Coach Dave Paulsen alluded to a third power five team scheduled for the 2018-2019 George Mason Basketball season during an interview on the By George Podcast (37:38).
Two of these teams will be neutral site games at the Emerald Coast Classic an Eight-team tournament hosted in Florida. According to Mason Athletics, Mason will host two opening round games in Fairfax drawing Cincinnati and the winner/loser of Ole Miss/Baylor. The remaining teams four teams have not been announced yet.
If we were to assume Ole Miss (SEC) and Baylor (Big XII) are two of the three power five opponents, that leaves one of eight possible opponents. The third team, according to Dave Paulsen, participated in the Elite Eight. Take away teams with tiny budgets and glass slippers we get a field of seven possible teams: Villanova, Kansas State, Texas Tech, Duke, Kansas, Michigan and Florida State. (Yes, we count Villanova as a power five in this scenario).
In no particular order, we are going to break down possible road game matchups.
1. Villanova
Villanova is no stranger to playing Atlantic 10 opponents with St Joe’s and La Salle being Big 5 rivals. They are also not afraid to schedule low mid-majors playing teams like Charleston, East Tennessee State, UMES and notably Bucknell. You know, Bucknell, that school where Paulsen used to coach. Nova in NOVA would be a great marketing slogan, but sadly if we were to schedule a game with the Wildcats it would be on the road.
Chances: 50%
2. Kansas State
Kansas State, a Big XII school, ran deep into the tournament while scheduling a good number of mid-major teams. Most of their non-conference schedule was comprised of the little guys. In the last ten years, Kansas State has only played three A-10 teams; Dayton, Saint Louis and George Washington. They really like the George Washington Colonials — the most scheduled A-10 team during that time period. Maybe they have a thing for Georges?
Changes: 60%
3. Texas Tech
Texas Tech is experiencing an A-10 drought. The only Atlantic 10 team they have played in the last 10+ years has been the University of Richmond which was a short home-away series. In recent years, they have scheduled lower quadrant teams so a team like Mason wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for the Red Raiders.
Chances: 60%
4. Duke
I know it’s far fetched, but we have played Duke before. After the 2006 Final Four season, Mason lost to Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Will the Blue Devils schedule the Patriots? Historically, Duke plays a couple mid-majors at home. The only A-10 teams to play at Duke in recent years have been Rhode Island, Saint Louis and state rival Davidson. Will Coach K and Coach P face off? Probably not, but who knows.
Chances: 10%
5. Kansas
Rock Chalk meets GMU-What? Kansas gets its Vitamin M through non-conference tournaments playing schools like Towson and Rhode Island at neutral sites. Richmond and Davidson have visited Allen Fieldhouse in the past. Will Kansas add Mason to their 2018-2019 slate? They have already scheduled a couple non-conference power fives and are participating in the NIT Season Tip-Off. This leaves their non-conference schedule a bit full with room for only a couple more games.
Chances: 20%
6. Michigan
Michigan is not afraid of scheduling mid-majors with a healthy percentage of their non-conference slates comprised of the little guys. Will Mason head to Ann Arbor this season? They don’t really schedule A-10 schools unless they’re part of a non-conference tournament. After a successful 17-18 season, they may want to schedule tougher but winnable mid-major games and the A-10 can offer that — although Mason could pull off an upset.
Chances: 50%
7. Florida State
The Seminoles love themselves some Atlantic 10 Basketball. In the last 10 seasons, Florida State has scheduled Fordham, George Washington, UMass, VCU, and La Salle. Will Mason be next on FSU’s A-10 list? Chris of the By George podcast seems to think so and so do I. The Emerald Coast Classic runs November 23-24th and George Mason’s Thanksgiving Break runs from November 21-25th — could Mason spend some extra time in Florida and play a pick-up game in Tallahassee? It’s possible.
Chances: 70%
