WHEN: Sunday, 4 p.m.
WHERE: EagleBank Arena, Fairfax, Va.
RECORDS: Mason (5-6), Penn State (8-3)
SERIES RECORD: Mason trails, 1-6
LAST MEETING: Mason def. Penn State, 85-66, on Dec. 7, 2016 in University Park, Pa.
TELEVISION: Stadium (Channel Guide)
LIVE VIDEO: Stadium (Free)
LIVE AUDIO: A-10 Digital Network
LIVE STATS: Click here
GAME NOTES: Click here (PDF)
TICKETS: Click here

GAME OF THE WEEK: United Nation of Mason t-shirt for Mason students with valid ID

BRING A FRIEND: Bring a Friend for Free!  Mason students can bring one friend for free to the student entrance on the North concourse at EagleBank Arena. Valid for all home games until spring semester classes begin.

FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason University men's basketball team (5-6) plays a marquee home game vs. Big Ten foe Penn State (8-3) on Sunday afternoon inside EagleBank Arena.

Sunday's game will be televised on Stadium, with affiliates in media markets throughout the nation. In the DMV metro area, it is available on Verizon Fios Channel 820 in Washington, D.C. as well as WUTB-3 and Verizon Fios Channel 820 in greater Baltimore. Matt Martucci will handle play-by-play duties on Stadium, while Tim Doyle will provide color commentary. A video stream of the broadcast also is available via watchstadium.com. In addition, an audio broadcast of the game will be streamed via the A-10 Network, with Bill Rohland handling broadcast duties.

PATRIOT POINTS
• Mason is 4-2 at home this season while the Nittany Lions are 1-1 in road games in 2017-18.

• The Patriots are coming off a 74-51 setback to top-50 RPI foe Georgia Southern on Tuesday inside EagleBank Arena.

• Mason had good looks throughout the game but simply had an off-shooting night. The Patriots made just 28.6 percent of their field goal attempts vs. the Eagles, marking the team's lowest shooting performance since a Jan. 31, 2015 game at Duquesne (.258, 16-62).

• Mason also committed a season-high 21 turnovers vs GS, including 15 in the first half.

• Freshman AJ Wilson led the Patriots with the first double-double of his career. The Laurel, Md., product posted team highs in points (13) and rebounds (10) while tallying three blocks in a career-high 26 minutes on the floor.  

• Wilson leads the Patriots and is sixth in the A-10 in blocks (1.5 bpg). He posted a career-best eight blocks vs. CSUN on Nov. 18.

• Behind Wilson's effort Tuesday, the Patriot bench has now posted 10+ points in four straight games after reaching the 10-point mark just once over the season's first seven games. Wilson (6.0 ppg) and Javon Greene (7.5 ppg) are scoring well above their season averages during the stretch.

• Sophomore Justin Kier added 12 points and five rebounds vs. GS. He's averaging a team-high 13.0 points and 3.0 assists over the past two games.

• Over the past seven games (2-5), Mason is shooting 41.6 percent from the floor and 30.7 percent from 3-point territory. Opponents are at 45.2 percent and 30.7 percent, respectively.

• The Green & Gold are 0-4 when they shoot less than 40 percent from the field this season (4-2 when above 40 percent).

• Jaire Grayer ranks in the top-10 in the Atlantic 10 in rebounding (8.3 rpg, 4th), 3-point field goals made per game (2.6, 6th), steals (1.8 spg, 6th) and blocks (1.1 bpg, 10th).

• The Green & Gold are 3-0 in games decided between 1-5 points, but just 2-6 in games with a 6+ point margin.

OUTSIDE IN 2017-18; INSIDE IN 2016-17
One of the biggest differences from this year's Mason team vs. last season's is the team's increased reliance on jump shots and 3-point baskets. Last season, Mason put an emphasis on driving to the  basket, as the team ranked 67th nationally in free throw rate,  while 54.7 percent of the team's points came from 2-point range (49th nationally) and 23.2 percent of the team's points came from the free throw line (20th nationally). Mason was 335th nationally in amount of points that came from the 3-point line. This season, the Patriots are 205th in free throw rate, while 48.3 percent of the team's points come from 2-point range (211th) and 19.6 percent come from the line (159th). A total of 32 percent of the team's points come from 3-point range (151st).

HISTORY vs. PENN STATE
Sunday's game marks the eighth all-time matchup between Mason and Penn State on the hardwood, although the teams have only met twice since 1999. The programs first battled on Nov. 26, 1988, with PSU grabbing a 58-54 victory in State College. The Nittany Lions also won a first round NIT game between the schools, 77-73, on March 7, 2009 inside the Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State hit a 3-pointer at the regulation buzzer to force overtime and then claimed victory in the extra session. Cam Long (16), Andre Cornelius (12), Dre Smith (12) and Mike Morrison (11) all scored in double figures for the Patriots in the loss. Sunday's game is the second in a home-and-home series. Last season, Mason won in Happy Valley, 85-66. Trailing 38-37 at the break, Mason outscored Penn State, 48-28, in the second half and held a +15 edge (27-12) on the glass in the period. Senior Marquise Moore led the Patriots with a career-best 25 points to go along with a game-high 13 rebounds. Moore also dished out five assists and grabbed three steals in 36 minutes on the floor. Then-sophomore Otis Livingston II added 18 points, three assists and two steals.

HISTORY vs. BIG TEN OPPONENTS
Mason is 4-22 all time against current members of the Big Ten Conference. The Patriots' most common opponents are Maryland (0-8), Penn State (1-6) and Michigan State (1-2). The win over the Spartans came in the first round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament (75-65), sparking the Patriots' run to the Final Four. The last meeting against a Big Ten foe came last season when Mason defeated the Nittany Lions.

A LOOK AT THE NITTANY LIONS (8-3, 0-0 BIG TEN)
Penn State, picked to finish 10th in the Big Ten, enters Sunday 8-3 and is undefeated against non-Power 5 Conference schools this year. Penn State owns wins over Pittsburgh and at Iowa, as well as a victory at A-10 foe George Washington. Shot blocking has been a key to the fast start as the Nittany Lions rank fourth in the nation in total blocks (71, 6.5 bpg); they also are sixth in total steals (106, 9.6 apg). Mike Watkins' 37 blocks rank third in the nation, while Josh Reaves leads the Big Ten with 2.4 steals per game. Tony Carr paces the Nittany Lions offensively. He's second in the Big Ten in points per game (20.0) and has been Penn State's leading scorer in six of its 11 games this season. Watkins also chips in 12.6 points and 8.0 rebounds per contest, while Lamar Stevens registers 13.7 points and 6.5 rebounds per contest.

UP NEXT
Mason wraps up non-conference play with a contest vs. MEAC foe Morgan State on Friday (Dec. 22) at 7 p.m. inside EagleBank Arena. The game will be broadcast on the A-10 DIgital Network.