As a part of the second game at EagleBank Arena in the Emerald Coast Classic, George Mason will take on NC Central before they go on the road to Florida to take on Cincinnati and others.
The Patriots will look to capitalize on their first win against Southern to keep the momentum going through this game and the rest of the classic.
RELATED: The First of the Season: Mason beats Southern 69-65
This is the second meeting of these two teams, the first being Dec. 9 of last year. The Patriots won that game 77-65, hopefully they can repeat that performance.
Breaking Down NC Central
This will be the second time NC Central has competed compete in the Emerald Coast Classic, after playing in its inaugural year in 2014.
NC Central will also look to make it again to the NCAA Tournament this year, after receiving a bid to the big dance in three of the last five years, most recently receiving back-to-back berths. The Eagles are still looking for their first NCAA Tournament win.
This year the Eagles were picked to finish second of out 12 in the MEAC conference in the preseason poll.
In their most recent game on Sunday, Nov. 18, NC Central played Warren Wilson and set multiple school records. The Eagles won this game 123-57, setting their single-game record for most 3-pointers with 17 and the most assists with 34.
Players to look out for:
- Randy Miller – 18 ppg, 3.5 threes per game, 2.5 rpg.
- Raasean Davis – 13.5 ppg, 10.0 rpg.
- Reggie Gardner – 7.8 ppg, 2.3 threes per game, 2.3 apg.
(2018-2019 Stats)
Breaking Down Mason
To be honest, as I said in my recap of last game, the Southern game should have been a blowout. However, the Patriots need to get back to their winning ways in this next game against NC Central.
Some notable things from last game:
Otis scored a season-high 17 points, but has yet to hit a shot from behind the arc this season. I would have liked for that to come a long time ago.
Wilson scored 12 points and added a solid 11 rebounds, in his 27 minutes of play time. Hopefully he won’t miss this game due to injury, his absence would most definitely hurt Mason from the post position.
RELATED: A.J. Wilson is becoming the missing frontcourt player George Mason needs
Kier and Grayer both added 11 points and were both perfect from the charity stripe.
Hopefully Paulsen has figured out his lineup now after experimenting in the last game, it won’t look good for us if we don’t know what we’re doing when we leave for Florida.
My Prediction: A Mason “W”
