WHEN: Saturday, 2:30 p.m.
WHERE: EagleBank Arena, Fairfax, Va.
RECORDS: Mason (8-9, 2-2), Saint Louis (8-9, 1-3)
SERIES RECORD: Saint Louis leads, 6-3
LAST MEETING: SLU def. Mason, 76-74 (2OT), on Feb. 1, 2017 in Saint Louis
TELEVISION: NBC Sports Network
NBC STREAM: Click here
LIVE AUDIO: Click here
LIVE STATS: Click here
GAME NOTES: Click here (PDF)
TICKETS: Click here

GAME SPONSOR: Toyota

BRING A FRIEND: Mason students can bring a friend to the game for FREE and get FREE Mason socks. Just bring your friend and your valid Mason ID to the North Entrance of EagleBank Arena.
BOOK DRIVE: Bring a Book, Get a Bobblehead! Bring a new or gently used book for children ages 9-11 to a Mason men's or women's basketball game between now and Jan. 13 and receive a bobblehead (while supplies last). Drop off books at the Ticket Information booth located on the South Concourse of EagleBank Arena now through January 13.

FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason University men's basketball team (8-9, 2-2) wraps up a three-game A-10 homestand with a Saturday afternoon contest against Saint Louis (8-9, 1-3).

Tip-off between the Patriots and Billkens is set for 2:30 p.m. inside EagleBank Arena. Saturday's game will be broadcast to a national audience on NBC Sports Network, featuring commentary from Terry Gannon and David Kaplan. In addition, Bill Rohland will call the game on the A-10 Digital Network, with live audio available beginning at 2:15 p.m.

PATRIOT POINTS
• Mason is 6-4 at home this season, while Saint Louis is 0-4 on the road. SLU is 3-1 all time in Fairfax.

• Mason has won 12 of its past 23 A-10 games (.522) after capturing just 12 of its first 39 (.308) from 2013-16.

• Last time out, a 28-foot buzzer beater by junior Otis Livingston II propelled Mason to a thrilling 81-79 victory over Saint Joseph's on Wednesday inside EagleBank Arena.  

• Livingston II led Mason with a game-high 25 points on 10-of-13 shooting. He made five of six 3-pointers and dished out three assists.

• Over the past three games. Livingston II is averaging an impressive 26.0 points, 5.0 assists and shooting 60 percent from the floor (61.1 3pt FG%). He ranks third in the A-10 in scoring in league play (23.5 ppg).

• Sophomore Justin Kier added his first career double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds) while dishing out a personal-best seven assists in the win over the Hawks. He's posted 10+ points in nine games this year after accomplishing the feat only three times as a freshman in 2016-17.

• Ian Boyd (15 points) and Jaire Grayer (13 points) also scored in double figures for the Patriots Wednesday. Mason is 5-1 when 4+ players post double-digit scoring totals this season.

• For Boyd, it marked the first time since the Nov. 29 game at James Madison (10 games) that he reached the 10-point plateau.

• The Patriots are averaging 10.5 made 3-pointers over the past two games, well above the team's season average (6.9). The Patriots are shooting 45.7 percent from deep (21-46) over the past two contests.

• Mason ranks second in the A-10 in 3-point percentage in conference play (.369, 31-84). The Patriots were t-3rd in the category in league games last season (.363, 102-281).

• Freshman forward Greg Calixte has started the past six games and is averaging 6.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and shooting 56.3 percent.

• The Patriots' +12 rebound margin (43-31) vs. SJU marked a season high. Mason is 6-3 when it wins the rebounding battle this year.

• The Patriots are now 8-2 when they score 65+ points and 0-7 when they fail to score at least 65 in a game.

LIVINGSTON BUZZER BEATER RECEIVES NATIONAL ACCLAIM
Junior Otis Livingston II's electric 28-foot buzzer beater to beat Saint Joseph's on Jan. 10 made waves across the nation and on social media. The play earned the No. 4 spot on SportsCenter's Top Plays and also was featured on the NCAA's official March Madness college basketball twitter account, gaining Mason millions of impressions in the process. Livingston also received an "Otis, My Man!" shoutout from Scott Van Pelt on his ESPN show early Thursday morning.

HISTORY vs. SAINT LOUIS
Saturday's game marks the 10th all-time meeting between George Mason and Saint Louis in men's basketball. The Billikens lead the series 6-3 and have won three of the four meetings played in Fairfax. Mason will be looking to snap a four-game losing skid to the Billikens. SLU won both meetings last season, including a 63-56 victory in EagleBank Arena on Jan. 14 and a 76-74, double-overtime win in Saint Louis on Feb. 1. In the Feb. 1 matchup, Otis Livingston II tallied a then-career best 29 points on 10-of-15 shooting (5-of-7 3pt FG). Livingston II is averaging 15.4 points, 3.8 assists and shooting 42.9 percent (12-29) from 3-point range in five career games vs. Saint Louis. Jaire Grayer has averaged 13.4 points in five games vs. the Billikens. Last season in two games, he averaged 16.0 ppg. In those games, Grayer made a combined 8-of-17 3-point attempts (.471).

A LOOK AT THE BILLIKENS (8-9, 1-3 A-10; No. 192 RPI, No. 179 KenPom.com)
Saint Louis was picked to finish seventh out of 14 teams in the A-10 preseason poll. The Billikens went 7-6 during non-conference play, highlighted by a neutral court victory over Virginia Tech on Nov. 16 in Madison Square Garden. SLU beat Davidson to open league play, but has dropped the last three conference contests. The Billikens feature a scoring defense that ranks in the top-50 nationally and second in the A-10 (65.8 ppg). SLU also excels at drawing contact and getting to the line, as the Billikens rank in the top-20 nationally in free throw attempts. Saint Louis is led by redshirt-junior Javon Bess, who averages a team-high 12.7 points and also grabs 6.4 rebounds per game. Senior Davell Roby adds 10.9 ppg and shoots 37.7 percent from deep, while highly-touted freshman Jordan Goodwin is at 10.9 points and a team-high 6.8 rebounds per contest.

UP NEXT
Mason heads back on the road to play the first of two Revolutionary Rivalry games in 2018. The Green & Gold will make the 20-mile trek and cross the Potomac to battle George Washington in Foggy Bottom on Wednesday. Tip-off between the Patriots and Colonials is set for 7 p.m. on the A-10 Digital Network.

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