WHERE: EagleBank Arena - Fairfax, Va.
WHEN: Saturday, 2 p.m. 
RECORDS: George Mason (9-6, 1-1), Loyola Chicago (6-8, 0-2)
SERIES: First meeting
TELEVISION: MASN2
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LIVE AUDIO: Click here
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GAME NOTES: Click here (PDF)
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FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason University men's basketball team (9-6, 1-1) returns home for its first ever meeting with Loyola Chicago (6-8, 0-2) on Saturday inside EagleBank Arena.

Tip-off between the Patriots and Ramblers is set for 2 p.m. Saturday's game will be televised on MASN2 and streamed on ESPN+. Bill Rohland (play-by-play) and Craig Esherick (color) will be on the call. 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
• Mason has won seven of its past nine games, but fell in its most recent contest at St. Bonaventure, 73-69, on Saturday. The Patriots were within one (68-67) with 2:10 left, but SBU scored on the next two possessions to clinch the victory.

• Victor Bailey Jr. led the Patriots with an efficient 21 points (7-8 FG, 3-4 3pt FG, 4-4 FT). He is shooting 55.3 percent (21-38) from 3pt range over the past seven games.

• Senior Josh Oduro added 14 points, six rebounds and five assists. He is averaging a career-best 2.9 assists this season and ranks seventh nationally in total assists (44) for players 6-9 and taller.

• With an assist-based double-double already under his belt this season, junior Ronald Polite III added the rebound variety (12 pts, 11 reb, 5 ast) at the Bonnies. That shattered his previous career-best rebounding mark of five.

• Polite III leads Mason in scoring (17.0 ppg) and assists (3.5 apg) over two league games and is second in rebounding (7.0 rpg).

• Mason is averaging an improved 11.0 turnovers/game in conference play after tallying 14.5 per contest in non-conference action.

• The Patriots are 8-0 at home this season and 18-4 inside EagleBank Arena under head coach Kim English. With a win over the Ramblers Saturday, Mason would secure its best start to a home campaign since 2010-11, when the Patriots went a perfect 14-0 in Fairfax.

• Wednesday marked just the third time this season that a Patriot foe shot 50 percent or better from the floor. Mason is 0-3 in those three games (9-3 when they hold teams below 50 percent).

• The Patriots are in the midst of a strech in which they will play three of their next four games inside EagleBank Arena.

YOUTHFUL EXUBERANCE ON THE SIDELINES
Saturday's game features the youngest and third youngest head coaches in Division I men's college basketball. Loyola Chicago head coach Drew Valentine is the youngest at 31 years of age, while George Mason bench boss Kim English is third youngest at 34 years old.

HISTORY vs. LOYOLA CHICAGO
Saturday's game marks the first ever meeting between George Mason and Loyola Chicago in men's basketball. It's also Mason's first ever matchup with a school based in Chicago proper (Chicago State, DePaul, UIC, LUC). The Patriots did win at Northwestern in Evanston, Ill., on January 14, 1984.

A LOOK AT THE RAMBLERS (6-8, 0-2 A-10; NET #264, KenPom #184)
New A-10 member Loyola Chicago was picked to finish fourth in the league's preseason poll. The Ramblers went 6-6 in the non-conference, highlighted by a 76-58 win over top-60 foe Clemson. The Ramblers are 0-2 to begin A-10 play. Loyola Chicago ranks second in the A-10 and 51st nationally in field goal percentage (.476), but the Ramblers have struggled defensively in A-10 play, where the team is allowing 88.5 points/game and allowing opponents to shoot 60.4 percent from the floor. Philip Alston leads the team in scoring (13.8 ppg) and grabs 5.7 rebounds/contest. Braden Norris adds 10.8 points/game and ranks sixth in the league with 4.1 assists/contest. Marquise Kennedy chips in 10.4 points/game and shoots 50 percent from deep (19-38).

UP NEXT
George Mason hits the road for a Wednesday contest at Saint Louis. Tip-off between the Patriots and Billikens is set for 8 p.m. (ET). The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and Bally Sports Midwest.