WHERE: EagleBank Arena - Fairfax, Va.
WHEN: Wednesday, 7 p.m.
RECORDS: George Mason (2-3), Coppin State (0-6)
SERIES: Coppin State leads, 14-9
LIVE VIDEO: Click here
LIVE AUDIO: Click here
LIVE STATS: Click here
TICKETS: Click here
GAME NOTES: Click here (PDF)
PROMOTION: Free team poster (while supplies last); Postgame autographs

FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason University men's basketball team returns to Fairfax for a two-game homestand, beginning with a Wednesday night contest vs. Coppin State.

Tip-off between the Patriots and Eagles 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 Patriot standout Will Thomas ('08). 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 have dropped two games in a row by a combined two points. Most recently, GM fell at East Carolina, 78-77, in double overtime on Saturday.

• George Mason held 4-point leads with under 2:30 to go in both regulation and overtime, but could not close out the win. The Patriots were ultimately victimized by the turnover bug (19) and gave up 24 offensive rebounds to ECU, which led to a +12 (38-26) edge for the Pirates in second chance points.

• Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Second Team selection Darius Maddox led GM with his third 20-point effort in five games. He's ranked fifth in the A-10 in scoring (18.4 ppg).

• Junior Brayden O'Connor tallied 12 of his 14 points in the second half and overtime, including a series of late clock drives and finishes late. He's notched 10+ points in three of five games.

• Senior Woody Newton added 11 points (2-4 3pt). He's averaging 10.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.0 steals, 2.0 assists and 31.0 minutes over George Mason's last two games.

• Turnovers have plagued GM early in the season. The Green & Gold rank 322nd out of 364 Div. I teams with 16.0 turnovers/game. The Patriots also are 327th in turnover margin (-4.0).

• Much like Coach Skinn's first season at the helm, the Patriots feature an outstanding FG defense. GM is 23rd in 2pt FG defense (.407) and 19th in effective FG defense (.408). The Patriots are 73rd overall in defensive efficiency (0.991 points allowed/possession).

• GM went 6-of-22 (.273) from 3pt range in Saturday's loss. The Patriots have struggled to find consistency from beyond the arc this season. The team is a combined 29.1 percent (32-110) from deep and has shot below 34 percent in four of five outings this season.

• The Patriots rank second in the A-10 and 21st nationally with 20.8 free throws made/game. More than 27.5 percent of the team's scoring output comes at the charity stripe. That ranks 23rd nationally.

• The Green & Gold feature a balanced scoring attack, with only Maddox averaging 10+ points/game. A total of seven additional Patriots average at least six points, while eight GM players log at least 15 minutes/contest.

HISTORY vs. COPPIN STATE
Wednesday's matchup will mark the 24th all time meeting between George Mason and Coppin State in men's basketball. The bulk of the previous meetings came when both programs were members of the Mason-Dixon Conference in the 1970s. The teams also played a pair of home-and-home series from 1999-02. After the game in 2002, the two programs did not play again until 20 years down the road, when the Patriots welcomed the Eagles to Fairfax on Dec. 23, 2022. George Mason won that game, 91-53.

HISTORY vs. MEAC OPPONENTS
George Mason is 28-21 (.571) all time against schools currently in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The Patriots' most common foes are fellow DMV programs Coppin State (9-14) and Howard (7-4). In the most recent meeting with a MEAC school, the Patriots opened this season with a 75-58 win over North Carolina Central on Nov. 4 in Fairfax. Darius Maddox led GM with 17 points.

A LOOK AT THE EAGLES (0-6, 0-0 MEAC; KenPom #363)
Coppin State was picked eighth in the 2024-25 MEAC preseason poll. The Eagles are 0-6 to begin the season and are coming off a 93-63 setback at Miami (Fla.) on Sunday in Coral Gables. The Eagles are averaging 54.7 points/game and shooting 35 percent from the floor as a team. Derrius Ward leads Coppin State with 12.4 points per game and pulls down 5.0 rebounds per contest. Jilius Ellerbe III and Jonathan Dunn each chip in 8.5 points/contest for the Eagles.

UP NEXT
The Patriots remain at home to host Ferrum on Saturday (Nov. 23) at 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.