WHEN: Friday, 7 p.m.
WHERE: The Arena at Northwest Florida College - Niceville, Fla.
RECORDS: Mason (2-3), Cincinnati (3-1)
SERIES RECORD: Mason trails, 0-1
LAST MEETING: Cincinnati def. Mason, 72-48, on March 12, 1999 (NCAA First Round - Boston, Mass.)
TELEVISION: CBS Sports Network (no stream)
LIVE AUDIO: A-10 Digital Network
LIVE STATS: Click here
GAME NOTES: Click here (PDF)
NICEVILLE, Fla. - George Mason opens the Florida portion of the Emerald Coast Classic Friday with a contest against 2018 AAC champion Cincinnati. The Patriots come to Florida on a two-game win streak.
Tip-off between the Patriots and Bearcats is set for 7 p.m. (ET). Friday's game will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network, featuring commentary from Brad Johansen and Steve Lappas. In addition, "Voice of the Patriots" Bill Rohland will call the game on the A-10 Digital Network, with live audio coverage beginning at 6:45 p.m.
PATRIOT POINTS
* With a win, Mason will play at 7 p.m. (ET) Saturday against Baylor or Ole Miss. With a loss, the Patriots will play one of those opponents at 4 p.m. (ET) Saturday.
* The Patriots are coming off a 78-63 victory over NC Central Tuesday in the team's best overall effort of the season. Mason shot 51 percent for the game and committed just nine turnovers.
* Redshirt-junior forward
Jarred Reuter put together his breakout game against the Eagles. The Virginia transfer poured in a career-best 24 points on 10-of-13 shooting in the win. He's averaging 11.8 points and shooting 60 percent over the first five games of 2018-19.
*
Justin Kier (12 pts) reached double figures for the fourth time in five games, while
Ian Boyd tallied 11 for his third 10+ point effort.
* Senior guard
Otis Livingston II was held scoreless for the first time in 104 careeer games vs. NCCU, although he dished out seven assists and committed 0 turnovers in the game. He's t-2nd in the A-10 and 31st nationally with 6.0 assists per game.
* Mason also held an impressive 27-3 edge in bench scoring for the game. The Green & Gold reserves have outscored their opponent's bench by 10+ points in four of five games in 2018-19.
* The Patriots have one of the most balanced scoring offenses in the nation. Seven student-athletes average between 12.2 and 8.2 points per game.
* Mason's nine turnovers vs. NCCU were a season low. The Patriots average 10.5 turnovers/game in wins and 18.0 in losses.
HISTORY vs. CINCINNATI
Friday's game marks the second all-time meeting between Mason and Cincinnati. The only other meeting came in the 1999 NCAA Tournament opening round in Boston, where the third-seeded Bearcats upended the No. 14 seeded Patriots, 72-48. Jason Miskiri (13 points, three rebounds) and Keith Holdan (12 points, seven rebounds) led the way for Mason, while Pete Mickeal (18 pts), Melvin Levett (11 points) and future NBA All-Star Kenyon Martin (10 points) paced UC.
HISTORY vs. AAC OPPONENTS
Mason is 41-25 (.621) all time against teams currently in the American Athletic Conference. The bulk of those matchups have come against former ECAC and Colonial conference foe East Carolina (33-15). Mason also is 3-2 against Wichita State and 2-0 vs. UCF. Arguably the finest win in program history came against an AAC foe when the Patriots defeated No. 1 seed Connecticut (86-84) in the 2006 Elite Eight en route to the team's berth in the Final Four.
A LOOK AT THE BEARCATS (3-1, 0-0 AAC; KenPom No. 45)
Cincinnati was picked to finish second out of 12 teams in the 2018-19 AAC preseason poll. The Bearcats claimed the 2018 AAC regular season and tournament titles and advanced to the NCAA Round of 32. UC fell to eventual Elite 8 team Nevada. Cincinnati has made eight consecutive NCAA Tournaments and is 64-12 since the start of the 2016-17 campaign. The Bearcats fell to Ohio State to open the season, but have rattled off three straight wins, including a 78-52 win over Western Michigan in the team's last outing. The Bearcats make their mark on defense, where UC ranks in the top-30 nationally in defensive efficiency and leads the American in scoring defense (57.5 ppg). Jarron Cumberland leads UC in scoring (18.3 ppg) and 3pt FG% (.440), while Nysier Brooks averages 9.8 points and a team-high 8.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game.
UP NEXT
Mason will play either Baylor or Ole Miss in the Emerald Coast Classic Saturday (Nov. 24) at either 4 p.m. or 7 p.m. With a win vs. Cincinnati, the Patriots would play at 7 p.m. on CBS Sports Network. With a loss, Mason would play at 4 p.m. in a game that would be streamed on the Emerald Coast Classic website.
