside with 10.5 ppg and 5.9 rpg. The defense, more sophisticated than a year ago in playing ball screens and double-teaming posts, has held opponents to 38.3% shooting during the win streak.
"We just have a lot of confidence and swagger," Livingston said. "We're just having fun out there. We're going into A-10 play with a lot of confidence."
But not too much confidence, though improving on last year's 6-8 non-league record was a goal. "Yes, we've had some success," Livingston said. "We know that there's more work to do. We didn't get a trophy for the non-conference."
The Patriots beat VCU 76-69 in their previous meeting, last season in February at EagleBank Arena. The Rams are back with their Havoc attack featuring JeQuan Lewis and Mo Allie-Cox.
"They press more than they did last year," said coach Dave Paulsen. "So we have to take care of the ball against the press, take care of the ball against their overplay and denial and things like that in the half court. They feed off of getting out in transition.
"We have to play good solid half-court defense. It's the same keys as every game, but it's heightened because they're a really really good team."
The A-10 season is destined to be a grind with a lot of strong teams, including UMass which comes to EagleBank on Wednesday.
"We've become up to this point in the non-conference a pretty good defensive team," Paulsen said. "We're starting to share the ball better and moving the ball. So we're progressing. I'm pleased with our progress. What does that mean when we get to league play? I don't know."
As Paulsen noted, Dayton, VCU and St. Bonaventure shared the regular-season title last year with 14-4 records.
"If we win on Friday, we haven't arrived," Paulsen said. "If we lose on Friday, there's still a long way to go. That's what our guys have to understand. You get one win, you need 13 more. You get one loss, you've got to try to have less than four more.
"I like our competitiveness, energy and focus."
