WHERE: PPG Paints Arena - Pittsburgh, Pa.
WHEN: Thursday, 2 p.m.
RECORDS: #5 George Mason (23-8, 11-7), #13 St. Bonaventure (16-16, 4-14)
SERIES: George Mason trails, 8-12
TELEVISION: USA Network
LIVE VIDEO: Click here
LIVE AUDIO: Click here
LIVE STATS: Click here
TICKETS: Click here
GAME NOTES: Click here (PDF)

PREGAME ALUMNI RECEPTION: Must register in advance (Click here)

PITTSBURGH - The George Mason University men's basketball team (23-8, 11-7) opens the A-10 Championship Thursday in Pittsburgh.

The Patriots begin play in the second round vs. No. 13 St. Bonaventure. Tip-off inside PPG Paints Arena is set for 2 p.m. Thursday's game will be televised nationally on USA Network, featuring commentary from Steve Burkowski, Tim McCormick and Marty Snider. In addition, Voice of the Patriots Bill Rohland will call the game on the GoMason Digital Network, with streaming coverage beginning at 1:45 p.m.

PATRIOT POINTS
• George Mason is the only A-10 team to defeat the league's top-3 teams (SLU, VCU, Saint Joseph's) during the regular season. It's the first time the program has accomplished the feat during its A-10 era.

• Since the start of the 2024-25 season, Mason ranks second in the A-10 and t-3rd nationally in total wins (50). This season, GMU is one of just 49 programs nationally to have 23+ victories.

• George Mason is an impressive 28-10 (.737) in its last 38 A-10 games dating back to the 2023-24 campaign.

• Juniors Kory Mincy and Riley Allenspach were named to the All-Atlantic 10 Second Team on Wednesday.

• Last time out, the Patriots surged past #25/24 Saint Louis, 86-57, on Saturday in Fairfax. It marked the largest victory margin by an unranked team over a ranked team in the nation this season and 14th largest margin for an unranked team over an AP Top-25 team since the poll began in 1949.

• Jahari Long led the Patriots with game highs in points (21) and assists (9) to go with just one turnover vs. the Billikens. Long joins Otis Livingston II as the only Patriots to have a 20+ point, 8+ assist game dating back to the 2004-05 campaign.

• Mincy added 15 points (6-11 FG), five assists, five rebounds and three steals in the win. He's battled through his thumb injury since the Feb. 4 game vs. Duquesne and is rounding back into form, averaging 16.5 points and shooting 60 percent from 3pt range over the past two contests.

• Allenspach chipped in 13 points vs. SLU. Over the past four games, he's averaging 18.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and shooting 59.6 percent (.500 3pt).

• The Patriots are 12-0 when holding their opponent to under 40 percent shooting this season. George Mason also is a perfect 15-0 when winning the turnover battle and 11-0 when scoring 80+ points in 2025-26.

• GMU is 2-0 on neutral floors this season, with both wins (Ohio, Florida Atlantic) coming in the 2025 Sunshine Slam.

• Head coach Tony Skinn ('06), the 2025 A-10 Coach of the Year, sports an overall win percentage of .707 (70-29) and is at 64.8 percent (35-19) in A-10 games over his first three seasons.

• Skinn is the first George Mason head coach in school history to win 20+ games in three consecutive seasons. With a victory Thursday, the Patriots would tie the school record for combined wins in back-to-back seasons (51, 2011-13).

• The Patriots enter Thursday's game ranked 89th in the NET. GMU also is No. 94 in KenPom.

GEORGE MASON CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
The Patriots have posted a 43-48 (.473) all-time record in conference postseason events, including a 37-38 record (.493) in the Div. I era. Mason was 4-8 in NAIA District 19 events and 1-2 in the Mason-Dixon Conference (Div. II), before joining the Div. I ranks (1978-79). In its Div. I history, Mason was 1-4 in ECAC South postseason contests and 29-23 all-time in CAA Tournament games. The Patriots are 8-12 all time in Atlantic 10 postseason contests. Mason is 1-4 in the A-10 first round, 5-2 in the second round, 1-5 in the quarterfinals, 1-0 in the semifinals and 0-1 in the championship game. The Patriots have won four postseason conference tournament championships in program history, all during the CAA era (1989, 1999, 2001, 2008).

PATRIOTS LOOK TO REACH TITLE GAME FOR SECOND-STRAIGHT SEASON
Last season's George Mason team reached the program's first ever A-10 semifinal and championship game. That team also won two A-10 Tournament games for the first time in school history. During that run in Washington, D.C., the second-seeded Patriots defeated No. 7 GW in the quarterfinals, No. 6 Saint Joseph's in the semifinals and narrowly lost to No. 1 VCU 68-63 in the title game. With GMU down three (66-63) with under 10 seconds to go, a 3-point attempt from Zach Anderson went in and out, allowing the Rams to hold on for the victory and capture the championship title.

HISTORY AS NO. 5 SEED
George Mason is 3-4 all-time as the No. 5 seed in its conference tournament history. That includes 1-1 records in the 2018, 2019 and 2023 A-10 Championships and an 0-1 mark in the 1987 CAA Championship.

HISTORY vs. ST. BONAVENTURE
Thursday's game will mark the 21st all-time meeting between Mason and SBU. The Bonnies hold a 12-8 advantage in the series, although the Patriots have won five of the past six meetings. The Bonnies won the only previous A-10 Tournament matchup between the teams, 68-57, during the 2019 Quarterfinals in Brooklyn. The Patriots swept two regular season meetings in 2025-26. GMU erased a 13-point Bonnies' lead with seven minutes to go en route to a 77-73 win in the Reilly Center on Jan. 31. The Patriots won the return game in Fairfax, 71-58, on Feb. 28.

UP NEXT
With a victory on Thursday, George Mason will advance to the A-10 Quarterfinals Friday against No. 4 seed Dayton. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. and the game will be televised on USA Network.