WHEN: Wednesday, 7 p.m.
WHERE: EagleBank Arena, Fairfax, Va.
RECORDS: Mason (2-5), Morgan State (2-3)
SERIES RECORD: Mason leads, 3-1
LAST MEETING: Mason def. Morgan State, 86-79, on Dec. 22, 2017
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+ ($)
LIVE AUDIO: A-10 Digital Network 
LIVE STATS: Click here
GAME NOTES: Click here (PDF)
TICKETS: Click here

BOBBLEHEAD PROMOTION: The first 100 fans at the arena will receive a free mystery Mason bobblehead
FACULTY STAFF 50% OFF: Mason faculty & staff will receive 50% off tickets with a valid Mason ID

FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason University men's basketball team returns to Northern Virginia for a Wednesday night contest against Morgan State inside EagleBank Arena.

Tip-off between the Patriots and Bears is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday's game will be streamed nationally on ESPN+. An ESPN+ subscription, with access to all Mason home events and select away events, as well as NHL/MLB/College Sports and more, can be purchased for $4.99/month. In addition on Saturday, "Voice of the Patriots" Bill Rohland's audio stream will be available for free via GoMason.com. Pre-game coverage begins at 6:45 p.m.

PATRIOT POINTS
* Mason most recently dropped a pair of contests to top-60 KenPom teams during the team's Thanksgiving trip to the Emerald Coast Classic. The Patriots fell to Cincinnati (71-55) and Baylor (72-61) in Florida.

* Mason showed significant defensive improvement in the close contest with the Bears. The Patriots held Baylor - a top-60 KenPom offensive team - to a season-low 38.9 percent shooting clip and a 23.1 percent mark from beyond the arc.

* Senior guard Otis Livingston II broke out for a season-best 26 point effort against Baylor while making eight field goals and 8-of-9 free throw attempts. Coupled with his five-assist, four-steal performance vs. Cincinnati, Livingston II earned a spot on the Emerald Coast Classic All-Tournament Team.

* Livingston II is just four assists away from becoming the fourth player in Mason history with 400 career assists. With his third helper vs. Cincinnati, he passed Mason great Folarin Campbell and moved into fourth on the program's all-time assists list. He's 13th all-time in scoring at Mason (1,515 pts) and can move into 12th with seven points (and 11th with 11 points) vs. Morgan St.

* Redshirt-junior forward Jarred Reuter added 15 points against Baylor while posting career highs in minutes (25), free throws made (11) and free throws attempted (14). He's averaging a team-high 11.4 points through seven games this season.

* Mason is 2-1 this season when it commits fewer than 15 turnovers and 0-4 when the turnover count is above 15.

* The Patriots are getting to the line in 2018-19. Mason ranks 49th nationally in free throws made and 50th in attempts.

* AJ Wilson is averaging 3.3 blocks/game in home contests this season. He's second in the Atlantic 10 in blocks/game (2.4).

* Mason's losses are against teams with a combined record of 22-6 (.786) so far in 2018-19. Georgia Southern is 5-0 and Cincinnati is 5-1.

* The Patriots have struggled from the 3-point arc so far this season. If you take away the contest at Georgia Southern (14-23, .609), Mason is shooting only 25.5 percent (27-106) from long distance.

* Only 24.7 percent of the Patriots' points come from 3-point range. That ranks 302nd nationally. By comparison Mason is 81st in percentage of points that come from 2pt range (53.4) and 81st in free throws (21.9).

BOZEMAN TIES TO THE GREEN & GOLD
Morgan State head coach Todd Bozeman served one year as a part-time assistant coach at George Mason during the 1987-88 campaign under head coach Ernie Nestor. He then went on to the University of California from 1992-96, where he led the Golden Bears to the Sweet 16 and mentored former NBA stars Jason Kidd, Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Lamond Murray.

HISTORY vs. MORGAN STATE
Wednesday's game vs. Morgan State marks the fifth all-time meeting between the Patriots and Bears. Mason has won three of four contests, all of which have been played in Fairfax. Prior to last season, the teams had not met since 1994. In  the Dec. 22, 2017 contest, the Patriots won 86-79, behind 22 points (9-12 FG) and six rebounds from Justin Kier.

HISTORY vs. MEAC OPPONENTS
Mason is 23-23 (.500) all time against teams currently in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Mason's most common opponents are Coppin State (8-14), Howard (6-4) and Morgan State (3-1). The majority of the meetings vs. Coppin State came when the Patriots and Eagles were members of NAIA District 19 in the early 1970s. Mason defeated its first MEAC foe this season, NC Central, on Nov. 20 (78-63).

A LOOK AT THE BEARS (2-3, 0-0 MEAC; KenPom No. 329)
MSU was picked to finish sixth out of 12 teams in the 2018-19 MEAC preseason poll. The Bears are 2-3 to open the season, with home wins over Navy (75-51) and Mt. St. Mary's (78-68). MSU has struggled on offense, where the Bears are 338th nationally in efficiency. Morgan State features a balanced scoring offense, with six players averaging between 8.8 and 7.4 points. Senior Tyler Streeter leads the team in scoring (8.8 ppg) and has made 6-of-8 3-point field goal attempts. Fellow senior and Chicagoan Martez Cameron chips in 8.6 points and 3.0 assists per contest. Freshman Sherwyn Devonish-Prince Jr. (8.0 ppg) leads the team with 3.4 assists per contest.

UP NEXT
Mason hits the road for a Saturday clash with former CAA foe William & Mary. Tip-off in Williamsburg is set for 4 p.m. The game will be streamed on TribeAthletics.tv.

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