WHEN: Saturday, 12 p.m.
WHERE: EagleBank Arena - Fairfax, Va.
RECORDS: George Mason (5-4, 1-2), Richmond (8-3. 2-1)
SERIES RECORD: Richmond leads, 39-25
LAST MEETING: Richmond def. Mason, 65-50, on Feb, 9, 2020
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 (5-4, 1-2) hosts preseason A-10 favorite Richmond (8-3, 2-1) on Saturday inside EagleBank Arena.

Tip-off between the Patriots and Spiders is set for 12 p.m. Saturday's game will be broadcast nationally on CBS Sports Network, featuring commentary from Dave Ryan and Bob Wenzel. In addition, Bill Rohland will call the game on the GoMason Digital Network, with streaming coverage beginning at 11:45 a.m.

PATRIOT POINTS
• Mason is coming off a 66-61 setback to VCU Wednesday night in Fairfax. The Patriots led 32-31 at the break, but the Rams used a 17-5 run to open the second half and take control of the game.

• Mason shot 37.5 percent (21-56) against the Rams' NCAA top-20 defense. The Patriots have shot 45.3 percent overall and 35 percent from 3-point range in road/neutral contests, but just 39.7 percent overall and 28.6 percent from 3 in home games.

• Forward Josh Oduro led Mason with team highs in points (13), rebounds (9) and minutes (34) vs. VCU. He has nearly doubled his scoring average as a sophomore (9.9 ppg vs. 4.9) and has five double-digit scoring efforts through nine games. He posted five 10+ point efforts in all of 2019-20.

• Freshman Tyler Kolek registered 12 points vs. the Rams. In league play, he ranks t-9th in the A-10 in scoring (15.7 ppg) and third in 3pt FG made/game (3.3). His overall scoring mark (11.8 ppg) ranks third amongst A-10 freshmen. He is first in 3pt field goals made (25) amongst league rookies.

• Senior Javon Greene is just 21 points away from reaching the 1,000-point milestone for his career.

• Greene has recorded 136 career steals (41st nationally). He is 11th all time at Mason in the category and needs just two more to take sole possession of ninth on the all-time ledger.

• VCU's 11 offensive rebounds Wednesday marked just the second time this season Mason allowed 10+ offensive rebounds. The Patriots give up an offensive rebound on just 22.9 percent of opponent possessions (41st nationally).

• Mason is shooting a much-improved 71 percent (22-31) from the free throw line over the past two games after making a paltry 52 percent of its attempts (51-98) in the previous four contests. The Patriots are 323rd nationally this season in free throw percentage (.611).

• Mason is in a difficult part of its A-10 schedule where four of five opponents have ranked in the top-80 of the KenPom rankings: Dayton (67), VCU (54), Richmond (58) and Rhode Island (77).

• The Patriots are 3-0 when scoring 70+ points this season but just 2-4 when failing to hit the 70-point plateau.

• Mason is shooting an improved 38.9 percent from 3-point range in league play (3rd in the A-10). The Patriots were at 29.9 percent from beyond the arc in non-conference play (49-164).

DEPTH SERVING PATRIOTS WELL IN 2020-21
Last season, Mason ranked 285th in bench minutes, while five Patriots played at least 28 minutes per game. This season, Mason is 84th in bench minutes and features a much more balanced 10-man rotation in league play. Only two Patriots average 28 minutes or more in 2020-21.

HISTORY vs. RICHMOND
Wednesday's game marks the 65th all-time meeting between George Mason and Richmond in men's basketball (Mason trails 25-39). The Patriots are 15-12 vs. the Spiders in Fairfax and 8-20 in games played in Richmond (2-7 on neutral courts). Mason has won seven of the past 11 meetings, although the Spiders have won four of the past five. Mason is 6-4 vs. Richmond under head coach Dave Paulsen.

Richmond won both meetings last season, including a 97-87 triumph in Fairfax (Jan. 18) and 65-50 win in Richmond (Feb. 9). Mason's Javon Greene set a new EagleBank Arena scoring record in the Jan. 18 contest, exploding for 39 points (15-22) in the contest. He averaged 25.0 points and shot 59.4 percent in the two meetings in 2019-20. AJ Wilson contributed 12.5 points per game and shot 52.9 percent in the two games last season.

Select Career Averages vs. Richmond (Min. 2 games played)
Javon Greene (6 games): 15.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.0 apg, 2.0 spg, 55.6 FG% (35-63), 35.7 3pt FG% (10-28)
Jordan Miller (4 games): 12.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 1.5 apg, 55.6 FG% (20-35), 30.0 3pt FG% (3-10)
Jamal Hartwell II (2 games): 11.0 ppg, 44.4 FG% (8-18), 50.0 3pt FG% (6-12)
Xavier Johnson (2 games): 6.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.5 apg, 1.5 spg, 40.0 FG% (4-10)
Greg Calixte (6 games): 6.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 72.0 FG% (18-25)
AJ Wilson (6 games): 7.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.0 bpg, 50.0 FG% (15-30)
Josh Oduro (2 games): 2.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 28.6 FG% (2-7)

A LOOK AT THE SPIDERS (8-3, 2-1 A-10, NET #66, KenPom #58)
Richmond was picked to win the A-10 in the league's preseason poll. The Spiders went 6-2 in non-conference play, with KenPom top-60 wins at Kentucky (76-64) and Loyola-Chicago (75-73). The Spiders losses came at the hands of West Virginia and Hofstra. UR has wins over Davidson (80-74) and Rhode Island (80-73) in A-10 play and a loss to St. Bonaventure (69-66). The Spiders feature the nation's 29th-most efficient offense (1.15 points/possession) and the team ranks 21st in the country in 2-point FG percentage (.571). The team's 49.2 overall field goal percentage is 27th in the nation.

Preseason All-A-10 Second Team selection Blake Francis leads the Spiders in scoring (16.4 ppg) and adds 2.7 assists per contest. Fellow preseason second teamer Grant Golden is at 14.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists while shooting 58.8 percent from the floor. Preseason All-10 First Teamer Jacob Gilyard scores 12.5 points per game, ranks 37th nationally with 5.5 assists/game and is second in the country in steals per contest (3.91). Tyler Burton (12.2 ppg) and Nathan Cayo (12.1 ppg) also average double figures for the Spiders.

UP NEXT
Mason wraps up its three-game homestand with a Wednesday night contest vs. La Salle. The contest is scheduled to tip at 7 p.m. and will air on ESPN+.