WHEN: Wednesday, 7 p.m.
WHERE: EagleBank Arena - Fairfax, Va.
RECORDS: George Mason (11-7, 4-1), Saint Louis (14-6, 5-2)
SERIES: Saint Louis leads, 8-4
LIVE VIDEO: Click here
LIVE AUDIO: Click here
LIVE STATS: Click here
GAME NOTES: Click here (PDF)
TICKETS: Click here

FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason University men's basketball team (11-7, 4-1), riding a four-game winning streak, returns home to battle Saint Louis (14-6, 5-2) in a Wednesday game with major implications for the top of the A-10 table.

Tip-off between the Patriots and Billikens is set for 7 p.m. inside EagleBank Arena.

PATRIOT POINTS
• Last time out, Mason won 72-62 at UMass on Sunday. The Patriots led by as many as 22 (66-44) in the second half and dished out an A-10 season-best 20 assists in the win.

• Mason limited the UMass top-35 offense to 31.7 percent from the floor (19-60), marking just the second time this season the team has been held under 35 percent. The Patriots also limited UMass' top-4 national 3-point offense (entered the game at .400) to 32.1 percent (9-28).

• Graduate student D'Shawn Schwartz led the Patriots with 15 points (6-11 FG) in the win. It marked his eighth-straight game with at least 14 points. He's fourth in the A-10 in scoring in league games (18.6 ppg).

• Junior Davonte Gaines added a line of 14 points and eight rebounds for the second-straight game. It marked the 14th time in 18 contests this season that Gaines made at least 50 percent of his attempts.

• Graduate student DeVon Cooper made 3-of-4 3pt attempts and finished with 12 points. He ranks 28th nationally and second in the A-10 in 3pt FG percentage (.417).

• Mason shot 51 percent in the win, marking the fourth time in the past five games the Patriots shot at least 50 percent. Mason ranks 14th nationally in effective FG% (.555), 15th in 2pt FG% (.560) and 48th in 3pt FG% (.366) this season.

• Junior Josh Oduro ranks second in the A-10 and 21st nationally in field goal percentage (.571). He is one of just four players in the country this season to average 16 or more points, shoot 56 percent or better from the floor and tally at least 1.5 blocks per game.

• The Patriots are averaging just 10.4 turnovers in league play, down from 12.6/game during non-conference play. Mason leads the A-10 in A/TO ratio (1.52) in league games and is 7-0 when winning the turnover battle against its opponent this season.

• The Patriots allow an offensive rebound on just 22.8 percent of opponent possessions, which ranks 16th out of 358 teams nationally. Mason has limited its foe to less than 10 offensive boards in 14 of 18 contests this season.

• The Patriots are shooting 49.6 percent as a team in league play, which leads the Atlantic 10. Mason has shot at least 51 percent in four of five conference contests in 2022.

• Mason is ranked 96th in the latest NCAA NET rankings. The Patriots also are #105 in KenPom, marking the team's highest February ranking since 2012.

FERNANDEZ JOINS PATRIOTS FOR SPRING SEMESTER
Mason incoming freshman Justyn Fernandez has joined the Patriot program for the 2022 spring semester after playing at IMG Academy in Florida for his fall semester. The consensus 4-star prospect is rated #74 in ESPN.com's Class of 2022 and #80 in 247 Sports' composite ranking. The 6-foot-5-inch guard chose Mason in November over Florida, Tennessee, NC State, Virginia Tech, Clemson, Wake Forest, Boston College, Providence and Rhode Island, among others. He is Mason's highest ranked recruit since 2011.

MEDIA COVERAGE
Wednesday's contest will be broadcast on ESPN+, featuring commentary from Voice of the Patriots Bill Rohland. In addiiton, Steve Kolbe will call the game on the GoMason Digital Network, with streaming coverage beginning at 6:45 p.m.

HISTORY vs. SAINT LOUIS
Wednesday's game marks the 13th all-time meeting between George Mason and Saint Louis in men's basketball. The Billikens hold an 8-4 advantage in the all-time series. The teams have split six meetings in Fairfax (3-3). SLU has won six of the past seven contests. The two teams last met 23 months ago, when Saint Louis won 69-57 in Fairfax on March 4, 2020. Then freshman Josh Oduro notched 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting in the contest.

A LOOK AT THE BILLIKENS (14-6, 5-2 A-10; KenPom 62, NET 62)
Saint Louis was picked third in the A-10 Preseason Poll. Despite losing Preseason All-A-10 First Team selection Javonte Perkins to injury, the Billikens have put together a strong start to the campaign. SLU earned top-100 non-conference victories at Boise State and at home to Iona, while also knocking off Boston College inside Chafeitz Arena. The Billikens rank in the top-75 in both offensive and defensive efficiency, grab an offensive rebound on 36.7 percent of possessions (10th nationally) and hold an average rebounding margin of +7.5 (18th in the country). Sophomore Gibson Jimerson leads the A-10 in scoring (18.1 ppg) and shoots 42.9 percent from 3pt range. Point guard Yuri Collins leads the nation in assists (8.3/game), chips in 10.3 points per contest and adds 4.2 rebounds per game. Francis Okoro (9.9 ppg) and Jordan Nesbitt (9.5 ppg) round out SLU's top-4 scorers.

UP NEXT
The Patriots begin a two-game road swing with a Saturday contest at La Salle. Tip-off between the Patriots and Explorers is set for 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.