As a part of their three-game homestand, George Mason (9-1) is ready to take on the Eagles of American University (3-4) for their tenth win of the season. This comes after Mason’s win against Jacksonville State on Tuesday by a score of 67-60.
As a former CAA team themselves, this will be the 43rd showdown between the old conference rivals.
During this 42 game series so far, Mason is 17-4 on the home court, 11-7 on the road, and 3-0 on neutral sites. If Mason were to win today, it would inch them closer to tie their best start ever (12-1, 1983-84).
Breaking Down American U
During the 2018-2019 season, the Eagles finished with a record of 15-15, losing in the Patriot League Quarterfinals.
For this season, under the direction of head coach Mike Brennan, American returns 2019 Patriot League Preseason Player of the year, Sa’eed Nelson.
The season that Nelson is having this year, is quite good, he is the Patriot League’s top returning scorer (18.7 ppg), contributes with assists (4.2 apg) and is second in the country with 3.5 steals per contest. He has led American in scoring in his first three seasons scoring 14.9 ppg as a freshman and 18.6 ppg as a sophomore, and 18.7 ppg as a junior.
The Patriots last faced off against American at home last year on Nov. 9, 2018, where the Patriots lost in OT by a sheer three points (78-75).
Breaking Down Mason
After their win to JSU (not a state) on Tuesday, the Patriots will look to continue back, to fight for their first win of the season.
With six blocks vs. JSU, AJ Wilson moved into fifth place on Mason’s all-time blocks list (112) and has accumulated 40 blocks on the season (37 from the season record).
Jordan Miller was the highlight of the JSU game, in the first three minutes of the game, he recorded a three, an and-1 and a steal. He finished the night with 19 points, going 8-13 from the field, and recorded 5 rebounds. Hopefully, he keeps up the pace.
Justin Kier has seen more minutes after coming back from a foot fracture. Keep your eye on him going into the next two games.
After the Cayman hangover, the Patriots need to play as they did in their Thanksgiving tournament. It was not the same team that we saw on Tuesday.
The Patriots will play UMBC on Dec. 21, who American has beaten this season, and TCU away on Dec. 30. We’ll see how long this magic lasts and if it’ll be enough come conference play.
