As a part of their two home games to start the season, George Mason (0-1) is ready to take on the Eagles of American University for their first win of the season. This comes after Mason’s disappointing loss to the UPenn Quakers on Tuesday by a score of 72-71.
As a former CAA team themselves, this will be the 42nd showdown between the old conference rivals.
During this 41 game series so far, Mason is 17-3 on the home court, 11-7 on the road, and 3-0 on neutral sites. If Mason were to win today, it would mark the 14th straight victory for the Patriots in this series.
Breaking Down American U
During the 2017-2018 season, the Eagles finished with a record of 6-24. However, it should be noted that American had, and possibly still has, one of the youngest teams in the country.
For this season, under the direction of head coach Mike Brennan, American returns all five starters from last season, most notably, 2018 Patriot League Preseason Player of the year, Sa’eed Nelson.
The season that Nelson had last year, was quite good, he was the Patriot League’s top returning scorer (18.6 ppg), scoring in double figures in 28 of 29 of American’s games. He has led American in scoring in his first two seasons scoring 14.9 ppg as a freshman and 18.6 ppg as a sophomore. He also finished second in the Patriot League in assists per game with 5.1 and third in steals per game with 1.8.
The Patriots last faced off against American at home five years ago on Nov. 8, 2013, where the Patriots took the game by a sheer three points (63-60).
Breaking Down Mason
After their loss to UPenn on Tuesday, the Patriots will look to bounce back, to fight for their first win of the season.
In his debut for Mason, Jarred Reuter scored the most points with 15, despite only playing 17 minutes of the game. This, in return, was actually a career-high for Reuter in scoring, even throughout his time at UVa.
RELATED: A majority of Jarred Reuter’s Mason debut spent on the bench
Justin Kier and Otis Livingston II each a had a great game against UPenn with 12 points.
Livingston went 5-11 from the field and Kier went 6-12, recorded eight rebounds, and three steals in his 32 minutes of playing time.
What Mason Should Focus On
With a little help from our good pal @peteybuckets, here’s what Mason struggled with and did well, in the UPenn game.
Quick thread to help Mason fans step away from the ledge:
– Reuter is legit
– AJ and Javon looked like the best versions of themselves from last year
– Sloppy turnovers were totally uncharacteristic of a Paulsen team— Petey Buckets (@peteybuckets) November 7, 2018
– Grayer and Reuter limited minutes w/foul trouble
– 3pt shooting has to improve
– Defense has gotten a lot better over the season every year Dave has been here
– Penn is actually pretty good— Petey Buckets (@peteybuckets) November 7, 2018
A *lot* of the issues you saw tonight will be fixed by Go becoming a little more assertive or a couple three-balls falling.
— Petey Buckets (@peteybuckets) November 7, 2018
This is clearly a team with a lot of nice pieces – needs to figure out how to step on throats though. Tournament teams can’t lose home games up 9 mid 2H.
— Petey Buckets (@peteybuckets) November 7, 2018
If we can improve on shooting the three ball, and also stay out of foul trouble, we should be fine against American.
I’m just hoping what we saw in the last two minutes of the UPenn does not become a trend this year.
READ MORE: Shook to the Core: The Quakers defeat Mason 72-71
Next week the Patriots will be on the road for the first time this year playing Georgia Southern on Nov. 13.
