WHEN: Saturday, 2:30 p.m.
WHERE: Siegel Center - Richmond, Va.
RECORDS: George Mason (9-8, 5-6), VCU (16-4, 9-2)
SERIES RECORD: Mason trails, 21-43
LAST MEETING: VCU def. Mason, 66-61, on January 6, 2021, in Fairfax
TELEVISION: NBC Sports Network
LIVE VIDEO: Click here
LIVE AUDIO: Click here
LIVE STATS: Click here
GAME NOTES: Click here (PDF)
FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason University men's basketball team (9-8, 5-6) plays its second game against VCU (16-4, 9-2) this season when the Patriots head to the Siegel Center on Saturday.
Tip-off between the Patriots and Rams is set for 2:30 p.m. Saturday's contest will be televised nationally on NBC Sports Network, featuring commentary from Corey Robinson and Tim McCormick. In addition, the contest will be aired on the GoMason Digital Network, with streaming audio available starting at 2:15 p.m. Voice of the Patriots Bill Rohland will be on the call.
PATRIOT POINTS
• Mason is coming off a 77-45 home victory over Fordham on February 10. The Patriots led by eight at the half (33-25), then used an impressive 32-5 run just one minute into the second stanza to take a commanding lead the team would not relinquish.
• The Patriots limited the Rams to 31.5 percent shooting and are now 6-0 this season when holding their opponent under a 40 percent clip. On the other end, Mason tied a season best, shooting 50 percent from the floor, and made a season high 52.4 percent (11-21) of its 3-point attempts.
• The Patriots have shot 40 percent or better from beyond the arc in three of the past four games. Mason is second in the A-10 in 3pt FG percentage in league play (.354).
• Junior
Jordan Miller led Mason with 16 points against the Rams and has now reached double figures in seven-straight games. Miller is 10th in the A-10 in scoring (15.9 ppg) this season and leads Mason in 3-point percentage (.393).
• Senior
Javon Greene continued his sizzling play of late vs. Fordham, tallying 14 points while making four of five 3-pointers (.800). He's averaging 14.4 points and shooting an impressive 57.1 percent (16-28) from deep over the past four games. In league play, Greene leads the conference in 3pt FG percentage (.453).
•
Tyler Kolek notched 11 points (4-8 FG, 3-6 3pt FG), four rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block vs. the Rams. For his efforts, he was named A-10 Rookie of the Week Monday for the second time this season. Kolek leads the A-10 in scoring amongst freshmen (11.1 ppg) and has already made the seventh most 3-pointers by a freshman (43) in school history, despite playing just 17 games thus far.
• Over the past three games, the Patriots are turning the ball over just 9.0 times/game while forcing 14.3 opponent miscues.
• The Patriots were +8 (38-30) on the glass vs. Fordham and now hold a 7-2 record when winning the rebounding battle this season.
• Mason played 17 student-athletes vs. the Rams and received good contributions from the bench, including freshman
Otis Frazier III, who tallied a career-best nine points (3-4 FG)..
• The Patriots are 7-0 when scoring 70+ points this season but just 2-8 when failing to hit the 70-point plateau.
• Mason has posted two 30+ point victories in Atlantic 10 play this season. Prior to 2020-21, the Patriots' largest margin of victory in an A-10 contest had been 25.
MEDIA COVERAGE
Saturday's contest will be televised nationally on NBC Sports Network, featuring commentary from Corey Robinson and Tim McCormick. In addition, the contest will be aired on the GoMason Digital Network, with streaming audio available starting at 2:15 p.m. Voice of the Patriots Bill Rohland will be on the call.
HISTORY vs. VCU
Saturday's game marks the 65th all-time meeting between old CAA and current A-10 foes George Mason and VCU. Mason is 13-14 at home, 7-22 on the road and 1-7 on neutral courts vs. VCU (21-43 overall). The Patriots have won two of the past three matchups at the Siegel Center. Earlier this season, Mason dropped a 66-61 home contest to VCU on January 6 in Fairfax. The Patriots led by nine midway the first half and held a 32-31 lead at the break. But VCU opened the half on a 17-5 run that ultimately would give the Rams the margin needed to earn the victory. Sophomore
Josh Oduro led the Patriots with 13 points (5-9 FG) and nine rebounds, while freshman
Tyler Kolek (12 points) scored in double figures as well.
AJ Wilson (12 pts, 6 reb, 3 blk) and
Javon Greene (10 pts) also played well for the Green & Gold.
Select Career Averages vs. VCU (Min. 2 games played)
Jordan Miller (5 games): 10.6 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.2 apg, 40.5 FG% (17-42), 33.3 3pt FG% (2-6)
Josh Oduro (3 games): 7.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 50.0 FG% (9-18)
AJ Wilson (6 games): 6.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.8 bpg, 36.1 FG% (13-36)
Jamal Hartwell II (4 games): 5.5 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 1.5 apg, 30.0 FG% (9-30), 23.5 3pt FG% (4-17)
Javon Greene (7 games): 4.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.9 spg, 17.9 FG% (7-39), 17.4 3pt FG% (4-23)
A LOOK AT THE RAMS (16-4, 9-2 A-10, NET #31, KenPom #41)
VCU was picked to finish ninth in the A-10 preseason poll but currently sits in first place in the league. VCU earned non-conference wins over KenPom top-75 teams Utah State (85-69) and Memphis (70-59), with the only two losses coming to top-50 teams Penn State (72-69) and West Virginia (78-66). The team has won six A-10 contests in a row. VCU sports the 10th-best defense in the country according to KenPom, giving up just 0.898 points/possession. The Rams rank fourth in the country in steals per game (9.8), sixth in blocks per game (5.5) and 10th in turnovers forced per game (17.4).
Preseason All-A-10 Third Team selection Bones Hyland ranks 42nd nationally in scoring (19.4 ppg, 3rd in A-10) and shoots 38.7 percent from 3-point range. Vince Williams adds 10.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists per contest, while freshman Ace Baldwin dishes out a team-best 4.6 assists per contest.
UP NEXT
The Patriots return to EagleBank Arena to host Davidson on Wednesday (February 24). The 7 p.m. contest will serve as Senior Night for the Patriots' six senior student-athletes.
