WHERE: Ocean Center - Daytona Beach, Fla. 
WHEN: Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.
RECORDS: George Mason (6-0), Florida Atlantic (5-1)
SERIES: Series tied, 1-1
TELEVISION: CBS Sports Network
LIVE AUDIO: Click here
TICKETS: Click here
GAME NOTES: Click here (PDF)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The George Mason University men's basketball team (6-0) faces Florida Atlantic (5-1) in the GEICO Sunshine Slam title game Tuesday night in Daytona Beach.

Tip-off between the Patriots and Owls is set for 7:30 p.m. Tuesday's game will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network, featuring commentary from Jake Marsh and Sean Kearney. In addition, Voice of the Patriots Bill Rohland will call the game on the GoMason Digital Network, with streaming coverage beginning at 7:15 p.m.

PATRIOT POINTS
• A win Tuesday would give the Patriots their first MTE title since the 2019 Cayman Islands Classic.

• George Mason improved to 6-0 for the first time in school history with Monday's 92-69 Sunshine Slam semifinal win over Ohio. The Patriots led by as many as 42 points (83-41).

• Kory Mincy led the Patriots with a game-high 22 points, to go with four assists and a career-best six triples on just 11 attempts.He's shooting a sizzling 55.9 percent from 3pt range on the year.

• Jahari Long added a personal-best eight assists and chipped in nine points (3-5 3pt). He is averaging 6.5 assists over George Mason's past two games.

• Masai Troutman also tallied a highly-efficient 18-point night (7-10 FG, 4-4 3pt) and grabbed five rebounds. He's averaging 19.0 points and shooting 60 percent over the past two games.

• Tony Skinn's Patriot Pressure defense has returned this season, as the Green & Gold rank 17th nationally in effective FG defense (.426) and 43rd in overall defensive efficiency (0.997 ppp).

• The Patriots made a season-high 14 3-pointers on 31 attempts (.464) vs. the Bobcats and now lead the A-10 in 3pt percentage (.398, 47-118) on the year.

• Skinn, the 2025 A-10 Coach of the Year, sports an overall win percentage of .716 (53-21) and is at 66.7 percent (24-12) in A-10 games over his first three seasons. The Nov. 11 victory made Skinn the fastest coach in program history to reach 50 victories.

• The Patriots have battled the injury bug in the early going this season. Fatt Hill returned Monday after missing the first five games (leg), while preseason All-A-10 First Team pick Brayden O'Connor (foot) has played just 14 minutes due to a foot injury. Masai Troutman (ankle) also missed two of the first three contests.

• Hill, a dynamic offensive player and defender, played 20 minutes in his George Mason debut Monday while notching 13 points (5-8 FG) and a game-high nine rebounds.

• George Mason ranks 23rd nationally in FT rate (.504) and gets 25.1 percent of its points from the charity stripe (46th nationally).

MID-MAJOR FINAL FOUR PROGRAMS MATCH UP TUESDAY
Tuesday's game features two programs with memorable mid-major runs to the NCAA Final Four. The Patriots became the first modern Cinderella to reach the Final Four in 2006, while the Owls made their run in 2023 under Dusty May.

HISTORY vs. FLORIDA ATLANTIC
Tuesday's game marks the third all time matchup between George Mason and Florida Atlantic in men's basketball. The two teams played a home-and-home series in 2010 and 2011 and split a pair of meetings. The Patriots won the inaugural meeting 66-51 in Fairfax on Nov. 27, 2010. The Owls then captured the return game, 80-75, in overtime on Nov. 19, 2011, in Boca Raton. During the win in Fairfax, Mike Morrison tallied 18 points and seven rebounds, while Luke Hancock added 14 points and a game-high seven assists. It marked the 250th career victory at George Mason for Jim Larrañaga.

HISTORY vs. AAC OPPONENTS
Mason has tallied a 46-24 all-time record against opponents from the American Athletic Conference. The bulk of those contests came against East Carolina (34-16) when both programs were a part of the CAA. The Patriots' other most common AAC foes are Tulane (4-1) and Wichita State (3-2). In the most recent matchup with an AAC foe, George Mason knocked off the Green Wave 76-64 on Dec. 7 last season in Fairfax.

HISTORY IN FLORIDA MTEs
George Mason has posted a 6-5 all-time record in multi-team events played in Florida. Mason previously competed in the 2007 Old Spice Classic in Orlando (2-1), 2016 Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero (2-1), 2018 Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville (0-2), 2023 Jacksonville Classic in St. Augustine (1-1) and 2025 Sunshine Slam in Daytona Beach (1-0). In the Old Spice Classic, the Patriots defeated Michael Beasley-led #18 Kansas State (87-77) and South Carolina (69-68).

A LOOK AT THE OWLS (5-1, 0-0 AAC; KenPom #105)
Florida Atlantic was picked to finish sixth in the 2025-26 AAC Preseason Poll. The Owls have won five of their first six contests, including a season-opening victory at Boston College on Nov. 3. The Owls shoot nearly 39 percent from 3pt range on the year vs. Div. I foes (top-50 nationally) and use their size on the defensive end to limit opponents to 47.1 percent from inside the arc (79th nationally). FAU also leads the AAC in blocks/game (6.6). Sophomore Devin Vanterpool leads the Owls in scoring (16.2 ppg) and shoots 51.6 percent from the floor. Kanaan Carlyle adds 14.0 points/contest while Isaiah Elohim also averages double figures (11.2 ppg) for FAU.

UP NEXT
The Patriots return home for the program's 102nd all time meeting with Commonwealth rival James Madison. George Mason will host JMU on Saturday at 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast regionally on Monumental Sports Network and streamed nationally on ESPN+.