WHERE: EagleBank Arena - Fairfax, Va.
WHEN: Saturday, 2 p.m.
RECORDS: George Mason (11-5, 2-1), Massachusetts (6-10, 1-2)
SERIES: George Mason leads, 12-6
LIVE VIDEO: Click here
LIVE AUDIO: Click here
LIVE STATS: Click here
TICKETS: Click here
GAME NOTES: Click here (PDF)

PROMOTION: Family Day! Face painter and balloon artist pregame, postgame autographs with select student-athletes. $10 Lower Bowl Seats.

FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason University men's basketball team (11-5, 2-1) wraps up a two-game homestand Saturday afternoon with a contest vs. Massachusetts (6-10, 0-2).

Tip-off between the Patriots and Minutemen is set for 2 p.m. Saturday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+, featuring commentary from Voice of the Patriots Bill Rohland and former George Mason standout Chris Fleming ('09). 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 9-2 over their past 11 games and are coming off a 64-58 win over Richmond on Wednesday. The Spiders held a 32-28 edge at halftime, but the Patriots outscored Richmond by 10 (36-26) in the second half on the strength of outstanding defense.

• Junior Brayden O'Connor led the Patriots with 16 points, four assists and three rebounds while posting career highs in free throws made (8) and attempted (9). He's averaging a team-best 15.7 points and shooting 53.6 percent in A-10 play.

• Woody Newton added an A-10 personal-best 15 points (3-5 3pt) in the win, while Darius Maddox scored seven of his 10 points in the final 1:45 to close out the victory.

• The Patriots made 35 percent (7-20) of their attempts from 3pt range vs. the Spiders, improving the team to 10-1 when it shoots better than 30 percent from 3pt range.

• GM has led to allow an opponent to shoot 50 percent from the floor this season. During Tony Skinn's first season at the helm, the Patriots held opponents to below 50 percent over the first 19 games last season.

• George Mason is 10-1 at home this season and 38-6 (.864) in its last 44 games inside EagleBank Arena.

• George Mason is fifth nationally in FG defense (.359) while also ranking high in 2pt defense (4th, .411) and effective FG defense (7th, .428). The Patriots are 11th in scoring defense (61.6 ppg allowed) and 28th in overall defensive efficiency (0.962 points/possession).

• Those FG defense averages are tracking well ahead of the program's previous single season records, including overall FG defense (.388, 2005-06) and 3pt defense (.301, 2022-23). George Mason's record for end-of-season KenPom defensive efficiency is 13th (2005-06, 0.915 points/possession).

• GM held a +17 (38-21) rebounding edge vs. the Spiders and turned 13 offensive rebounds into a 14-2 advantage in second chance points. The Patriots lead the A-10 and rank 35th nationally in rebounding margin (+7.2).

• Turnovers often tell the story for the Patriots this season. GM is 7-1 when committing less than 15 turnovers and averages just 11.9 miscues in wins. GM is at 16.0/game in losses.

• A win Saturday would improve the Patriots to 3-1 in the A-10 for the first time since 2021-22.

• With his assist vs. Richmond, K.D. Johnson reached the 200 assist milestone for his career.

• The Patriots are ranked 80th nationally in the Jan. 10 NET. GM also is 81st in the Ken Pomeroy rankings.

HISTORY vs. MASSACHUSETTS
Saturday's matchup marks the 19th all-time meeting between George Mason and UMass. The Patriots hold a 12-6 advantage in the series and have won 11 of the past 14 meetings. However, the Minutemen have won two of the past three. The Patriots are 5-3 all time against UMass in Fairfax. It's a popcorn worthy A-10 series, as 12 of the past 16 meetings have been decided by six points or less and five of the past 12 contests have gone to overtime. Last season, the Patriots lost a heartbreaker, 66-65, in Amherst on Feb. 3, 2024. Darius Maddox notched 14 points in the game, while Woody Newton added 11 points and six rebounds.

A LOOK AT THE MINUTEMEN (6-10, 1-2 A-10; NET #245, KenPom #211)
UMass was picked to finish ninth in the program's final season in the A-10 before moving to the MAC in 2025-26. The Minutemen went 6-9 in the non-conference and started A-10 play 0-2 before impressing with a 76-72 home win over Dayton on Wednesday. UMass averages 71.8 possessions/game (35th fastest team in country) and generates an opponent turnover on 15.8 percent of possessions (70th). UMass also ranks seventh nationally in blocks/game (5.8). Rahsool Diggins leads the team with 13.9 points/contest, while Jaylen Curry adds 12.3 points and a team-best 4.2 assists/contest. Daniel Rivera chips in 12.2 points and a team-best 7.7 rebounds per game.

UP NEXT
George Mason hits the road for a primetime, nationally-televised contest at Dayton. Tip-off inside UD Arena between the Patriots and Flyers is set for 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.