WHERE: EagleBank Arena - Fairfax, Va.
WHEN: Saturday, 2 p.m. 
RECORDS: George Mason (8-5, 0-0), Richmond (7-6, 0-0)
SERIES: Richmond leads, 41-26
TELEVISION: MASN2
LIVE VIDEO: Click here
LIVE AUDIO: Click here
LIVE STATS: Click here
GAME NOTES: Click here (PDF)
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FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason University men's basketball team opens Atlantic 10 play Saturday with a New Year's Eve battle against Richmond.

Tip-off between the Patriots and Spiders inside EagleBank Arena is set for 2 p.m. Saturday's game will be televised on MASN2 and streamed on ESPN+, featuring commentary from Bill Rohland and John Feinstein. In addition, Steve Kolbe will handle play-by-play duties on the GoMason Digital Network, with pregame coverage beginning at 1:45 p.m. (ET).

PATRIOT POINTS
• The Patriots are 7-0 at home this season and 17-4 inside EagleBank Arena under head coach Kim English.

• Mason has won six of its past seven games. The Patriots wrapped up non-conference play with a 91-53 win over Coppin State. It marked Mason's largest margin of victory since a January 2009 triumph over UNC Wilmington.

• The Patriots held the Eagles to just 29.8 percent (17-57) from the floor and 15 percent from 3pt range (3-20). It marked the first time George Mason held a foe to less than 30 percent since a January 2021 win over La Salle.

• Graduate guard Victor Bailey Jr. led Mason with a team-best 17 points (5-9 FG, 4-7 3pt FG). He's averaging 19.7 points and shooting 60.6 percent from the floor over the Patriots' last three games. He also is shooting a blistering 56.3 percent from 3 (18-32) over the last five contests.

• Bailey Jr. was one of five Patriots in double figures vs. Coppin State. Josh Oduro added his A-10-leading fourth double-double of the season (12 pts, 12 reb, 5 ast), while DeVon Cooper notched 15 points and four assists. In addition, freshman Devin Dinkins made a career-best four 3pt FG and finished with 14 points, while Ginika Ojiako added 13 points and five rebounds.

• Mason has held its opponent to 30 percent or less from 3pt range in 10 of 13 games this season. The Green & Gold rank 22nd nationally in 3pt FG defense (.278).

• The Patriots dished out a season-best 22 assists vs. the Eagles and are now averaging 21.0 assists over the past three contests. Mason has tallied three 20+ assist games in a row for the first time in nearly three decades. The Green & Gold rank second in the A-10 with 15.2 assists/game this season.

• Mason held a season-best +26 (52-26) margin on the glass vs. Coppin State. The Patriots are now 8-2 when outrebounding their opponent this season, but just 0-3 when losing the rebounding battle.

• Mason leads the A-10 and ranks 51st nationally in 3pt FG percentage (.376). Over the past three games, the Patriots are averaging 11.7 3pt FG made/game and shooting 41.7 percent (35-84) from beyond the arc. The Green & Gold made a season-best 14 triples against Coppin State.

• Going back to the second half of the Dec. 17 game vs. Tulane, the Patriots have made 33 of their last 68 3-pointers (.485).

• The Patriots rank 41st nationally in effective field goal percentage (.547), while Richmond enters Saturday's game ranked 62nd (.533).

• Mason is allowing just 0.983 points/possession this season, which ranks 95th in the country.

HE'S JUST BEING POLITE
Junior guard Ronald Polite III has proven to be one of the most improved players in the Atlantic 10 this season. He is a team-best +83 when on the floor and Mason is 8-2 when he plays at least 20 minutes. Polite III has nearly doubled his scoring average (9.0 ppg vs. 4.9) this season and is averaging a career-best 4.0 assists. He is seventh in the A-10 in assists/game and fifth in assist/turnover ratio (1.69). Polite III notched the first 10+ assist game of his career vs. Old Dominion while also registering 16 points for his first-ever double-double.

HISTORY vs. RICHMOND
Saturday's game marks the 68th all-time meeting between George Mason and Richmond in men's basketball (Mason trails 26-41). The Patriots are 16-13 vs. the Spiders in Fairfax and 8-21 in games played in Richmond (2-7 on neutral courts). The Spiders have won six of the past eight matchups. The two teams split a pair of dramatic meetings last season. The Patriots won the Fairfax edition, 87-84, in overtime on February 9. On February 7 in Richmond, the Spiders hung on for a 62-59 victory. Josh Oduro scored 22 points and grabbed a career-best 14 rebounds in the home victory.

A LOOK AT THE SPIDERS (7-6, 0-0 A-10; NET #142, KenPom #96)
2022 A-10 Tournament champion Richmond was picked to finish seventh in the league's 2022-23 preseason poll. The Spiders went 7-6 during their non-conference slate, highlighted by wins over top-100 Drake (82-52), as well as Northern Iowa (68-55) and Temple (61-49). The Spiders feature a top-75 defense (0.966 points/possession) and hold opponents to a 47.2 effective field goal percentage. On the other end of the floor, the Spiders lead the A-10 with 9.4 3-pointers made per game and trail only the Patriots in 3pt FG percentage (.369). Preseason All-A-10 First Team selection Tyler Burton leads Richmond and is second in the A-10 in scoring with 19.0 points/game. He also is third in rebounds/game (7.9). Jason Nelson adds 10.3 points/game and dishes out a team-best 3.1 assists/contest.

UP NEXT
George Mason hits the road for its first A-10 road contest. The Patriots will head to Olean, N.Y. for a matchup with St. Bonaventure on Wednesday, January 4. The game will tip at 7 p.m. and be broadcast on ESPN+.