WHEN: Saturday, 2 p.m.
WHERE: Reilly Center - Olean, N.Y.
RECORDS: George Mason (8-6, 4-4), St. Bonaventure (8-1, 6-1)
SERIES RECORD: Mason trails, 3-10
LAST MEETING: SBU def. Mason, 74-65, on Feb. 1, 2020 in Olean, N.Y.
TELEVISION: CBS Sports Network
LIVE AUDIO: Click here
LIVE STATS: Click here
GAME NOTES: Click here (PDF)
GAME PROGRAM: Click here
FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason University men's basketball team, originally scheduled to play UMass Saturday in Fairfax, will now travel to Olean to take on St. Bonaventure.
Tip-off between the Patriots and Bonnies is set for 2 p.m. inside the Reilly Center. Saturday's game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network, featuring commentary from Rich Waltz and Dan Dickau. In addition, Bill Rohland will call the game on the GoMason Digital Network, with streaming coverage beginning at 1:45 p.m.
PATRIOT POINTS
* The Patriots have won their past two contests, with both victories coming against Saint Joseph's. In Saturday's 71-62 win in Philadelphia, Mason shot a season-best 50 percent from the floor and limited the Hawks to 35.2 percent.
* Junior
Jordan Miller led the Patriots with 18 points in Saturday's win. He is averaging a team-best 19.0 points/game over the past three contests. He ranks 11th in the A-10 in points per game (15.7) this season.
* Senior
Javon Greene added 13 points, eight rebounds and a season-best three assists while hitting a season-high four 3-pointers on six attempts. He averaged 19.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and shot 52 percent (.600 3pt FG) in the two wins over the Hawks.
* Mason shot 40 percent from 3-point range (8-20) at SJU on Saturday. The Patriots are 7-1 when shooting 33 percent or better from beyond the arc this season.
* Sophomore
Josh Oduro has scored 10+ points in three of the past four games. Over the last two contests, he is averaging 13.0 points and an impressive 6.0 offensive rebounds per contest.
* Redshirt-senior
AJ Wilson played just eight minutes Saturday after sustaining an in-game right shoulder injury.
u Wilson, who returned in the second half Saturday, is just one block away from becoming the second Mason player to record 200 in a career. He is 12 away from tying George Evans for first on the all-time Mason list. Wilson is fifth in the nation in career blocks and 15th in the country in blocks/game this season (2.7). He leads the A-10 in blocks/game in 2020-21.
* Greene ranks sixth on Mason's all-time steals list (150) and is just three away from leapfrogging Myron Contee and John Niehoff to claim solo fourth on the all-time Patriot ledger. Nationally, he is t-31st in career thefts.
* Greene is averaging 8.5 rebounds/game over the past four contests. At SJU Saturday, he became the 24th player in school history to record 500+ career rebounds.
* The Patriots rank 324th nationally in free throw percentage (.625). On the other end, Mason opponents shoot 72.3 percent from the line in head-to-head competition (107th nationally).
* The Patriots are 6-0 when scoring 70+ points this season but just 2-6 when failing to hit the 70-point plateau. After the win at SJU, Mason is 5-0 when holding its opponent under 40 percent shooting.
ODURO TAKES MAJOR STEP FORWARD IN 2020-21
After averaging 4.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 16.9 minutes as a freshman,
Josh Oduro has made major strides in his sophomore campaign. He has more than doubled his scoring average (10.1 ppg) and grabs 6.1 rebounds per contest in 24.9 minutes/game. His 2.64 offensive rebounds/game rank fourth-most in the A-10. The Gainesville, Va., product posted five double-digit scoring outings in 32 games as a freshman. He already has eight double-figure scoring games in just 14 contests as a sophomore.
Saturday's matchup marks the 14th all-time meeting between Mason and SBU. The Bonnies hold a 10-3 advantage in the series, including a 9-1 mark since Mason joined the A-10 in 2013-14. SBU has won five of the six meetings inside the Reilly Center. The Bonnies won both games last season, including a 61-49 win in Fairfax on Jan. 8 and a 74-65 triumph in Olean on Feb. 1.
Javon Greene (13.0 ppg) and
Jordan Miller (11.5 ppg) averaged double figures in the two games in 2020-21.
Select Career Averages vs. St. Bonaventure (Min. 2 games played)
Jordan Miller (4 games): 11.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.0 spg, 44.4 FG% (16-36), 26.7 3pt FG% (4-15)
Javon Greene (6 games): 7.2 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.7 apg, 34.0 FG% (16-47), 23.1 3pt FG% (6-26)
AJ Wilson (6 games): 4.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.0 bpg, 36.0 FG% (10-27)
A LOOK AT THE BONNIES (8-1, 6-1 A-10, NET #42, KenPom #52)
St. Bonaventure was picked to finish fourth in the A-10 preseason poll. The Bonnies currently lead the league with a 6-1 mark, including wins over Richmond and VCU. The team is receiving votes in both the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll. One of the country's top defensive teams, SBU ranks 43rd nationally in defensive efficiency (0.935 points/possession) and holds opponents to a 45.0 effective field goal percentage (21st nationally). The team leads the A-10 and ranks 11th nationally in scoring defense (60.7 ppg).
Junior Jaren Holmes leads the Bonnies in scoring (15.9 ppg) and is shooting 46.2 percent from 3-point range. Fellow junior Kyle Lofton chips in 15.0 points and a team-best 5.0 assists/game, while Jalen Adaway (10.6 ppg) and Dominick Welch (10.3 ppg) also average double figures for SBU. Junior Osun Osunniyi ranks third in the league in rebounds (9.0 rpg), is 26th nationally in blocks (2.2 blocks/game) and adds 10.1 points per contest.
UP NEXT
Mason hits the road for a Tuesday contest at Richmond. Tip-off between the Patriots and Spiders is scheduled for 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast regionally on NBC Sports Washington and nationally on ESPN+.
