WHERE: EagleBank Arena - Fairfax, Va.
WHEN: Monday, 7 p.m. 
RECORDS: George Mason (0-0), Monmouth (0-0)
SERIES: Mason leads, 4-2
LAST MEETING: Mason def. Monmouth, 71-39, on Nov. 15, 2011, in Blacksburg, Va.
LIVE VIDEO: Click here
LIVE AUDIO: Click here
LIVE STATS: Click here
TICKETS: Click here
GAME NOTES: Click here (PDF)
DIGITAL PROGRAM:  Click here
PROMOTION: The first 2000 fans in attendance will receive a free Patriot Pressure T-Shirt

FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason University men's basketball team opens the regular season Monday night with a home contest vs. Monmouth. It's the first of three-straight home games for the Green & Gold to kick off the campaign.

Tip-off between the Patriots and Hawks is set for 7 p.m. Monday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+, featuring commentary from Bill Rohland. In addition, Steve Kolbe will call the game on the GoMason Digital Network, with streaming coverage beginning at 6:45 p.m.

PATRIOT POINTS
• The Patriots split their two-game exhibition slate, including a 64-52 victory over St. Thomas (Fla.) on Oct. 23 and an 85-78 setback to West Virginia on Oct. 27 in Morgantown.

• Monday's contest marks the first official game for new Patriots head coach Tony Skinn ('06).

• Skinn put together a revamped roster for the 2023-24 season which includes 11 new players. Five student-athletes return from last season's team, led by senior Ronald Polite III who is a Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Third Team selection.

• The team will play a brand of basketball dubbed "Patriot Pressure" this season. That moniker was on display during the team's exhibition slate, as George Mason averaged 7.5 steals/game and held opponents to just 36.9 percent shooting (41-111).

• Virginia Tech transfer Darius Maddox led the Patriots with 15.5 points/game over the two exhibition games.

• Freshman Baraka Okojie (11.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.5 apg, 58.3 FG%) and Polite III (11.0 ppg, 62.5 3pt FG%) also averaged double figures during the exhibition slate.

• Mason's 10 new scholarship players include eight transfer student-athletes and two true freshmen.

• George Mason is 33-24 (.579) all time in season openers. The Patriots are 21-8 at home, 7-14 on the road and 5-2 in neutral site debuts. The Patriots fell at No. 15 Auburn in last season's opener but have won four of their past six campaign debuts.

• The Patriots were picked 10th in the 15-team Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll, released on Oct. 17.

• George Mason will play at least five KenPom top-150 opponents in the non-conference slate, starting with Cornell (131) on Nov. 15. Mason will draw either UCF (72) or South Dakota State (117) in the Jacksonville Classic, before playing contests vs. East Carolina (130) and at Tennessee (8) and Tulane (95) in December.

• The Patriots will appear on national TV at least five times during the regular season and will play live on MASN on five occasions.

RECRUITING THE AREA
George Mason head coach Tony Skinn will emphasize recruiting the DMV as part of his program philosophy. In addition to returning student-athletes Polite III (Temple Hills, Md.) and Devin Dinkins (Washington, D.C.), Mason also welcomes local transfers Jared Billups (Waldorf, Md.), Darius Maddox (Bowie, Md.), Woody Newton (District Heights, Md.) and Tre' Wood (Largo, Md.) to Fairfax.

SKINN ONE OF JUST TWO AFRICAN-BORN HEAD COACHES
George Mason head coach Tony Skinn ('06) is a proud native of Nigeria. He is one of just two Div. I African-born coaches in the country. The other coach is Stan Johnson at Loyola Marymount. Overall, there are six foreign-born head coaches in Div. I college basketball.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
George Mason will look to build on its outstanding home season in 2022-23. The Patriots' 14-2 record in EagleBank Arena marked the team's best since the Green & Gold posted a 15-1 mark in 2011-12.

HISTORY vs. MONMOUTH
Monday's game will mark the first meeting between George Mason and Monmouth since 2011 and just the second matchup since 1992. The Patriots hold a 4-2 edge in the all time series. The teams first met on December 1, 1982, in Fairfax, with Mason picking up a  91-71 victory. The teams last battled in the Preseason NIT on November 25, 2011, in Blacksburg. Mason won that matchup, 71-39. Ryan Pearson posted his third double-double in as many games, leading the Patriots with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Vertrail Vaughns added 12 points for the Green & Gold.

A LOOK AT THE HAWKS (0-0, 0-0 CAA; KenPom #166)
Monmouth was picked to finish 11th in the 2023-24 Coastal Athletic Association preseason poll after posting a 7-26 overall record and a 5-13 conference record last season. In their CAA Tournament debut, the 13th-seeded Hawks won their first-round matchup against No. 12 Hampton, 100-64. They then lost to fifth-seeded Drexel in the second round by the score of 64-45. Monmouth returns eight letter winners, including two of their top three scorers in sophomore guard Jack Collins (10.5 ppg, 4.1 rbg, 1.6 apg, 35.3 FG%) and senior forward Klemen Vuga (9.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 0.7 apg, 47.1 FG%). Collins was named to the 2023 CAA All-Rookie team, while Vuga recorded career-highs in points, rebounds and assists in 2022-23. Over the offseason, head coach King Rice added his son, Xander, who played four seasons at Bucknell, to the Hawk squad. Xander Rice graduated in May after earning Patriot League All-Conference Third Team honors, leading the Bison in scoring (14.1) and assists (3.8).

UP NEXT
Mason will host OVC foe Austin Peay on Friday (Nov. 10) inside EagleBank Arena. The 7 p.m. game will be Mason's Military Appreciation Game. George Mason's Student Involvement Office also will hold its annual Gold Rush Festival for students.