WHEN: Saturday, 4 p.m.
WHERE: EagleBank Arena, Fairfax, Va.
RECORDS: Mason (10-1), UMBC (6-7)
SERIES RECORD: Mason leads, 12-8
LAST MEETING: Mason def. UMBC, 74-63, on Dec. 4, 2012
TELEVISION: MASN
LIVE VIDEO: Click here
LIVE AUDIO: Click here
LIVE STATS: Click here
GAME NOTES: Click here (PDF) 
TICKETS: Click here

FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason University men's basketball team (10-1) matches up with UMBC for a Cinderella showdown inside EagleBank Arena Saturday.

Tip-off between the Patriots and Retrievers is set for 4 p.m. Saturday's game will be televised on MASN, featuring commentary from Bill Rohland and Craig Esherick. In addition, Steve Kolbe will call the game on the GoMason Digital Network, with pre-game coverage scheduled for 3:45 p.m.

PATRIOT POINTS
• The Patriots are 10-1 for the first time since 1983-84 (that team started 12-1). Mason began the year 5-0 for the first time in school history, before falling at Maryland on Nov. 22.

• Mason is looking to reach 11 regular season non-conference wins for the first time in the program's Div. I history. The Patriots had 10 victories in 2016-17 and 2010-11, and nine in 2011-12 and 2007-08. The 1983-84 team (Div. II) tallied 16 regular season non-conference wins.

• A win Saturday vs. UMBC would be the 800th in Mason's 54 season history.

• Mason has won its first seven home games for the first time since 2010-11. That Patriot squad went a perfect 14-0 in Fairfax en route to an NCAA Tournament Round of 32 berth.

• Mason has been idle since Dec. 7, when the Patriots knocked off American 68-53 inside EagleBank Arena. Mason used a 36-8 run in the second half to put the game out of reach.

• Senior Justin Kier led Mason with a season-high 14 points, while junior Javon Greene added 13. Freshman Xavier Johnson tallied 12 points, went a career-best 8-of-9 from the free throw line and grabbed a personal best nine rebounds in the win.

• Wilson is fifth nationally in blocks per contest (3.8) and seventh in offensive rebounds/game (4.3).

• Mason has held its opponent to 40 percent shooting or lower in eight games this season. The Patriots are 20th nationally in 3pt FG defense (.269).

• The Patriots are shooting 29.6 percent (8-27) from 3-point range over the past two games.

HISTORY vs. AMERICA EAST OPPONENTS
Mason is 18-12 (.600) all time against teams currently in the America East Conference. Mason's most common opponents are UMBC (12-8), Vermont (2-1), Hartford (2-0) and Maine (0-2). In the most recent matchup with an America East foe, the Patriots dropped a 72-67 contest to perennial league power Vermont on Dec. 3, 2018. In that game, Justin Kier went off for a career-high 32 points (12-15 FG, 2-4 3pt FG, 6-6 FT) while tallying four steals and four rebounds in the game.

CINDERELLA SHOWDOWN
Saturday's game features a pair of programs which shocked the basketball world with improbable NCAA Tournament upsets. Mason  - a No. 11 seed in 2006 - famously defeated Michigan State, North Carolina, Wichita State and Connecticut en route to the Final Four. The win over second-ranked UConn often is mentioned as arguably the greatest Elite Eight upset in NCAA Tournament history. Meanwhile, UMBC made history in 2018, becoming the first No. 16 seed ever to defeat a No. 1 seed during a 74-54 triumph over Virginia in Charlotte.

A LOOK AT THE RETRIEVERS (6-7, 0-0 AMERICA EAST; NET No.  235, KenPom No. 257)
UMBC was picked to finish second out of nine teams in the 2019-20 America East preseason poll. The Retrievers are 6-7 to begin the season and 1-4 in road contests. UMBC ranks in the top-25 nationally in 3-point field goal attempts and is 13th in the country in free throw attempts (268). The Retrievers are led by Darnell Rogers, who paces the team in scoring (14.0 ppg) and shoots 42.2 percent (19-45) from 3-point range. K.J. Jackson adds 13.0 points and a team-best 4.2 assists per contest, while L.J. Owens chips in 10.7 points per game. Rogers and senior forward Arkel Lamar have not played for UMBC over the past six games.
 
UP NEXT
Mason will take an eight-day holiday break before wrapping up non-conference action on Dec. 30. The Monday contest at TCU will tip at 9 p.m. (ET) and be televised locally on MASN (Fox Sports Southwest outside the DMV).