WHERE: EagleBank Arena - Fairfax, Va.
WHEN: Wednesday, 7 p.m.
RECORDS: George Mason (2-1), Central Michigan (1-2)
SERIES: Series tied, 1-1
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PROMOTION: Free 16 oz. team stadium cups for the first 1000 fans

FAIRFAX, Va. - George Mason wraps up the Marquette Challenge with a Wednesday night home contest against Central Michigan.

Tip-off between the Patriots and Chippewas is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+, featuring commentary from Voice of the Patriots Bill Rohland and former George Mason women's basketball head coach Debbie Taneyhill. In addition, Steve Kolbe will call the game on the GoMason Digital Network, with streaming coverage beginning at 6:45 p.m. (ET).

PATRIOT POINTS
• The Patriots are coming off a dominant 94-56 victory over Stony Brook Monday night in Fairfax. The Patriots shot 54.2 percent from the floor and held the Seawolves to 31.7 percent.

• Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Second Team selection Darius Maddox led GM with his second-straight 20-point outing. He went 5-of-8 from the floor and 8-of-9 from the free throw line. He ranks first in the A-10 and 19th nationally in FT made (18).

• It's the second time in his career Maddox has scored 20+ points in back-to-back games. He is shooting 46.7 percent from 3 this season and is seventh nationally in career 3pt percentage (.422).

• Junior Giovanni Emejuru added 17 points and eight rebounds, while graduate student Zach Anderson matched his career high with five 3-pointers (5-8, .625) for a total of 15 points.

• Senior guard K.D. Johnson dished out six assists and added nine points. He ranks seventh in the A-10 with 4.3 assists/game.

• The Patriots have yet to allow an opponent to shoot 40 percent from the floor this season. GM's effective FG defense (.389) ranks 20th nationally, while the team's 2pt defense (.392) is 32nd.

• GM's 38-point victory margin vs. Stony Brook is tied for the program's largest since 2009.

• George Mason enters Wednesday's game 82nd nationally in the KenPom rankings. It's GM's highest team ranking since 2013.

• After averaging 18.0 turnovers/game and a -8.5 turnover margin through two games, the Patriots committed just 10 against Stony Brook and enjoyed a +4 turnover margin.

• Through three games, GM's lineup ranks as the 28th oldest in the nation (2.73 years/player). The Patriots feature four fifth-year student-athletes as well as three players in their fourth season of eligibility.

• The Green & Gold rank second in the A-10 with 13.7 offensive rebounds/game. The team grabs an offensive board on 40.2 percent of possessions (34th nationally).

• The Patriot bench outscored Stony Brook's reserves 52-24 Monday. Mason gets 38.1 percent of its total minutes from its bench (37th nationally).

• Graduate forward Zach Anderson is 21 points away from 1,000 for his career.

HISTORY vs. CENTRAL MICHIGAN
Wednesday's contest marks the third all-time meeting between George Mason and Central Michigan in men's basketball. The two teams previously played a home-and-home series during the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons. The Patriots won the first game in Fairfax, 65-54, on Dec. 5, 2001, then fell to the Chippewas, 61-58, on Nov. 22, 2023, in Mount Pleasant.

HISTORY vs. MAC OPPONENTS
The Patriots have posted a 9-13 (.409) record in 22 all-time games against teams currently in the Mid-American Conference. Mason's most common opponent is Toledo (3-3), following by Kent State (1-2). In the most recent matchup with a MAC foe, the Patriots won at Toledo, 86-77, on Dec. 2, last season in the Glass City. Amari Kelly paced the Patriots with 24 points (8-10 FG) to go along with 10 rebounds, two blocks and two assists. Darius Maddox chipped in 14 points (6-12 FG), six rebounds and a team-high four assists.

A LOOK AT THE CHIPPEWAS (1-2, 0-0 MAC; KenPom #232)
Central Michigan was picked eighth out of 12 teams in the 2024-25 Mid-American Conference Preseason Poll. The Chippewas opened the season with a 74-70 win at South Alabama, before falling at home to Stony Brook (73-72) and losing at No. 15 Marquette by eight (70-62). Central Michigan currently ranks second in the MAC and 84th nationally with a +9.3 average rebounding margin. Jakobi Heady leads the team with 13.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per contest, while Kyler VanderJagt adds 13.3 points and shoots 46.2 percent from 3pt range. Anthony Pritchard (10.0 ppg, 6.0 apg) and Ugnius Jarusevicius (10.3 ppg, 8.0 rpg) also average double figures for CMU. Former George Mason assistant coach Scott Cherry is an assistant coach with the Chippewas. Cherry was on Coach Larrañaga's staff at Mason from 1999-02 and again from 2003-07.

UP NEXT
The Patriots hit the road for a Saturday contest at AAC foe East Carolina. Tip-off between the Patriots and Pirates is set for 4 p.m. in Greenville, N.C. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+. Last season, the Green & Gold defeated the Pirates, 81-59, on November 25, 2023.