Report: George Mason to play in the 2019 Cayman Islands Classic

According to a report, George Mason will continue their streak of playing in early season tournaments by playing in the 2019 Cayman Islands Classic.

The report came from CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein (as much you want to ignore him on Twitter).

Sources: South Florida, Loyola-Chicago, New Mexico State, Colorado State, Old Dominion, George Mason, and Washington State will headline the 2019 Cayman Islands Classic. Event is still attempting to confirm an eighth team.

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) January 16, 2019

This will be the first time ever that George Mason was named to the event.

It will not be a star studded field like this year’s Emerald Coast Classic. However, several of these teams will not only be great opponents, but great wins if the Patriots can close some out.

Of course, Loyola-Chicago is still off of their Final Four season from a year ago. New Mexico State is another really interesting team that will likely make the NCAA Tournament again. (Here’s a quick write up on them I did for NBC Sports Washington last year). Additionally, Old Dominion and South Florida are also both competing in their respective conferences this year and will likely play in the postseason.

The eighth team is likely going to be a Power 5 team of some sorts. Washington State probably has one of the worst basketball draws of all of the Power 5 teams. Especially when their fans have the farthest to travel of all of the continental-U.S. colleges and universities.

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This year they had Clemson (ACC) and Georgia (SEC). Expect a Big Ten or Big 12 team to fit the rotation.

(If someone begs me on Twitter – @theTylerByrum or in the comment section, I’ll narrow the field down.)

It will mark the 11th season in a row that the Patriots have played in an early season showcase tournament. George Mason in one every year since the 2008-09 season.