WHEN: Thursday, 6 p.m.
WHERE: PPG Paints Arena - Pittsburgh, Pa.
RECORDS: Mason (19-12, 9-9), Fordham (13-18, 7-11)
SERIES RECORD: Mason trails, 1-6
LAST MEETING: Mason def. Fordham, 73-67, on Feb. 11, 2017 in Fairfax
TELEVISION: NBC Sports Network
NBCSN ONLINE STREAM: Click Here
LIVE AUDIO: Click here
LIVE STATS: Click here
A-10 TOURNEY GUIDE: Click here (PDF)

FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason University men's basketball team (19-12, 9-9) enters the 2016-17 Atlantic 10 Championship as the No. 7 seed and will battle No. 10 Fordham (13-18, 7-11) on Thursday night in second round action at PPG Paints Arena.

Tip-off between the Patriots and Rams inside PPG Paints Arena is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday's game will be televised nationally on NBC Sports Network. Paul Burmeister will handle play-by-play duties while David Kaplan will provide color commentary. In addition, Bill Rohland will call the game on the A-10 Digital Network, with pre-game coverage beginning at 5:45 p.m.

* Mason has earned a first round bye for the first time in its A-10 history. The No. 7 seed also is a program best. The previous top seed earned by the Green & Gold was No. 12.

* Mason has set a new program record with nine A-10 wins (previous record was 5). The Patriots also have eclipsed their win total from the 2015-16 season (11) by a significant margin while posting the most overall victories (19) since 2012-13. Mason is one of the nation's top-15 most improved teams in comparison to last season's results.

* The Patriots are 0-3 all time in the Atlantic 10 Championship and will be looking for their first ever tourney victory Thursday.

* On Tuesday, senior guard Marquise Moore was named the A-10's Chris Daniels Most Improved Player. He also garnered All-Atlantic-10 second team accolades, marking the highest A-10 conference honor ever for a Mason student-athlete.

* Last time out, Mason wrapped up the regular season with a 72-60 setback at VCU on Saturday. Marquise Moore (17 pts, 11 reb) and Otis Livingston II (11 pts, 7 reb, 4 ast) led the Patriots.

* The 6-foot-2-inch Marquise Moore is the top rebounding guard in the nation (10.5 rpg), is third in the country among all players in defensive rebounds/game (8.8), 13th in overall rebounding and is one of only 13 players nationally (and the only guard) with 13+ double-doubles.

* Since double-doubles have been kept by the NCAA (2009-10), the record for a guard is 20 (Andre Roberson - Colorado). Moore's 18 are the most by a player 6-2 and under (next closest is 11).

* Mason's record for rebounds in a season is 1,287, set in 1976-77. The 2016-17 Patriots are at 1,249 and need 38 boards vs. Fordham to break the all-time mark.

* Over the past five games (1-4), the Patriots have averaged 13.4 turnovers/contest and Mason's opponents are a combined +44 (79-35) in points off turnovers during that stretch.

* Freshman Ian Boyd is averaging 9.2 ppg and shooting 54.3 percent over the past five games while fellow freshman Karmari Newman is at 7.2 points and shooting 53.6 percent over the past six games.

* Mason is shooting 80.9 percent (161-199) from the free throw line over the past nine games. The Patriots are 58th nationally in free throw percentage (.739) and get 22.7 percent of their points from the line (33rd nationally).

* The Green & Gold shot 38.6 percent (98-254) from the 3-point line over the first 16 games of the Atlantic 10 slate. However, Mason is just 14.8 percent (4-27) from beyond the arc over the past two contests.

MASON CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
The Patriots have posted a 35-40 (.467) all-time record in conference postseason events, including a 30-30 record (.500) in the Div. I era. Mason was 4-8 in NAIA District 19 events and 1-2 in the Mason-Dixon Conference (Div. II), before joining the Div. I ranks (1978-79). In its Div. I history, Mason was 1-4 in ECAC South postseason contests and 29-23 in 28 all-time CAA Tournament games. The Patriots are 0-3 all-time in Atlantic 10 postseason contests. The Patriots have won four postseason conference tournament championships in program history, all during the CAA era (1989, 1991, 2001, 2008).

HISTORY AS THE NO. 7 SEED
Mason has never competed in a conference championship as the No. 7 seed in 31 all-time CAA/A-10 events. Mason was the No. 8  five times in the CAA Tournament (1992-93, 1995-97) and the No. 6 seed twice (1998, 2007).

HISTORY vs. FORDHAM
Thursday's game marks the eighth all-time meeting between George Mason and Fordham in men's basketball. Fordham has bested the Patriots twice in the opening round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament (2014, 2015). Mason picked up its first ever win in the series this season with a 73-67 victory on Feb. 11 in Fairfax. Otis Livingston II led Mason with 19 points (8-8 FT) and four assists, while Marquise Moore (15 pts, 11 reb, 6 ast) and Jalen Jenkins (12 pts, 13 reb) also put together strong efforts for the Patriots. Livingston is averaging 13 points 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists in two career games vs. Fordham, while Moore is at 12.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists and shooting 56.8 percent (25-44) in six all-time games vs. the Rams.

A LOOK AT THE RAMS (13-18, 7-11 A-10)
Fordham was picked 11th out of 14 teams in the 2016-17 Atlantic 10 preseason poll and finished 10th. The Rams posted a 6-7 non-conference record and finished A-10 play with a 3-3 mark over its final six league games after starting conference play 4-8. The team's league victories include road wins at Davidson (60-54) and Rhode Island (53-43) and a home win over VCU (69-67) in overtime. Four Fordham student-athletes average 10+ points, led by Javontae Hawkins. Hawkins posts a team-best 13.7 ppg and grabs 5.0 rebounds/contest. Chris Sengfelder adds 12.1 points and 5.1 rebounds, while Joseph Chartouny chips in 11.9 ppg and dishes out 5.0 assists/contest (3rd in A-10). Antwoine Anderson is at 11.2 points and 3.2 assists per game. The Rams are 302nd nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency, averaging 0.970 points per possession, but are 72nd in defensive efficiency (0.995 points/possession allowed).

UP NEXT
With a victory over Fordham, the Patriots would move on to battle No. 2 seed VCU on Friday (March 10) at 6 p.m. inside PPG Paints Arena. The quarterfinal contest also will be broadcast on NBC Sports Network.

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