WHERE: EagleBank Arena - Fairfax, Va.
WHEN: Saturday, 2 p.m.
RECORDS: George Mason (10-2), North Carolina A&T (2-10)
SERIES: NC A&T leads, 3-1
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GAME NOTES: Click here (PDF)

PROMOTION: Free New Year's Mason Party Hats for first 800 fans; Tickets include 6 p.m. women's basketball game vs. La Salle

FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason University men's basketball team (10-2) wraps up non-conference play Saturday with a matinee affair against North Carolina A&T (2-10).

Tip-off between the Patriots and Aggies is set for 2 p.m. Saturday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+, featuring commentary from Voice of the Patriots Bill Rohland. In addition, Steve Kolbe will call the game on the GoMason Digital Network, with streaming coverage beginning at 1:45 p.m.

PATRIOT POINTS
• The Patriots are 10-2 to begin the season and are 72nd in the NCAA NET rankings.

• Mason has claimed 10 non-conference wins in a season for just the fourth time since 1983-84. A win Saturday would give Mason 11 non-league wins for just the second time over those 40 campaigns.

• The Patriots are coming off a gutsy 69-66 win at Tulane on Dec. 22 in New Orleans. The Patriots trailed by 13 late in the first half (40-27), but locked in on defense in the second stanza and shot 50 percent in the period to pick up the road win over top-100 Tulane, which was 6-0 at home to start the season.

• Mason held the Green Wave to significant season lows in points (66) and field goal percentage (.345). Tulane entered the game first in the nation in field goal percentage (.536) and third in scoring (91.7 points/game).

• Over the past three games, the Patriots are holding their opponents to just 32.1 percent (59-184) shooting overall, 32.6 percent (31-95) from inside the arc and 60.0 points/game. Mason ranks second in the nation in 2pt FG defense (.409) and held Tulane's vaunted interior attack (64.0 percent, 2nd nationally entering game) to just 10-of-27 (.370) from 2pt range.

• Interior stalwart Amari Kelly led the Green & Gold with 16 points (5-8 FG), 10 rebounds, three blocks and three assists at Tulane. It marked his fourth double-double of the season.

• Senior point guard Ronald Polite III added 16 points to go along with season highs in rebounds (7) and assists (6). He scored Mason's final seven points of the game.

• Senior Woody Newton grabbed a season-high nine rebounds to go along with seven points and two blocks vs. the Green Wave. He's averaging 3.5 blocks over Mason's past two games.

• The Patriots rank third in the A-10 and 36th nationally in 3pt FG percentage (.379). Mason made 8-of-21 attempts (.381) at Tulane.

• Mason held a solid +13 (44-31) edge on the glass at Tulane. The Patriots lead the A-10 in rebounding margin (+6.0) and are a perfect 10-0 when winning the battle on the boards this season.

• Mason is 7-0 at home this season. The Patriots have won 21 of their past 23 games inside EagleBank Arena.

• Head coach Tony Skinn's 10-2 record marks the best-ever start by a Mason first-year head coach.

HISTORY vs. CAA FOES
Mason has tallied a 187-121 (.607) all time record against opponents from its former league, the Coastal Athletic Association. The Patriots' most common foes are UNC Wilmington (40-31), William & Mary (40-28) and Towson (33-11). In the most recent contest against a CAA opponent, Mason won its season opener over Monmouth, 72-61, on Nov. 6 in Fairfax.

HISTORY vs. NORTH CAROLINA A&T
Saturday's game will mark the fifth all-time meeting between the Patriots and Aggies in men's basketball and the first since 1994. North Carolina A&T holds a 3-1 advantage in the series and the teams have split the two meetings in Fairfax.

A LOOK AT THE AGGIES (2-10, 0-0 CAA; NET #338, KenPom #352)
North Carolina A&T was picked to finish 14th in the 2023-24 CAA preseason poll. The Aggies lost their first nine games of the season but are winners of two of their past three contests. Most recently, the team won at Coastal Carolina, 85-82, on Dec. 21. The Aggies average 71.2 possessions/game (84th nationally), score 0.982 points/possession (295th) and give up 1.173 points/possession (359th). Landon Glasper ranks second in the CAA and 21st in the nation in scoring (20.0 ppg). Camian Shell adds 11.3 points and ranks 29th in the country with 5.6 assists/game.

UP NEXT
George Mason opens Atlantic 10 play with a January 3 road contest at La Salle. Tip-off in Philly between the Patriots and Explorers is set for 6:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.