WHEN: Wednesday, 7 p.m.
WHERE: EagleBank Arena - Fairfax, Va.
RECORDS: George Mason (5-5, 1-3), La Salle (5-6, 2-2)
SERIES RECORD: Mason leads, 5-2
LAST MEETING: Mason def. La Salle, 76-63, on Jan. 11, 2020, in Philadelphia, Pa.
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FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason University men's basketball team (5-5, 1-3) wraps up a three-game homestand Wednesday with a contest vs. La Salle (5-6, 2-2).
Tip-off between the Patriots and Explorers is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+, featuring commentary from Bill Rohland. In addition, Rohland will call the game on the GoMason Digital Network, with streaming coverage beginning at 6:45 p.m.
PATRIOT POINTS
* Mason is coming off a 77-57 setback to Richmond Saturday. Mason was within four (46-42) at the 13:25 mark of the second half, but an 18-5 run from the Spiders allowed Richmond to harness control of the game.
* Redshirt-senior
AJ Wilson led Mason with 16 points (8-12 FG) vs. Richmond while adding six rebounds and three blocks. The A-10 Weekly Honor roll selection leads Mason with 13.7 points per game over the past three contests and is shooting 50 percent from the floor.
* Junior
Jamal Hartwell II added 10 points (3-5 FG, 2-4 3pt FG) vs. the Spiders. He has made 11 of his past 21 3-point attempts (.524).
* Mason is shooting 26.7 percent (8-30) from 3-point range over the past two games. The Patriots have made 35 percent of their 3-point attempts in road/neutral games, but just 28.3 percent at home (32-113).
* Mason leading scorer
Jordan Miller (15.1 ppg) averages 20.2 points and shoots 51.5 percent in road/neutral games, compared to 6.7 points per game and 33.3 percent shooting at home.
*
Tyler Kolek has scored 10+ points in three of four A-10 games and is t-3rd in the league in scoring amongst freshmen (11.3 ppg). His 2.6 3pt FG made/game ranks fourth in the league. Kolek is shooting a sizzling 40.7 from deep in A-10 play.
* Senior
Javon Greene is just 18 points away from reaching the 1,000-point milestone for his career.
* Greene has recorded 138 career steals (41st nationally). He is ninth all time at Mason in the category and needs just two more to tie Jai Lewis for eighth on the all-time ledger.
* Wilson leads the A-10 and ranks 16th nationally with 2.8 blocks/game. He is second all time at Mason and sixth nationally in career swats (189).
* Mason has limited opponents on the offensive glass for the majority of the season, but Patriot foes are averaging 11.5 offensive rebounds/game over the past two contests.
* Mason is shooting a much-improved 72.5 percent (29-40) from the free throw line over the past three games after making a paltry 52 percent of its attempts (51-98) in the previous four contests. The Patriots are 317th nationally this season in free throw percentage (.620).
* Mason just wrapped up a difficult part of its A-10 schedule where four of five opponents ranked in the top-80 of the KenPom rankings: Dayton (67), VCU (54), Richmond (58) and Rhode Island (77). Only one of the Patriots' next six opponents ranks in the KenPom top-150.
* The Patriots are 3-0 when scoring 70+ points this season but just 2-5 when failing to hit the 70-point plateau.
HISTORY vs. LA SALLE
Wednesday's matchup marks the eighth all-time meeting between Mason and La Salle. The programs had never met prior to the Patriots' entry into the Atlantic 10 in 2013-14. The Patriots have won all three meetings in Fairfax and split four games with the Explorers in Philly. The Patriots lead the overall series, 5-2. Last season, Mason won 76-63 on January 11, 2020 at Tom Gola Arena. The Patriots trailed 23-18 with 3:20 to go in the first half, before blitzing the Explorers with a 22-0 surge that bled three minutes into the second stanza and gave Mason a commanding 40-23 lead.
AJ Wilson posted a solid 16-point, 8-rebound, 3-block line while connecting on 7-of-13 field goal attempts in the meeting last season.
Javon Greene tallied 16 points, made 3-of-5 3-point attempts and chipped in seven rebounds and three assists, while
Jordan Miller scored 13 points (5-10 FG) and registered a career-best four steals in 32 minutes of action.
Select Career Averages vs. La Salle (Min. 2 games played)
Javon Greene (3 games): 13.0 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.0 apg, 52.6 FG% (10-19), 50.0 3pt FG% (6-12)
Jordan Miller (2 games): 10.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.0 apg, 52.9 FG% (9-17), 40.0 3pt FG% (2-5)
AJ Wilson (3 games): 7.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.7 bpg, 58.8 FG% (10-17)
Xavier Johnson (2 games): 6.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.5 apg, 1.5 spg, 40.0 FG% (4-10)
HISTORY vs. THE BIG FIVE
Mason is 15-12 all time against members of Philadelphia's "Big 5." Mason is 6-5 against Saint Joseph's, 5-2 vs. La Salle, 1-4 against Villanova and 3-1 vs. Penn. The Patriots have never played Temple. Mason's most memorable Big Five win came in the 2011 NCAA Tournament, when the Green & Gold knocked off Villanova, 61-57, in the Round of 64 in Cleveland, Ohio. Harkening back to the old CAA days, Mason also has battled "City Six" school Drexel on 22 occasions while amassing a record of 14-8. In addition to Wednesday vs. La Salle, Mason also will play back-to-back games vs. Saint Joseph's on Jan. 20 and Jan. 23 this season.
A LOOK AT THE EXPLORERS (5-6, 2-2 A-10, NET #164, KenPom #152)
La Salle was picked to finish 13th in the Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll. The Explorers went 3-4 in non-conference play and are 2-2 to start A-10 competition. That includes a 67-65 win at Dayton on Dec. 30. La Salle ranks second in the A-10 and 28th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (.388). When defending the arc, the Explorers are third in the league and 32nd nationally (.285). The Explorers have seven players averaging at least 7.0 points per game, and no athletes averaging 10 or more. Jack Clark leads La Salle with 9.6 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, while David Beatty averages 9.3 points per contest. Jhamir Brickus is at 7.6 points per game, 3.8 assists and shoots 46.2 percent from beyond the arc.
UP NEXT
Mason hits the road for a Saturday contest at Rhode island. The 2 p.m. game will be broadcast nationally on NBC Sports Network.
