WHEN: Saturday, 4 p.m.
WHERE: The Arena at Northwest Florida College - Niceville, Fla.
RECORDS: Mason (2-4), Baylor (3-2)
SERIES RECORD: First meeting
LAST MEETING: N/A
VIDEO STREAM: Emerald Coast TV
LIVE AUDIO: A-10 Digital Network
LIVE STATS: Click here
GAME NOTES: Click here (PDF)
NICEVILLE, Fla. - George Mason will face off with Baylor University for the first time in school history to wrap up the Emerald Coast Classic Saturday in Niceville, Fla.
Tip-off between the Patriots and Bears is set for 4 p.m. (ET). Saturday's game will be streamed free of charge on the Emerald Coast TV website. In addition, "Voice of the Patriots" Bill Rohland will call the game on the A-10 Digital Network, with pre-game coverage beginning at 3:45 p.m.
PATRIOT POINTS
* In Friday's semifinal, the Patriots dropped a 71-55 contest to Cincinnati. Mason was victimized by a 1-for-11 start from the floor in the second half, during which the Bearcats built a 21-point advantage. The Patriots made 12 of their final 17 field goals but could not move closer than 10 the rest of the game.
* Sophomore
Javon Greene led Mason with 11 points on 4-of-8 attempts He also helped hold UC's leading scorer - Jarron Cumberland - to just 2-of-11 shooting from the floor.
* Senior
Jaire Grayer chipped in eight points and hit a pair of 3-pointers, while
Jarred Reuter and
Justin Kier each added six points.
* Senior guard
Otis Livingston II added nine points and game highs in assists (5) and steals (4).
* Livingston II is just five assists away from becoming the fourth player in Mason history with 400 career assists. With his third helper on Friday, he passed Mason great Folarin Campbell and moved into fourth on the program's all-time assists list.
* The Patriots have one of the most balanced scoring offenses in the nation. Seven student-athletes average between 11.2 and 7.2 points per game.
* Mason had 16 turnovers vs. Cincinnati. The Patriots average 10.5 turnovers/game in wins and 17.6 in losses.
* Mason's opponent has shot over 50 percent from the field in three of the past four games. The Patriots' foe also has shot under 30 percent from 3-point range in each of those contests.
HISTORY vs. BAYLOR
Saturday's game marks the first ever meeting between George Mason and Baylor in men's basketball.
HISTORY vs. BIG 12 OPPONENTS
Mason is 2-7 (.222) all time against Big 12 foes. Mason's most common opponent is West Virginia (0-4). The Patriots are 1-0 against both Oklahoma State (71-68 win in 2015-16) and Kansas State (87-77 over No. 18 KSU in 2007-08). Mason also will face Kansas State on Dec. 29 this season.
A LOOK AT THE BEARS (3-2, 0-0 Big 12; KenPom No. 54)
Baylor was picked to finish ninth out of 10 teams in the 2018-19 Big 12 preseason poll. The Bears have won three of five games to start the year, including victories over Southern, Prairie View A&M and Nicholls State. The Bears fell to Ole Miss, 78-70, on Friday in the Emerald Coast semifinal. The Bears are No. 64 nationally in offensive efficiency and 37th in the country in 2-point field goal percentage (57.7). Baylor also is one of the nation's top-30 offensive rebounding teams. BU is led by Devonte Bandoo (14.5 ppg, 57.1 FG%). King McClure (14.3 ppg, 55.8 FG%) and Tristan Clark (13.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg) also average double figures for the Bears. Yale transfer Makai Mason tallied 18 points in the loss to Ole Miss Friday.
UP NEXT
Mason returns to Fairfax to host MEAC foe Morgan State on Wednesday at 7 p.m. inside EagleBank Arena. The matchup will be streamed on ESPN+. The Patriots won last season's meeting, 86-79, on Dec. 22 last season.
