WHERE: Cassell Coliseum - Blacksburg, Va. 
WHEN: Saturday, 3 p.m.
RECORDS: George Mason (9-0), Virginia Tech (7-2)
SERIES: Series tied, 1-1
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FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason University men's basketball team (9-0) hits the road for an in-state showdown with Virginia Tech (7-2) on Saturday in Blacksburg.

Tip-off between the Patriots and Hokies is set for 3 p.m. Saturday's game will be streamed nationally on ACC Network Extra, featuring commentary from Evan Hughes and Mack McCarthy. In addition, Voice of the Patriots Bill Rohland will call the game on the GoMason Digital Network, with streaming coverage beginning at 2:45 p.m.

PATRIOT POINTS
• The Patriots are 9-0 for the first time in school history. George Mason is one of 15 remaining unbeaten teams nationally.

• The Green & Gold are coming off a 99-81 victory over Cornell Tuesday night in Fairfax. GMU shot 70 percent in the second half and held a +16 (57-41) scoring advantage in the period.

• Malik Presley led the Green & Gold with a career-best 17 points (7-10 FG, 3-5 3pt) vs. the Big Red. He was one of six Patriots who reached double figures in the win.

• Jahari Long scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half to go with four assists, while Kory Mincy posted 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

• Mincy ranks fourth nationally in FT percentage (.976) and 10th in 3pt percentage (.509). He leads the A-10 in scoring (19.2 ppg), while ranking second in 3pt FG made/game (3.0) and sixth in assists (3.6/game). He also leads the league in minutes/game (34:49).

• GMU leads the A-10 and ranks fourth nationally in 3pt percentage (.419). The Patriots are shooting 46.5 percent (46-99) from deep over the past five games.

• After averaging 14.4 turnovers/game over the first five contests of the season, the Patriots have tallied a much-improved 8.8 turnovers/game over the past four games.

• Skinn, the 2025 A-10 Coach of the Year, sports an overall win percentage of .727 (56-21) 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.

• George Mason ranks 10th nationally in FT rate (.528) and makes 21.4 free throws/game (12th in the country).

• Kory Mincy is the reigning Atlantic 10 Player of the Week after averaging 23.0 points, 3.7 assists, 1.0 steals and shooting 53.8 percent from the floor in wins over Ohio, FAU and JMU. He also went 12-of-25 from 3-point range (.480), 15-of-15 from the free throw line and sported a 5.5 assist/turnover ratio.

• A win Saturday would give the Patriots their first victory over an ACC foe since a 63-59 home victory over Virginia on Nov. 9, 2012. It would be George Mason's first win over a Power 4 program since the team's 80-67 win at Georgia on Dec. 18, 2021.

• The Patriots enter Saturday's game ranked 40th in the NET. GMU also is No. 58 in KenPom.

SECOND HALF SUCCESS
The Patriots have been a second half team this season. GMU holds a +6.4 scoring margin in first halves, shoots 45.4 percent from the floor and holds opponents to 40.4 percent (.325 3pt). That improves to a +11.2 scoring margin and 54.0 shooting percentage in second halves, while holding foes to 38.9 percent overall and 26.6 percent from beyond the arc.

HISTORY vs. VIRGINIA TECH
The Patriots and Hokies have met just twice on the basketball court, with both matchups coming during the 1991-92 campaign. George Mason dropped a 76-64 contest in Blacksburg on Dec. 4, 1991, and won the return game in Fairfax (54-53) on February 10, 1992, inside EagleBank Arena.

HISTORY vs. ACC OPPONENTS
George Mason is 4-25 all time against teams currently in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Mason's most common opponents are Virginia (1-8), Louisville (0-4) and Duke (0-4). In the most recent matchup with an ACC foe, the Patriots dropped a 68-47 contest at No. 5/5 Duke on Dec. 17 last season inside Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mason's win against Virginia came 12 seasons ago, when the Patriots defeated the Cavaliers 63-59 to open the 2012-13 season in front of a sold-out EagleBank Arena crowd of 9,840. But perhaps the Patriots' most memorable victory over an ACC team came in 2006, when George Mason defeated No. 3 seed North Carolina in the NCAA second round during the program's iconic run to the Final Four.

A LOOK AT THE HOKIES (7-2, 0-0 ACC; NET #68, KenPom #73)
Virginia Tech was picked to finish 12th out of 18 teams in the 2025-26 ACC preseason poll. The Hokies are 7-2 to start the campaign, with top-100 KenPom wins over Providence (107-101, OT), Colorado State (66-64) and at South Carolina (86-83, OT). The Hokies turn it over on just 12.2 percent of possessions (second nationally) and commit only 14.9 fouls/game (26th in the country). Amani Hansberry leads VT with 16.3 points/game and is third in the ACC in double-doubles (4). Greek export Neoklis Avdalas adds 13.7 points and is seventh in the ACC with 5.0 assists/contest, while Jaden Schutt (10.4 ppg, 43.4 3pt FG%) and Jailen Bedford (10.1 ppg) also average double figures. Former VCU standout Tobi Lawal (12.8 ppg, 10.3 rpg) sustained an injury during the Battle 4 Atlantis and is unexpected to play on Saturday.

UP NEXT
George Mason returns home to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the 2006 Final Four run on December 13 vs. Old Dominion. Tip-off between the Patriots and Monarchs is set for 12:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast nationally on USA Network. At halftime, former head coach Jim  Larrañaga's banner will be raised into the rafters of EagleBank Arena.