As George Mason heads to Florida for the Emerald Coast Classic to take on the reigning AAC tournament champion.
That’s right, in the opening round of the Emerald Coast Classic, George Mason (2-3) will play Cincinnati (3-1). This will be the Patriots’ first AAC matchup of the season, with more to come possibly on Saturday.
If the Patriots were to win this contest, they would face the winner of the Baylor/Ole Miss game and vice versa.
This will be the second meeting between these two teams, the first coming in the first round of the 1999 NCAA Tournament with Mason falling to Cincinnati 72-48.
Breaking Down Cincinnati
The Bearcats were picked to finish second in the conference according to the preseason poll.
Two players to keep an eye out for are Jarron Cumberland and Nysier Brooks.
Jarron Cumberland was selected as a AAC Preseason First-Team All-Conference player this year. He has recorded three 20-point performances in his last six games dating back to the 2018 NCAA Tournament, including a season-high 27 points twice.
Nysier Brooks has recorded back-to-back double-doubles: Milwaukee (12 points, 11 rebounds) and Western Michigan (15 points 10 rebounds).
Two notable stats about Cincinnati are that they are one of four programs to win 30 or more games each of the past two seasons. Additionally, Cincinnati is one of six schools in the nation to have appeared in the last eight NCAA Tournaments, joining Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Michigan State and North Carolina.
Breaking Down Mason
After Mason’s 78-63 win on Tuesday against NC Central, they are now on a two-game winning streak.
Jarred Reuter had a breakout game shooting for a career-best 24 points, going 10-13 from the field. If the Patriots have any chance of winning this game he will definitely have to step to the mark and perform like he did against NC Central.
RELATED: Jarred Reuter’s breakout night leads Mason past NC Central
Justin Kier and Ian Boyd both registered double figures in the previous game. Kier recorded 12 points (4th time this season) and Boyd recorded 11 points (3rd time this season).
For the first time in his 104-game collegiate career, Otis Livingston II recorded 0 points. Head coach Dave Paulsen did say the Otis contributed in other ways than scoring, he had 7 assists and 0 turnovers. He needs to have a breakout night if Mason wants to win.
The game is set to tip-off at 7:00 ET and is available to watch on CBS Sports Network.
My Prediction: A Mason “L”
