WHERE: EagleBank Arena - Fairfax, Va.
RECORDS: George Mason (13-13, 6-7), GW (11-15, 7-7)
SERIES: GW leads, 22-8
TELEVISION: USA Network
LIVE VIDEO: Click here
LIVE AUDIO: Click here
LIVE STATS: Click here
GAME NOTES: Click here (PDF)
TICKETS: Click here
GIVEAWAY: The first 2000 fans will receive a free Erik Herring ('01) Bobblehead
RECOGNITION: Mason will honor the 2001 CAA Championship Team during a second half ceremony. Returning alums include Rob Anderson, Erik Herring, Terrance Nixon, Tremaine Price and Richard Tynes

FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason University men's basketball team returns home for a Revolutionary Rivalry contest vs. GW on Sunday inside EagleBank Arena.

Sunday's contest will be broadcast nationally on USA Network, featuring commentary from Zora Stephenson and Ron Thompson. In addition, Bill Rohland will call the game on the GoMason Digital Network, with streaming coverage beginning at 2:15 p.m.

PATRIOT POINTS
• The Patriots are coming off a 72-66 loss at VCU Wednesday night. Mason led by six midway through the second half, but the Rams used a 22-2 run to push their squad to victory.

• D'Shawn Schwartz led Mason with his eighth 20+ point game of the season. He tallied a game-best 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting. He averages 17.1 points/game in league play (7th in A-10).

• A-10 leading scorer Josh Oduro (18.0 ppg) notched 13 points (6-8 FG) and seven rebounds, despite playing just 24 minutes due to foul trouble. Fouls have plagued Oduro over the past two games, where he's played 25.5 minutes/game and averaged 11.0 points.

• Xavier Johnson dished out a game-high five assists at VCU. He is averaging 5.4 assists in A-10 play. His 4.9 assists/game overall marks the highest average by a Patriot since Terry Reynolds in 2003-04.  

• One of the nation's top-60 3pt shooting teams (.366), the Patriots are making just 26.8 percent (15-56) of their attempts over the past two contests.

• The Patriots are one of the most efficient shooting teams in the nation. Mason ranks 30th in effective FG percentage (.542), 51st in 3pt FG percentage (.366) and 53rd in 2pt FG percentage (.535).

• If Oduro finishes the season ranked first in the A-10 in scoring, he'd claim Mason's first individual conference scoring title since George Evans in 1998-99 (17.2 ppg). Oduro's season average (18.2 ppg) is the highest by a Patriot since Evans in 2000-01 (18.4 ppg).

• Mason is a perfect 9-0 when winning the turnover battle this season and 4-11 when its opponent holds the turnover edge.

• The Patriots rank 24th nationally and second in the A-10 with 9.5 3pt FG made/game. That's a school record by a sizable margin (7.3/game, 1987-88). Mason's 248 total 3-pointers this season is 18 better than the previous school record of 230, set in 2017-18.

• Graduate student DeVon Cooper ranks 27th nationally in 3pt FG% and his 41.0 percent clip on the year is third all time at Mason for a student-athlete with at least 150 attempts.

• Mason started A-10 play 4-1, but the team has posted a 2-6 mark in February. During the month, Patriot foes are shooting 37.3 percent from 3pt range, compared to 33.1 percent during the 4-1 streak.

• Sunday's game features the top-2 scorers in A-10 conference games: Mason's Josh Oduro (19.3 ppg) and GW's James Bishop (17.9 ppg).

• Davonte Gaines is the first Patriot since Marquise Moore (2016-17) to average more than eight rebounds per game.

HISTORY vs. GEORGE WASHINGTON
Sunday's game marks the 31st all-time meeting in the Revolutionary Rivalry. George Mason and George Washington are separated by just 20 miles and are situated on the same DC Metro line (Orange). Mason has won six of the past nine matchups between the schools. Overall, GW holds a 22-8 advantage in the series and is 12-6 in A-10 games against the Patriots. Mason is 5-5 against the Colonials in Fairfax.

In the most recent matchup, GW edged the Patriots, 77-76, on Jan. 17 in Foggy Bottom. The Patriots, missing Josh Oduro due to injury, led by 13 (72-69) with just over six minutes remaining, but Mason could only score a pair of buckets down the stretch as the Colonials used an 18-4 run to close out the Revolutionary Rivalry win. D'Shawn Schwartz led the Green & Gold with 27 points. He also grabbed six rebounds, dished out four assists and recorded two blocks in 38:16 of action. Schwartz was one of five Patriots in double figures. Davonte Gaines added his fifth double-double of the season (10 pts, 11 reb), while DeVon Cooper added 13 points and made 3-of-4 3-pointers. Xavier Johnson chipped in 12 points and a game-high six assists and sophomore Malik Henry notched a career-best 10 points (5-5 FG) to go along with four rebounds in 18 minutes.

HISTORY AGAINST PROGRAM'S FROM OUR NATION'S CAPITAL
Sunday's game will be Mason's 128th against a Washington, D.C. college. The Patriots are 70-57 (.551) overall and 48-38 (.558) against Div. I, D.C. schools. The Patriots' most common opponents are American (33-11), GW (8-22), UDC (6-12), Gallaudet (11-4) and Howard (7-4). Mason has played Georgetown just once, with the Hoyas earning a 75-63 victory in EagleBank Arena on Dec. 3, 1985. The Patriots opened their 2021-22 slate against a D.C. foe on Dec. 21 with a 67-44 triumph over American in Fairfax. Mason then fell at GW, 77-76, on Jan. 17.

A LOOK AT THE COLONIALS (11-15, 7-7 A-10; KenPom 225, NET 227)
GW was picked to finish 13th out of 14 teams in the 2021-22 A-10 preseason poll. The Colonials tallied a 4-8 mark in non-conference play, but have been much improved with a 7-7 mark in A-10 action. GW excels at defending the arc, where opponents shoot just 31.2 percent from deep (2nd in A-10). James Bishop leads the team in scoring (16.9 ppg), while Joe Bamasile chips in 15.5 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. Bamasile is averaging 17.6 points and shooting 38.3 percent from deep in conference play. Ricky Lindo Jr. grabs a team-best 7.6 rebounds/contest and adds 7.6 points/game. Brayon Freeman dishes out a team-best 3.5 assists/game.

UP NEXT
Mason hits the road for the final time during the regular season. The Patriots will play at first place Davidson on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+.