WHEN: Saturday, 7 p.m.
WHERE: EagleBank Arena, Fairfax, Va.
RECORDS: Mason (15-15, 9-8), Richmond (10-19, 8-9)
SERIES RECORD: Mason trails, 24-35
LAST MEETING: Mason def. Richmond, 79-75, on Feb. 3 in Robins Center
TELEVISION: MASN
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GAME OF THE WEEK: Free Mason jersey tote bag for students with valid Mason ID (while supplies last)
GAME SPONSOR: Virginia 529

FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason University men's basketball team (15-15, 9-8) concludes the regular season on Saturday with a 7 p.m. home contest vs. Richmond (10-19, 8-9).

Tip-off between the Patriots and Spiders is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday's game will be broadcast regionally on MASN, featuring commentary from Jason Knapp and Craig Esherick. In addition, Bill Rohland will provide live audio of the game on the A-10 Digital Network, with coverage beginning at 6:45 p.m.

PATRIOT POINTS
• Mason is 10-6 at home this season, while Richmond is 3-8 in true road games in 2017-18.

• The Patriots have won five of their past six games and six of their past eight.

• With a win Saturday, Mason would claim the No. 4 seed in the A-10 Tournament and earn a double bye into the quarterfinals.

• Mason is 19-17 (.528) in its past 36 A-10 games after beginning its league tenure with a 12-39 mark (.235) from 2013 to 2016.

• Mason is averaging 9.0 A-10 wins over the past two seasons. The Patriots averaged 4.3 conference victories over their first three seasons in the league.

• The Patriots are coming off their third-straight walk-off victory. On Wednesday night, Mason rallied from an 11-point deficit with five minutes to play to win, 81-80 at VCU. The Patriots closed the game on a 19-7 run.

• Trailing 80-79 with a second remaining, Ian Boyd grabbed an offensive rebound after a Mason miss and converted a tip-in to post his third game-winning shot in as many games.

• The win at VCU marked Mason's first at the Siegel Center since Feb. 25, 2011.

• Freshman Goanar Mar posted a career-best 26 points (8-12 FG, 4-6 3pt FG) while Otis Livingston II tallied 26 points (4-6 3pt FG), five assists and four steals.

• Mar is shooting 40.6 percent from 3-point range in A-10 play, compared to 30.8 percent in non-league games. He's scored 10+ points in four of the past five contests and is averaging 20.0 points over the past three games

• Mason is 9-3 in A-10 play when three or more starters score in double figures.

• Four of Mason's nine A-10 wins have come in the final second of the game. The Patriots have appeared on SportsCenter three times over the past two weeks.

• A victory Saturday would give Mason a program-record 10 A-10 victories. The Patriots already have tied a program best with four A-10 road wins.

ATLANTIC 10 TOURNAMENT SEEDING SCENARIOS
Mason controls its own destiny in terms of seeding for next week's Atlantic 10 Tournament. With a win Saturday vs. Richmond, Mason would claim the No. 4 seed and earn a double bye into Friday's quarterfinals. With a loss Saturday, there are a number of seeding scenarios that could play out. Thanks to DMV basketball pundit Patrick Stevens, all scenarios (unofficial) are included below:

• The Patriots will be the No. 4 seed with a win
• The Patriots will be the No. 4 seed with a loss AND a Saint Louis loss AND a Saint Joseph's loss
• The Patriots will be the No. 5 seed with a loss AND a Saint Louis win AND a Saint Joseph's loss
• The Patriots will be the No. 5 seed with a loss AND a Saint Louis loss AND a Saint Joseph's win
• The Patriots will be the No. 7 seed with a loss AND a Saint Louis win AND a Saint Joseph's win

FOUR OF NINE A-10 VICTORIES HAVE COME AT LAST SECOND
The Patriots have enjoyed a flair for the dramatic throughout the Atlantic 10 schedule in 2017-18. Mason has walked off with a quartet of victories, including two over Saint Joseph's (81-79 on 1/10, 79-76 on 2/21), an OT win over Massachusetts (78-76) on Feb. 24 and a last-second, 81-80 victory at VCU on Feb. 28. In the last three wins, the game winner has been hit by sophomore Ian Boyd each time. For his efforts, Andy Katz featured Boyd in his weekly NCAA.com column on Monday and Boyd appeared live on the midnight edition of SportsCenter on Thursday with John Buccigross. The Patriots also were featured in the Washington Post and on SB Nation chronicling the team's slew of last second victories in 2017-18.

IS BOYD IN A LEAGUE OF HIS OWN?
After extensive research done by the ESPN Stats and Info team, we've been unable to find a Div. I player in recent memory who has won three-straight games in the last second for his team. The closest is Kentucky's Aaron Harrison, who hit last second shots in the 2014 NCAA Tournament in back to back games vs. Michigan (March 30) and Wisconsin (April 5). He also hit one in the game previous to Michigan (March 28 vs. Louisville), but that one came with 40 seconds to play. Looks like what Ian is doing for the Patriots truly is a one-of-a-kind accomplishment.

HISTORY vs. RICHMOND
Saturday's game marks the 60th all-time meeting between George Mason and Richmond in men's basketball. The Patriots are 14-10 vs. the Spiders in Fairfax and 8-18 in games played in Richmond (2-7 on neutral courts). Mason has won six-straight games in the series and 11 of the past 13 meetings with the Spiders dating back to the old CAA years. Mason is 5-0 vs. Richmond under head coach Dave Paulsen. The Patriots won the first meeting this season, 79-75, on Feb. 3 inside the Robins Center. Otis Livingston II led Mason with 22 points and six assists, while Goanar Mar (17 pts, 9 reb, 4-6 3pt FG), Justin Kier (16 pts, 9 reb, 4 ast) and Javon Greene (14 points, 6-12 FG, 9 reb, 6 stl, 3 ast) also played well for the Green & Gold. Jaire Grayer did not play in the game due to a foot sprain.

A LOOK AT THE SPIDERS (10-19, 8-9 A-10; No. 197 RPI, No. 190 KenPom.com)
Richmond was picked to finish eighth out of 14 teams in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll. The Spiders struggled in non-conference games while playing one of the nation's top-20 most difficult schedules. After going 2-10 in the non-league portion, the Spiders won six of their first nine league games. UR has since dropped six of its past eight games. Freshman Grant Golden averages a team-high 15.8 points and shoots over 50 percent from the floor. He's up to 16.2 ppg in league play. Nick Sherod averages a team-high 17.1 ppg in league play. Sophomore De'Monte Buckingham chips in 12.3 points and a team-high 7.1 rebounds per contest overall, while Jacob Gilyard is at 10.9 points and ranks in the top-10 nationally in steals per game (2.8 spg).

UP NEXT
Mason will make the short trip east to Washington, D.C., for the 2018 Atlantic 10 Tournament at Capital One Arena. The Patriots control their own fate in terms of seeding. With a win vs. Richmond, the Patriots would claim the No. 4 overall seed and earn a double bye into the quarterfinals. With a loss, things become more complicated, with seeding coming down to a series of tiebreakers to determine when Mason will play. See the next page for an in-depth look at potential seeding scenarios.

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