WHEN: Thursday, 2:30 p.m. (ET)
WHERE: Brooklyn, N.Y. (Barclays Center)
RECORDS: Mason (17-14, 11-7), George Washington (8-23, 4-14)
SERIES: Mason trails, 5-19
LAST MEETING: Mason def. GW, 81-65, on March 9, 2019 in Washington, D.C.
TELEVISION: NBC Sports Network
LIVE VIDEO: Click here
LIVE AUDIO: GoMason Digital Network 
LIVE STATS: Click here
GAME NOTES: Click here (PDF)

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL: Click here

BROOKLYN, N.Y. - No. 5 seed George Mason opens the 2019 Atlantic 10 Tournament Thursday afternoon vs. No. 12 seed George Washington in a third chapter in the Revolutionary Rivalry this season.

Tip-off in the Barclays Center is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Thursday's game will be televised nationally on NBC Sports Network, featuring commentary from Todd Harris (play-by-play), Tim McCormick (color) and David Kaplan (sideline). In addition, "Voice of the Patriots" Bill Rohland will call the game on the GoMason Digital Network, with pre-game coverage beginning at 2:15 p.m.

PATRIOT POINTS
* The No. 5 seed matches Mason's best A-10 Tournament position in its six-year tenure in the league. The Patriots' average seed has been 5.7 over the past three seasons (12.7 in the program's first 3 A-10 seasons).

* The Patriots are the No. 5 A-10 seed for the second-straight year. Mason went 1-1 last season and is 1-2 all-time as the No. 5 seed in its conference tournament history. In the 1987 CAA Tournament, #5 Mason fell to #4 JMU (68-64) in the Patriots' opening game.

* The Patriots are 2-5 all time in the A-10 Tournament. Mason is 2-0 in the second round, 0-3 in the first round and 0-2 in the quarterfinals.

* Mason is averaging 9.7 A-10 wins over the past three seasons. The Patriots averaged 4.3 conference victories over their first three seasons in the league.

* The Green & Gold set a new program record with five A-10 road wins this season. Mason won its first four conference road games for the first time since 1989-90. The Patriots then lost their next four, before rebounding to win at GW on March 9.  
u Mason wrapped up the regular season with an 81-65 win at GW on Saturday in Foggy Bottom. Mason shot 53.6 percent (30-56) for the game, made 11-of-22 3-pointers (.500) and led by double digits the entire second half during a wire-to-wire win.

* Freshman Jordan Miller led the Patriots with a career-best 17 points (6-6 FG) at GW while grabbing nine rebounds. He's averaging 6.2 offensive rebounds/game over the past four games and leads the team in scoring (14.0 ppg) and rebounding (9.5 rpg) during that stretch.

* Miller is fourth in the A-10 in field goal percentage in league games (.624) and second in offensive rebounds/game (3.6).

* Junior Justin Kier is just 12 points away from becoming Mason's 38th all-time 1,000-point scorer.  

* Senior Otis Livingston II has scored 10+ points in 13 of the past 15 games. He needs just two 3-pointers to reach 200 for his career.

* Javon Greene has made 22-consecutive free throws. The school record is 34, set by then-sophomore Otis Livingston II in 2016-17.

* Mason ranks 41st nationally in 3-point field goal defense (.315). That mark is tied for fourth best in school history. The Patriots held opponents to a program-record 30.9 percent clip in 2008-09.

MASON CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
The Patriots have posted a 37-42 (.468) all-time record in conference postseason events, including a 31-32 record (.492) in the Div. I era. Mason was 4-8 in NAIA District 19 events and 1-2 in the Mason-Dixon Conference (Div. II), before joining the Div. I ranks (1978-79). In its Div. I history, Mason was 1-4 in ECAC South postseason contests and 29-23 in 28 all-time CAA Tournament games. The Patriots are 2-5 all-time in Atlantic 10 postseason contests. Mason has won A-10 second round games vs. Fordham in 2017 and UMass in 2018. Mason is 0-3 in the A-10 first round, 2-0 in the second round and 0-2 in the quarterfinals. The Patriots have won four postseason conference tournament championships in program history, all during the CAA era (1989, 1991, 2001, 2008).

HISTORY vs. GEORGE WASHINGTON
Thursday's game would mark the 25th all-time meeting in the Revolutionary Rivalry and the first matchup between the schools in the A-10 Tournament. George Mason and George Washington are separated by just 20 miles. GW holds a 19-5 advantage in the series and is 9-3 in A-10 games against the Patriots. However, Mason has won the past three matchups between the schools. The Green & Gold swept two meetings this season, including a 62-55 win in Fairfax on Jan. 26 and an 81-65 triumph in Foggy Bottom this past Saturday (March 9). Otis Livingston II (14.5 ppg, 45.8 FG%), Justin Kier (12.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg) and Jordan Miller (10.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 88.9 FG%) all have averaged double figures against the Colonials in the two games in 2018-19.

YOUTH MOVEMENT
Over the past four games, 171 of Mason's 265 points scored have come from either freshmen or sophomores (64.5%). That includes 56 of 77 in the win over Richmond. During that stretch, freshmen Jordan Miller (14.0 ppg, 9.5 rpg) and Jamal Hartwell II (10.5 ppg, 54.2 3pt FG%) are leading the team in scoring. On the season, six of Mason's 11 rotational players are underclassmen this season.

KIER CONTINUES TO SERVE AS MASON'S SWISS ARMY KNIFE
2019 A-10 Most Improved Player and Second Team All-A-10 selection Justin Kier has emerged as one of the premier all-around players in the Atlantic 10 this season. He is one of just 14 players nationally who averages 13+ points, 6+ rebounds, 2.5+ assists and 1.5+ steals per game. In conference play, he leads the Patriots in scoring (14.2 ppg) and rebounding (7.6 rpg, 7th in A-10) and is second in 3-point field goal percentage (.383), assists per game (2.8) and steals per game (1.2). Kier has tallied a team-high seven double-doubles on the year. He earned A-10 Player of the Week accolades on Jan. 14 and Jan. 21.

UP NEXT
With a victory on Thursday, the Patriots would move on to Friday quarterfinal action against No. 4 seed St. Bonaventure. The game will tip at 2:30 p.m. on NBC Sports Network. Mason and SBU split a pair of regular season meetings in 2018-19.