By Palmer Johnson
Your George Mason Patriots defeated the Rhode Island Rams to the tune of 69 to 51 to move on to 19-11 and 8-9 in conference play. This means a win against Richmond would put them at .500. At this point, I would be very pleased with that.
For my KenPom enjoyers, this game got Mason back in the top 100 (they’re 100).
Darius Maddox went off. 21 points, 5-10 from three, 7-13 from the field, 6 rebounds. C’mon now, that is just ridiculous. The Rhode Island announcers were questioning his shot selection as he took a contested three. Clearly, they missed that part of the scouting report.
Not just a shooter 🤷♂️#PatriotPressure pic.twitter.com/sRlRgjqPm8
— George Mason Men's Basketball (@MasonMBB) March 7, 2024
#AutoMaddox has been the player of the game in back-to-back now with Keyshawn Hall out. If this continues, watch out Brooklyn. Mason may have found a number one scoring option.
BOOM 💥 #PatriotPressure pic.twitter.com/y2BZYcTFWF
— George Mason Men's Basketball (@MasonMBB) March 7, 2024
Woody Newton enjoyers stand up. The newly starting wing/forward was everywhere on both ends of the court. 9 points on 10 shots may be a little less efficient than you would like, but this was an aggressive Woody we haven’t seen since the GW blowout. More importantly, Newton grabbed 9 boards and played great defense. There was one play where he got switched onto Jaden House, who thought he had an advantage. He didn’t. Woody forced the Rhody guard to take a contested mid-range fadeaway.
Woody to the tin!@Woody4x_ | #PatriotPressure pic.twitter.com/54BIFrrQX8
— George Mason Men's Basketball (@MasonMBB) March 7, 2024
This was an extremely solid game from Ronald Polite. I don’t care if he shot 0-6 from three, that’s a fluke. What’s more important was that he was driving to the rim and taking what the defense gave him. And 0 turnovers. That’s good too.
Welcome back, RPIII! 💪@ronnypolite | #PatriotPressure pic.twitter.com/Ebz5ikeFNq
— George Mason Men's Basketball (@MasonMBB) March 7, 2024
This was a five-point play by Polite by the way. And-three? This play really sealed the game, as Rhody had made a little bit of progress, but an instant five points squashed that.
Amari Kelly answered his stinker with a pretty good game. 18 points, 7-13 from the field, 2-3 from three, 6 rebounds, and held the Rams to 34.4% shooting from two. Mason shot higher from three.
Shoutout to the guards and Woody Newton for holding Jaden House to 0-4.
Some former Patriots stopped by to see the victory.
Ran into a couple local Mason alums. pic.twitter.com/g3IxjIsBQE
— Chris Durlak (@cdurlak) March 7, 2024
It may be hard to read, but Mason can be the 7, 8, or 9 seed. Most importantly, they cannot be the 10 seed.
A-10 Tournament Seeding – The Final 128 Scenarios: pic.twitter.com/HfwlvSRG2i
— Matt Hackman (@mjhackman) March 7, 2024
Next up, Senior Day against Richmond.
