WHEN: Wednesday, 7 p.m.
WHERE: Amherst, Mass.
RECORDS: Mason (9-8, 3-1), Massachusetts (7-9, 0-3)
SERIES RECORD: Mason leads, 6-3
LAST MEETING: Mason def. UMass, 80-75, on March 8, 2018 in Washington, D.C. (A-10 Tournament)
TELEVISION: NESN+/Eleven Sports
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+
LIVE AUDIO: GoMason Digital Network 
LIVE STATS: Click here
GAME NOTES: Click here (PDF)

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The George Mason University men's basketball team (9-8, 3-1 A-10) wraps up a two-game road trip through New England with a Wednesday contest at Massachusetts.

Tip-off between the Patriots and Minutemen is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday's game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN+ and also will be available on television on NESN+ and Eleven Sports. In addition, "Voice of the Patriots" Bill Rohland will call the game on the GoMason Digital Network, with pre-game coverage beginning at 6:45 p.m.

PATRIOT POINTS
* Mason is off to its best start in league play (3-1) in its six seasons in the Atlantic 10.

* Last time out, Mason improved to 2-0 in A-10 road games with an 84-67 win at Rhode Island. Mason shot 51.7 percent and had the highest points/possession mark (1.196) of any team this season against the stout defense of the Rams.

* Mason limited the Rams to just 12 percent (3-25) from beyond the 3-point arc. Mason is 27th nationally in 3-point FG defense (.294) this season and is allowing opponents to shoot just 18.3 percent from deep in league play (2nd in A-10).

* Over the past seven games, Mason is holding its opponents to 59.4 ppg and a combined 37.1 percent (150-404) shooting mark. Patriot foes averaged 75 points and shot 47.3 percent over the first 10 games of 2018-19. Mason is 7-2 this season when holding its opponent under 70 points.

* Justin Kier led Mason with 19 points and 10 rebounds against the Rams. He's the A-10 Player of the Week after posting 22.5 ppg, 11.0 rpg and shooting 63.6 percent combined vs. Davidson and URI. He's scored 12+ points in 10-straight games (Mason is 7-3) and has six double-doubles in the past seven contests.

* In A-10 play, Kier, a junior, leads the A-10 in scoring (19.5 ppg) and rebounding (12.5 rpg) and is third in free throw percentage (.917) and fifth in 3-point percentage (.462).

* A-10 All-Defensive Team candidate Javon Greene has held SJU's Charlie Brown, SBU's Courtney Stockard, Davidson's Kellan Grady and URI's Jeff Dowtin to a combined 40 percent (24-60) overall and 15.4 percent (4-26) from 3-point range.

* Otis Livingston II added 14 points and a game-high seven assists at Rhody while Greene chipped in 15 points (4-8 FG).

* Due to the foot injury to starter Goanar Mar, freshman Jordan Miller saw his first action of the year Sunday and dazzled with 14 points (6-8 FG), two blocks and two steals in 23 minutes off the bench. Miller's scoring total is the highest in a Mason debut in more than a decade.

* Javon Greene ranks 17th in the nation in free throw percentage (.898), while Otis Livingston II is 31st (.880). Justin Kier shoots 82.8 percent, which ranks amongst the top 125 players in the country. Mason made 17-of-18 free throws (.944) as a team at Rhode Island.

* Mason has shot 49.2 percent overall and 46.8 percent from 3-point range in road games this season. At home, the Patriots are at just 44.6 percent overall and 27.7 percent from beyond the arc.

* Since returning from the Emerald Coast Classic, Mason has won seven of the past 10 games, including three of the last four.

* In A-10 play, the Patriots lead the league in rebounding margin (+8.5) despite ranking 320th nationally in average height (6'3.7"/player).

10+ POINTS IN MASON DEBUT SINCE 2005-06
14 - Jordan Miller vs. Rhode Island (January 13, 2019)
13 - Ryan Pearson at Vermont (November 15, 2008)
12 - Darryl Monroe at Cleveland State (November 11, 2006)
11 - Goanar Mar vs. Lafayette (November 10, 2017)
11 - Luke Hancock vs. Liberty (November 13, 2010)

KIER SETTING TORRID PACE IN ATLANTIC 10 PLAY
This season, junior Justin Kier has emerged as one of the premier players in the Atlantic 10. In league games, the Grottoes, Va., product leads the league in scoring (19.5 ppg) and rebounding (12.5 rpg)  and is third in free throw percentage (.917, 22-24) and fifth in 3-point percentage (.462, 6-13). Overall, he also ranks fifth in the A-10 and 57th nationally with 1.9 steals per game, while chipping in 2.2 assists per contest. Kier has posted at least 12 points in each of the past 10 games (Mason is 7-3) and poured in a career-best 32 points vs. Vermont on Dec. 3. He has notched a double-double in six of the past seven games for the Green & Gold and was named A-10 Player of the Week on Jan. 14 after averaging 22.5 points, 11.0 rebounds and shooting 63.6 percent in games vs. Davidson and URI.

MAR, GRAYER OUT WITH FOOT INJURIES
Mason starters Goanar Mar and Jaire Grayer are both out indefinitely with foot injuries. Grayer has missed 10 games, while Mar missed his first at URI. The two players have combined to start 151 games and score 1,570 points for the Green & Gold. Despite the losses, Mason's team depth has proved beneficial this season, and the team has posted a 7-3 record since the beginning of Grayer's absence. Javon Greene and Ian Boyd have both made the most of starting roles, while Mason still deploys a bench of five players, each of who has made major contributions this season.

HISTORY vs. MASSACHUSETTS
Wednesday's matchup marks the 10th all-time meeting between Mason and UMass. The Patriots hold a 6-3 advantage in the series and have won the past five meetings. Mason captured all three matchups in 2017-18 and swept the two-game series in 2016-17. The Patriots are 3-1 all time in Amherst. Last season, Otis Livingston II averaged 25.3 points and 5.0 assists over three games, including a career-best 33-point effort in Amherst on Jan. 3. On Feb. 24 in Fairfax, Livingston II tallied the game-winning assist, feeding Ian Boyd at the buzzer in overtime to give Mason the victory. Both regular season games went to overtime in 2017-18 and six of the past seven meetings have been decided by six points or less. Mason defeated UMass in the first round of the 2018 A-10 Tournament at Capital One Arena, overcoming a 14-point first half deficit.

A LOOK AT THE MINUTEMEN (7-9, 0-3 Atlantic 10; KenPom No. 159, NET No. 181)
UMass was picked to finish eighth in the 2018-19 A-10 preseason poll. The Minutemen tallied a 7-6 record in non-conference play, including a road win at Providence and victory over Southern Illinois in Las Vegas. Massachusetts is 0-3 to begin league play, but those three losses are by an average of just 5.6 points. UMass is a good offensive team, highlighted by a true shooting percentage (.541) which ranks 55th in the nation. That includes a 54.1 percent mark from 2-point range (80th nationally) and a .361 3-point field goal clip (86th). Junior Luwane Pipkins ranks second in the A-10 with 19.4 points per game and is fourth in the league with 5.5 assists per contest. Rutgers transfer Jonathan Laurent adds 11.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and shoots 50 percent (19-38) from 3-point range, while sophomore Carl Pierre tallies 10.6 points and shoots at his usual solid clip (.405) from beyond the 3-point arc.

UP NEXT
The Patriots return home for a Saturday (Jan, 19) contest vs. Fordham. Tip-off in EagleBank Arena between the Patriots and Rams is scheduled for 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN+.

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