FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason University men's basketball team will battle Ohio University on November 24 as the first of two games in the Sunshine Slam.
 
As part of the Beach Bracket portion of the event, the Patriots and Bobcats will compete at 6 p.m. at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Fla. The contest will be broadcast nationally on CBS Sports Network.
 
Tickets may be purchased in advance at Ticketmaster.com or on the day of competition at the Ocean Center box office.
 
Depending on the results of the Nov. 24 matchups in the Sunshine Slam, the Patriots will then move on to play either Florida Atlantic or Loyola Marymount on Nov. 25. That contest will tip at either 5 or 7:30 p.m. and also will be broadcast on CBSSN.
 
In addition to the neutral site games at the Ocean Center, the Sunshine Slam features four on-campus games. Each team from the Beach Bracket will host an Ocean Bracket team prior to the event. As part of those opening games, George Mason will host Jacksonville on Tuesday, Nov. 18 inside EagleBank Arena.
 
The Nov. 24 contest will mark the third all time matchup between George Mason and Ohio University in men's basketball. The two programs previously met during the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons as part of an ESPN Bracketbusters home-and-home series. The Bobcats won in Athens on Feb. 23, 2008, with the Patriots winning the return game in Fairfax (74-65) on Nov. 29, 2008.

The Patriots' full 2025-26 non-conference schedule will be announced in the coming weeks.
 
ABOUT THE PATRIOTS
Led by 2025 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year Tony Skinn ('06), the George Mason Patriots are coming off the best season in the program's A-10 history. The Patriots earned a share of their first-ever A-10 regular season title, tallied the program's first NIT victory since 2004 and notched a school record-tying 27 overall victories. GMU also set a new school record for Atlantic 10 league victories (15) and reached the conference title game for the first time since 2009.
 
Senior guard Brayden O'Connor (9.1 ppg, 3.0 apg, 37.6 3pt FG%) returns from that squad and will join a talented roster of transfer players and incoming freshmen in 2025-26. 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).