WHEN: Friday, 5:30 p.m.
WHERE: Robins Center - Richmond, Va.
RECORDS: #6 George Mason (13-8, 8-6) vs. #3 Davidson (12-7, 7-4)
SERIES: Mason trails, 2-6
TELEVISION: NBC Sports Network
LIVE VIDEO: 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 looks to advance to the A-10 semifinals for the first time in program history when Mason battles Davidson Friday in quarterfinal action.

Tip-off between the Patriots and Wildcats is set for 5:30 p.m. inside the Robins Center. Friday's game will be televised nationally on NBC Sports Network, featuring commentary from Todd Harris (play-by-play) and David Kaplan (color commentary). In addition, "Voice of the Patriots" Bill Rohland will call the game on the GoMason Digital Network, with pre-game coverage beginning at 5:15 p.m.

PATRIOT POINTS
• Mason improved to 4-0 all time in A-10 second round games Wednesday with a 73-59 triumph over GW. The Patriots shot just 26.1 percent in the first half, but made an impressive 62.9 percent of their attempts in the second while outscoring the Colonials 51-34 in the stanza.

• The win marked Mason's fifth straight. It's the longest Patriot win streak against league opponents since Mason rattled off five-straight from January 13-26, 2019.

• Mason is now 10-0 when scoring 70+ points this season. After posting a sizable advantage on the glass vs. GW (42-33), the Patriots also improved to 11-2 when outrebounding their opponent.

• The Patriots are limiting their opponents to 26.7 percent (23-86) from 3 over the past five games. Mason is 10-0 when holding its opponent to 33 percent or less from 3-point range.

• Jordan Miller led Mason with a double-double (19 pts, 10 reb) vs. the Colonials. He has scored 13+ points in 10-straight games and is averaging 9.8 rebounds over his last four contests. He is averaging 13.8 points and 8.8 rebounds in four career A-10 Tournament games.

• Freshman Ronald Polite provided a crucial spark for Mason Thursday, notching a career-best 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting in a personal-best 26 minutes against the Colonials. Polite's previous career scoring high had been six, set Feb. 27 vs. La Salle.

• Redshirt-senior AJ Wilson has tied Mason great George Evans for first on the school's all-time blocks list (211) after tallying two against GW. Wilson is fifth in the nation in career blocks and ranks in the top-20 nationally in blocks per game this season.

• Senior Javon Greene needs just two steals to tie Rob Rose (1982-86) for third on the all-time Mason steals list. He has 159 career steals.

• With another superb defensive performance vs. GW, Mason has now climbed to 71st nationally in KenPom defensive efficiency (0.963 points/possession). It's Mason best defensive ranking since the Patriots were 46th during the magical 2010-11 campaign.

• Mason committed a season-low six turnovers vs. GW, marking the fewest by a Patriot team since Dec. 29, 2018, at Kansas State (5). The Patriots have given up eight or fewer turnovers in five of the past seven games.

• The Patriots are averaging a +10.2 rebounding margin over the past four games, and that prowess will be put to the test Friday, as the Wildcats rank second in the league in margin on the boards (+5.4).

• Tyler Kolek has hit at least one three in 19 of 21 games this season. He is second in the nation in 3pt FG made amongst freshmen (51) and  his total is fifth-most in Mason freshman history.

HISTORY vs. DAVIDSON
Friday's matchup marks the ninth all-time meeting between Mason and Davidson. The Wildcats hold a 6-2 advantage in the series. Mason is 2-3 against Davidson under head coach Dave Paulsen. The two teams did not meet in the 2020-21 regular season, as the Feb. 24 game between the two teams was canceled due to schedule realignment. Last season, the Wildcats won the only matchup, 68-53, in the Tar Heel State on January 25, 2020. AJ Wilson scored Mason's first nine points of the game and finished with a team-high 18 (7-16 FG). He also tallied a game-high five blocks and six rebounds in 32 minutes. Javon Greene scored all 12 of his points in the second half to go along with four assists and three steals.

A LOOK AT THE WILDCATS (12-7, 7-4; NET #73 KenPom #70)
Davidson was picked to finish seventh in the A-10 preseason poll but earned the No. 3 seed in the league tournament after posting a 7-4 mark. The Wildcats feature the 28th-most efficient offense in the nation (1.131 points/possession) and also one of the most deliberate, as Davidson ranks 351th in tempo and 333rd in average possession length. The Wildcats shoot 58.2 percent from 2-point range, which ranks fifth-best in the nation. They also allow an offensive rebound on just 21.2 percent of opponent possessions (fourth nationally), which makes for an intriguing matchup against Mason's gifted offensive rebounding unit.

Senior Kellan Grady leads Davidson with 16.8 points/game and shoots 39.2 percent from 3-point range. Sophmore Hyunjung Lee adds 13.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and shoots a sizzling 43.6 percent from beyond the arc. Carter Collins (11.9 ppg) and Luka Brajkovic (10.3 ppg) also average double figures for Bob McKillop's bunch.

UP NEXT
With a victory in Friday's second round, Mason would move on to Saturday's semifinal to face either No. 2 VCU or No. 7 Dayton. That game will tip at 9 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.