WHERE: Atlantic Bank Union Center - Harrisonburg, Va.
WHEN: Friday, 4 p.m.
RECORDS: George Mason (4-3), James Madison (4-3)
SERIES: George Mason trails, 49-51
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FAIRFAX, Va. - George Mason (4-3) renews a 57-year rivalry with James Madison (4-3) on Black Friday in Harrisonburg.

Tip-off between the Patriots and Dukes is set for 4 p.m. Friday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+, featuring commentary from Curt Dudley and Steve Buckhantz. In addition, Voice of the Patriots Bill Rohland will call the game on the GoMason Digital Network, with streaming coverage beginning at 3:45 p.m.

PATRIOT POINTS
• The Patriots have won two-straight games by an average of 41.5 points. Most recently, the Green & Gold defeated Ferrum, 100-55, on Saturday in Fairfax.

• It marked the first time a Patriot team hit the 100+ point plateau and won by 40+ since a 101-60 win over UNC Wilmington on January 3, 2009.

• Senior Woody Newton had a career day vs. Ferrum, tallying personal bests in points (26) and 3pt FG made (6-8). He went 9-of-12 from the floor in the win. Newton is averaging 14.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and shooting 52.6 from 3 (10-19) over the past four games.

• Four other Patriots tallied 10+ points in the contest. Senior K.D. Johnson notched season highs in points (13) and rebounds (7) to go with three assists. He's distributed a team-best 20 assists this season in just 18.4 minutes/contest.

• Junior Brayden O'Connor dished out a career-best five assists and finished with 14 points. He' s averaging a team-best 4.0 assists/contest over the past four games.

• George Mason shot 37.1 percent from 3 against Ferrum and made a season-best 13 triples. GM is at 35 percent (35-100) from 3 in wins, but just 28.8 percent (19-66) in losses.

• The Patriots entered their two-game homestand ranked 325th nationally with 16.0 turnovers/game, but committed just 7.5/contest in the two home victories. Mason is 3-0 when tallying fewer than 15 turnovers this season.

• Much like Coach Skinn's first season at the helm, the Patriots feature an outstanding FG defense. Per KenPom, George Mason is seventh nationally in both 2pt FG defense (.401) and effective FG defense (.402). GM leads the A-10 in FG defense (.343) and 3pt defense (.279) and the  Patriots are 77th nationally in overall defensive efficiency (0.997 points allowed/possession).

• George Mason's overall field goal defense of 34.3 percent also ranks third best nationally.

• The Patriots are fourth in the A-10 in rebounding margin (+6.4). GM is 4-1 when winning the rebounding battle this season and is +12.8 on the glass in those victories. However, in losses, the Patriots  average a -2.0 margin. JMU enters Friday's game 29th nationally in rebounding margin (+9.9), so the battle on the boards will prove key in the contest.

HISTORY vs. JAMES MADISON
George Mason and James Madison, celebrating a historic Commonwealth rivalry, will meet for the 101st time on the hardwood Friday. JMU holds a slim 51-49 edge in the series, although Mason has won 23 of the past 26 matchups between the schools. James Madison is Mason's most common opponent over the program's 59-year history. Mason is 27-19 vs. JMU in Fairfax, 18-28 in Harrisonburg and 4-4 on neutral courts vs. the Dukes. The last time the teams met, the Dukes won 67-64, in Harrisonburg on Nov. 19, 2021. Mason trailed 34-29 at the half, but rallied back to take a 42-40 edge at the 12:46 mark. After trailing 55-50, Mason pulled in front by one (61-60) with 41 seconds to go, but JMU (4-0) answered with a 7-0 run to close out the victory. Ticket Gaines led the Patriots with 19 points and 11 rebounds.

HISTORY vs. SUN BELT FOES
George Mason is 87-96 (.475) all time against programs currently in the Sun Belt Conference. The bulk of those meetings have come against old CAA foes James Madison (49-51), Old Dominion (22-38) and Georgia State (10-3). In the most recent matchup with a Sun Belt opponent, the Patriots dropped a 78-77 contest at Old Dominion on Dec. 21, 2022, in Norfolk.

A LOOK AT THE DUKES (4-3, 0-0 Sun Belt; KenPom #145)
James Madison was picked to finish second out of 14 teams in the 2024-25 Sun Belt preseason poll. The Dukes are coming off a banner 2023-24 campaign in which the team won a school-record 32 games, captured the Sun Belt title and defeated fifth-seeded Wisconsin in the NCAA Tournament. JMU is 4-3 to begin this season, including a 2-1 mark at the Boardwalk Battle this past week in Daytona Beach. That included wins over UIC (99-81) and Jacksonville State (71-65) and a loss to top-100 foe UC San Diego (73-67). James Madison ranks 29th nationally in rebounding margin (+9.9) and makes 10.0 3-pointers per game (39th in the country) while shooting at a 38 percent clip from deep (53rd). Xavier Brown leads the team in scoring (15.3 ppg) and is third in the Sun Belt with 2.43 steals/contest. Bryce Lindsay adds 14.4 points and shoots 48.8 percent (21-43) from 3, whole Mark Freeman notches 12.0 points/game and dishes out a team-best 4.0 assists/contest. Elijah Hutchins-Everett rounds out the double figure scorers (11.4 ppg) for the Dukes.

UP NEXT
The Patriots return home for a pair of contests. First up, George Mason hosts UNC Asheville on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.