WHERE: EagleBank Arena - Fairfax, Va.
WHEN: Monday, 7 p.m.
RECORDS: George Mason (0-0), Wofford (0-0)
SERIES: George Mason trails, 0-1
LIVE VIDEO: Click here
LIVE AUDIO: Click here
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GAME NOTES: Click here (PDF)

FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason University men's basketball team opens the 2025-26 season with a Monday night contest against 2025 NCAA Tournament qualifier Wofford.

Tip-off between the Patriots and Terriers is set for 7 p.m. Monday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+, featuring commentary from Bill Rohland and former Patriot standout Will Thomas. In addition, Steve Kolbe will call the game on the GoMason Digital Network, with streaming coverage beginning at 6:45 p.m.

PATRIOT POINTS
• George Mason is 35-24 (.593) all time in season openers. The Patriots are 23-8 at home, 7-14 on the road and 5-2 at neutral sites. GMU has won six of its past eight campaign kickstarters, including a 2-0 mark under head coach Tony Skinn ('06).

• The Patriots are coming off the most successful season in their A-10 history in 2024-25. George Mason tied the school record with 27 wins and earned a share of the A-10 regular season title for the first time in program annals.

• The Green & Gold also set a new program best for A-10 wins (15), reached the conference title game for the first time since 2009 and won the program's first NIT contest since 2004.

• Preseason First Team All-A-10 selection Brayden O'Connor (9.1 ppg, 3.0 apg, 37.6 3pt FG%) returns from that championship squad and will serve as a team co-captain in 2025-26.

• George Mason also welcomes nine transfers and four freshmen to the roster in 2025-26. Four of those transfer student-athletes posted at least 10+ points/game last season.

• The Patriots' transfer class ranks in the top-20 nationally amongst mid-majors (EvanMiya.com) and No. 1 in the Atlantic 10 (The Portal Report).

• The Patriots won their lone exhibition game 74-41 over Alfred University on Oct. 25 inside EagleBank Arena.

• O'Connor led the Green & Gold with a team-best 13 points and four assists, while grad transfer Nick Ellington chipped in eight points.

• Skinn, the 2025 A-10 Coach of the Year, sports an overall win percentage of .691 (47-21) and is at 66.7 percent (24-12) in A-10 games over his first two seasons.

• GMU is 32-5 at home under Skinn. The team's 18 home wins in 2024-25 (9-0 A-10) set a new school record.

• The Patriots were picked to finish sixth in the A-10 preseason poll for the second-straight season.

• The Green & Gold will play a school-record 10 non-conference home games this season.

• George Mason enters the season in the KenPom top-100 (No. 91) for the second-straight campaign. It marks the first time the Patriots have appeared in the preseason top-100 for two-straight seasons since 2010-11/2011-12.

• The No. 91 position is also the Patriots' highest overall preseason KenPom ranking since 2013-14.

HISTORY vs. WOFFORD
Monday's game marks the second all time meeting between George Mason and Wofford in men's basketball. In the only previous, matchup, the Terriers claimed an 82-79 overtime victory on November 21, 2010, in the final round of the Charleston Classic. Luke Hancock led the Patriots with a team-high 17 points, while Ryan Pearson added 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Both teams would go on to qualify for the 2011 NCAA Tournament.

HISTORY vs. SOCON FOES
George Mason is 8-6 all time against SoCon opponents. The Patriots' most common Southern Conference opponents are UNCG (3-0), Mercer (2-1) and VMI (2-1). In the most recent matchup with a SoCon foe, the Patriots earned an 86-69 win over Samford in the 2025 NIT First Round. It marked the Patriots' first NIT victory since 2004.

A LOOK AT THE TERRIERS (0-0, 0-0 SoCon; KenPom #224)
Wofford, the defending 2025 Southern Conference Champion, enters the 2025-26 campaign picked ninth out of 10 teams in the league's preseason poll. All five starters departed from last season's NCAA Tournament squad, although the team returns three letter winners, led by Kahmare Holmes (4.1 ppg) and Luke Flynn (4.1 ppg). The Terriers also welcome 12 newcomers to the team, including transfers Nils Machowski (UCF) and Callum Richard (East Carolina). Wofford enters its first season under alum Kevin Giltner ('12), a former Virginia Tech assistant coach who served under previous Terriers bench boss Mike Young in Blacksburg.

UP NEXT
The Patriots host Winthrop on Friday (Nov. 7) evening inside EagleBank Arena. George Mason will welcome the Eagles for a 7 p.m. tip.