WHEN: Saturday, 6:30 p.m.
WHERE: Richmond, Va.
RECORDS: Mason (13-8, 7-1), VCU (14-6, 5-2)
SERIES RECORD: Mason trails, 20-39
LAST MEETING: Mason def. VCU, 81-80, on Feb. 28, 2018, in Richmond, Va.
TELEVISION: NBC Sports Network
LIVE VIDEO: Click here
LIVE AUDIO: GoMason Digital Network 
LIVE STATS: Click here (Available Saturday)
GAME NOTES: Click here (PDF)

FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason University men's basketball team hits the road for a nationally-televised contest at VCU Saturday in Richmond. The game is important in the A-10 race, as Mason sits in first at 7-1, while VCU is in the top-5 with a 5-2 league mark.

Tip-off between the Patriots and Rams inside the Siegel Center is set for 6:30 p.m. Saturday's game will be televised nationally on NBC Sports Network, featuring commentary from Paul Burmeister, Ron Thompson and Rob Dauster. In addition, Bill Rohland will call the game on the GoMason Digital Network, with pre-game coverage beginning at 6:15 p.m.

PATRIOT POINTS
* The Patriots have won 26 of their past 45 A-10 games (.578), including 10 of the past 12 dating back to 2017-18. Mason went 12-39 (.235) over its first three seasons in the league.

* Mason is off to its best start in league play (7-1) in its six seasons in the Atlantic 10. The Patriots have won their first four conference road games for the first time since 1989-90 (per Patrick Stevens). It's the first four-game conference road streak for Mason since 2010-11.

* Since returning from the Emerald Coast Classic, Mason has won 11 of the past 14 games, including seven of the past eight.

* Last time out, Mason won its fifth-straight contest with a 62-55 victory over GW on Jan. 26. The Patriots limited the Colonials to 36.8 percent shooting (21-45) and a 6-of-28 mark (.214) from 3-point range.

* The Patriots have held 11 straight opponents under 70 points. It's the longest such streak for a Mason team in 10 years. The 2008-09 squad limited 14 straight foes to under 70 points.

* Senior guard Otis Livingston II led the Patriots with 15 points against George Washington, while Justin Kier added a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Redshirt-senior forward Jarred Reuter chipped in 10 points, six rebounds and four assists in 24 minutes on the floor.

* Kier has posted 11+ points in each of the past 14 games and has recorded a double-double in seven of the past 11 contests.

* Mason has shot 47.9 percent overall and 41.6 percent from 3-point range in road games this season. At home, the Patriots are at just 44.6 percent overall and 28.4  percent from beyond the arc.

* Justin Kier has averaged 17.3 points, 6.9 rebounds and shot 59.2 percent in seven road games this season, while Javon Greene is at 12.1 ppg, 6.0 rpg and shoots 50 percent in away contests. Mason has the most road wins (5) of any team in the Atlantic 10.

* Saturday's showdown pits two of the nation's top perimeter defensive teams against each other. Mason ranks 17th in the country in 3pt FG defense (.293) while VCU is fourth (.272).

* In A-10 play, Mason ranks first in the league in 3pt FG defense (.240), second in scoring defense (61.2 ppg) and third in overall FG defense (.393).

* The Patriots are shooting 53.9 percent (69-128) from 2-point range over the past four games but just 29.3 percent (24-82) from beyond the arc. Mason is holding opponents to 29.2 percent (33-113) from 3-point range during that stretch.

* Mason head coach Dave Paulsen and VCU bench boss Mike Rhoades each rose to national prominence at the Div. III level. Paulsen won a DIII National title at Williams College (2003), while Rhoades took Randolph-Macon to a pair of Sweet 16s in 2002 and 2003. Both teams earned No. 1 seeds in 2003.

HISTORY vs. VCU
Saturday's game marks the 60th all-time meeting between old CAA and current A-10 foes George Mason and VCU. Mason is 6-21 on the road, 13-11 at home and 1-7 on neutral courts vs. VCU (20-39 overall). The Rams have won 13 of the past 16 meetings and eight of the 10 games in Atlantic 10 play. However, the Patriots claimed the last meeting over the Rams on Feb. 28 last season, when an Ian Boyd tip-in (his third-straight buzzer beater) capped a furious run in which Mason erased an 11-point deficit with five minutes remaining. It marked Mason's first win in the Siegel Center since 2011. Senior Otis Livingston II has averaged 14.1 points in seven career games vs. the Rams, including 24.5 ppg, 3.5 apg and a 53.8 FG% (50.0 3pt FG%) in two games last season. Goanar Mar (who is out indefinitely with a foot fracture) averaged 19 points and shot 57.9 percent in two games vs. VCU in 2017-18, including a career-best 26-point effort in Richmond.

HISTORY vs. IN-STATE DIV. I OPPONENTS
Saturday's game marks the 390th all-time game for Mason against an in-state, Div. I foe. The Patriots are 182-207 (.468) vs. Commonwealth opponents over the past 53 seasons. Harkening back to its CAA history, Mason's most common in-state opponents are James Madison (48-50), William & Mary (40-28), Richmond (24-36), VCU (20-39) and Old Dominion (21-36). The Patriots won at William & Mary on Dec. 1 and defeated JMU at home on Dec. 3 earlier this season.

A LOOK AT THE RAMS (14-6, 5-2 Atlantic 10; KenPom No. 54, NET No. 56)
VCU was picked to finish seventh in the 2018-19 Atlantic 10 preseason poll. The Rams went 9-4 vs. the third toughest non-conference schedule in the nation, including wins at Texas (54-53) and vs. Temple (57-51). VCU features its usual suffocating defense, which ranks eighth in the nation in efficiency (0.883 points/possession). The Rams force a turnover on 23.2 percent of opponent possessions (22nd nationally). Rice transfer Marcus Evans leads the team in scoring (13.8 ppg) and assists (2.8 apg), while De'Riante Jenkins (12.0 ppg) and Isaac Vann (10.9 ppg) also average double figures for VCU.

UP NEXT
Mason returns to greater RVA for the first of two 2018-19 matchups with the Richmond Spiders. Tip-off Wednesday inside the Robins Center is set for 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN+.