WHERE: EagleBank Arena - Fairfax, Va.
WHEN: Saturday, 4 p.m.
RECORDS: George Mason (13-1, 1-0), Rhode Island (9-5, 0-1)
SERIES: George Mason leads, 9-8
TELEVISION: USA Network
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LIVE AUDIO: Click here
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GAME NOTES: Click here (PDF)

FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason University men's basketball team (13-1, 1-0) opens its A-10 home slate with a Saturday contest against Rhode Island (9-5, 0-1).

Tip-off between the Patriots and Rams is set for 4 p.m. Saturday's game will be broadcast nationally on USA Network, featuring commentary from Jason Knapp and Zendon Hamilton. In addition, Voice of the Patriots Bill Rohland will call the game on the GoMason Digital Network, with streaming coverage beginning at 3:45 p.m.

PATRIOT POINTS
• The Patriots rallied from 10 down with 10:42 remaining to open A-10 play with an 80-75 victory at La Salle. GMU was +12 (45-33) in the second half and shot 56.5 percent in the stanza.

• Wednesday's win improved the Patriots to 13-1 for the first time in program history. GMU is one of just 14 programs nationally to have 14 or more wins.

• The Patriots began the season 9-0 for the first time in school history and captured 12 non-league victories. GMU last won 12 non-conference games in 1983-84 (when the team played just 10 league games) and had not accomplished the feat in the program's CAA or A-10 eras (1985-present).

• Two-time A-10 Player of the Week Kory Mincy scored 18 of his team-high 21 points in the second half against the Explorers and dished out a team-best four assists.

• Mincy leads the A-10 in scoring (18.1 ppg), is fifth in assist/turnover ratio (2.36) and is seventh in assists per contest (3.7). He ranks eighth nationally in FT percentage (.940) and 39th in 3pt percentage (.438).

• Emmanuel Kanga posted a career-high 17 points (7-8 FG) and eight rebounds in Wednesday's win, while Stas Sivka tallied a personal-best five rebounds and was +14 in 12 minutes.

• George Mason made history on Wednesday by committing 0 turnovers during the 40-minute game. It's just the fifth time nationally since 2004 a team has finished a game with 0 turnovers.

• The Patriots rank second in the A-10 in turnovers/game (10.6) and have averaged just 8.4 over the past nine games.

• GMU ranks 63rd nationally in 3pt percentage (.366). However, over the past five games, the Patriots are 22-of-85 (.259) from beyond the arc.

• Skinn, the 2025 A-10 Coach of the Year, sports an overall win percentage of .732 (60-22) and is at 67.6 percent (25-12) 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 Green & Gold rank fifth nationally in FT rate (.498) and make 20.6 free throws/game (ninth in the country). On the other end of the floor, the Patriots commit just 14.9 fouls per contest (26th-best nationally).

• The Patriots are 10-0 at home this season and 42-5 (.894) inside EagleBank Arena over Coach Skinn's first three seasons.

• George Mason is 8-0 when the team scores 80+ points this season and 24-0 when the team reaches the 80-point plateau under Skinn.

• The Patriots enter Saturday's game ranked 83rd in the NET. GMU also is No. 90 in KenPom.

SECOND HALF SUCCESS
George Mason outscored La Salle 45-33 in the second half Wednesday, continuing the trend of the Patriots as a second half team this season. GMU holds a +3.1 scoring margin in first halves, shoots 44.9 percent from the floor and holds opponents to 43.3 percent (.350 3pt). That improves significantly to a +9.4 scoring margin and 52.7 shooting percentage in second halves, while holding foes to 39.0 percent overall and 30.6 percent from beyond the arc. The Patriots have outscored their opponent in the second half in 13 of 14 games in 2025-26.

2025 A YEAR TO REMEMBER FOR THE PATRIOTS
George Mason began 2025 by capturing the first A-10 regular season title in program history, advancing to its first conference championship game since 2009 and capturing an NIT victory for the first time since 2004. The Patriots have followed that up with a 13-1 start to the 2025-26 campaign. George Mason posted a 30-6 (.833) record in games played during the calendar year of 2025.

GEORGE MASON IMPROVES TO 7-6 IN A-10 DEBUTS
George Mason improved to 7-6 all time in A-10 openers after Wednesday's comeback win at La Salle. The Patriots have won five of their past six and six of the past eight dating back to the 2018-19 season. GMU is 3-0 in A-10 debuts under head coach Tony Skinn ('06).

HISTORY vs. RHODE ISLAND
Saturday's matchup marks the 18th all-time meeting between Mason and Rhode Island. The Patriots lead the series 9-8 and have won five of the past six matchups. GMU holds a 5-3 edge in Fairfax. Last season, the two teams split a pair of meetings. Rhode Island won 62-59 in Kingston on Jan. 4, while the Patriots captured the return game in Fairfax, 82-67, on Feb. 8.

A LOOK AT THE RAMS (9-5, 0-1 A-10; NET #136, KenPom #116)
Rhode Island was picked to finish 12th in the 2025-26 A-10 preseason poll. The Rams went 9-4 in non-conference play, highlighted by a home win over top-100 foe Yale (86-77). The Rams opened A-10 action with a 61-57 home loss to Loyola Chicago on Wednesday. URI leads the A-10 and ranks 22nd nationally in steals/game (9.9) while forcing 15.5 turnovers per contest (36th in the nation). Jonah Hinton ranks eighth in the league in scoring (15.6 ppg) and is first in 3pt FG made/game (3.07), while Tyler Cochran adds 12.4 points/contest and is fifth in the country in steals/game (3.21). Jahmere Tripp, who did not play vs. Loyola Chicago, chips in12.0 points/game and shoots 48.6 percent from the floor.

UP NEXT
George Mason hits the road for a Wednesday night contest at Fordham. Tip-off in the Bronx is set for 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.