[PREVIEW] Mason looks to start new home winning streak as Old Dominion visits the Patriot Center

The George Mason University men's basketball team returns home to the Patriot Center tonight to take the Old Dominion Monarchs at 7 p.m. in their third Colonial Athletic Association matchup.

Mason (8-6, 1-1 CAA) is coming off of a 73-66 road game win against William & Mary, in which Sherrod Wright scored a career-high 28 points as the Patriots rallied in the second half to beat the Tribe. Wright continues to lead his team in scoring for the season, averaging 18.2 points per game.

Sophomore guard Corey Edwards is emerging as a key contributor for the Patriots. In their last game, Edwards added 10 points and five assists for his team while seeing a solid 33 minutes of play.  

Old Dominion (2-13, 0-3 CAA) is 0-4 on the road this season, with only two wins on their record coming against Morgan State at home, and against the University of Virginia at the Richmond Coliseum in the Governor’s Holiday Hoops Classic. The Monarchs are coming off of an 84-72 loss to the University of Delaware. 6’1” freshman guard Keenan Palmer was the top scorer for the Monarchs with 14 points, and led four ODU players in double digits. Senior 6’9” center DeShawn Painter, a NC State transfer, leads his team in scoring for the season, averaging 11.6 points per game and 8.3 rebounds.

The last match-up between these two teams was last February, resulting in a 54-50 George Mason win. Since their last match-up, both teams have seen the departures of their star senior players. Eight different ODU players have started at least five games this season. Junior Dante Hill is the only player to start in all 15 games this season, and ranks third in the CAA in steals (2.0 steals per game).

The Monarchs lead the CAA in rebound margin (+5.7 rebounds per game), which is where they will provide the biggest threat to the Patriots. Painter has already posted five double-doubles for the Monarchs so far this season. ODU has a talented freshmen class, led by Palmer and Aaron Bacote, and despite ODU’s record on the season, this is a physical team that continues to grow and improve with each additional game played.

Mason throughout the season seems to be playing up or down to the level of their competition. This match-up shows several characteristics of what could be a trap-game for the Patriots. Mason needs to set the tone early and maintain their intensity throughout the entire game if they expect to walk away with a second conference win. 

Photo by John Irwin