George Mason heads to Maryland to play the No. 6 ranked Terrapins before they leave for the Cayman Islands Classic.
That’s right, just four days before the Cayman Islands Classic, George Mason (5-0) will play No. 6 Maryland (4-0). This will be the Patriots’ first AP ranked matchup of the season. That being said, the Patriots are 2-10 all time against Top-10 AP ranked teams.
If the Patriots were to win this contest, it would be the first time they’ve been a top-10 team since……….UConn. Yes, remember that Cinderella run back in 2006 that the students now have turned into a meme? That was the last time we have beaten a team like this.
This will be the ninth meeting between these two teams, the Patriots have not won a single one of them. I don’t know if I can say the same result won’t happen tonight.
Breaking Down Maryland
The Terrapins were picked to finish second in the conference according to the preseason poll.
This would be a monumental game for the Patriots if they won this game. Why’s that? Maryland is 44-4 in non-conference home games at the XFINITY Center in the past 5+ seasons. The Terps are 34-6 overall at home over the last 2+ seasons.
Terrapins struggle from behind the arc, shooting only 29%. This places them at 271st in the nation. However, as the Patriots saw against Loyola, they can defend the three, but can’t defend in the paint.
Two players to look out for are:
Jalen Smith, who averages team highs in points (15.0 ppg), rebounds (9.3 rpg), shoots 54.8 percent from the floor and is a 6-10 guard.
Point guard Anthony Cowan, who adds with 12.3 points per game and a team-best 5.5 assists per game.
Under the radar player for Maryland:
Ricky Lindo Jr. – he had 13 points most recently against Fairfield, so we’ll see if he has the same effect against Mason.
Breaking Down Mason
After Mason’s 65-61 win on Tuesday against Loyola (Md.), they are now on a five-game winning streak. The best start in school history. (Which I attribute to the weakness of schedule, but who am I to judge.)
Jordan Miller led Mason with 23 points while making a career-best 11-of-13 free throw attempts. He’s averaging 20 points and 6.3 rebounds over the past three games. He is taking 14.0 shots/game over the past three games after averaging 5.5 over the first two this season.
AJ Wilson recorded his second double-double (12 pts, 11 reb) of the 2019-20 season. Wilson is fifth in the country in blocks per game (3.8) and seventh nationally in offensive rebounds per game (4.8).
There is one striking stat. Through four games, Mason is grabbing an offensive rebound on 37.6 percent of missed shots (28th nationally). However, the Patriots also have given up their fair share of offensive boards (32.1%, 260th). Oof.
The game is set to tip-off at 7:00 ET and is available to watch on Big Ten Network.
My Prediction: A Mason “L”
(Hopefully not by more than 30 points)
