In the second leg of their 2-game road trip to Virginia’s capital, George Mason (13-9, 7-2) will take on Richmond (8-14, 2-7) to remain in the top-2 of the conference.
This contest will mark the 61st meeting overall between the Spiders and the Patriots, with Richmond leading the series 36-24. While Mason is 8-18 against the Spiders in Richmond, Mason has played tremendously on the road accumulating a 4-1 record in the A10.
Richmond has lost 5 of their last 6 games, winning against Saint Louis, and most recently losing to La Salle. They currently rank 12th in the A10, only ahead of 1-8 UMass, and 0-8 Fordham.
Currently sitting on their 7-2 record, Mason is ranked 2nd in the A10, after Dayton’s most recent loss to Saint Louis. The Patriots will have a great chance to stay in the top-4 of the conference if they can win their next couple easy games.
Breaking Down Richmond
Richmond has most recently snapped their 6-game losing streak against Mason after their 93-79 win in Fairfax last year. If the Spiders were to come out of this game with a victory it would be the first time Richmond has won two straight against the Patriots since 1997-1998.
One interesting stat is that 85 percent of Richmond’s points this season have come off the hands of their underclassmen, which is the sixth-highest rate in the country.
Players to watch:
Grant Golden is coming into this game as just one of 14 players in the NCAA averaging 17 points, seven rebounds, and three assists per game. However checking in at 6-10, he really struggles when it comes to rebounding. If Mason wants to beat Golden, they’ll have to protect the paint as this will be his office the entire game.
Jacob Gilyard has gone off recently putting up two straight 20-point games and is averaging 18.3 ppg in conference play. He leads the Spiders this season with 48 assists and 62 steals. He is 35 percent from three this season (46-129), so the Patriots will have to defend the perimeter to prevent another VCU debacle.
Nathan Cayo is averaging 13.3 points per game this season, 4.3 rpg, and sits second on the team with 20 blocks. We’ll see who matches up against the 6-7 forward; this would be a perfect matchup for AJ Wilson.
Breaking Down Mason
After falling to dreaded VCU Rams, the Patriots will look to continue their program-best A10 record.
First off, where is AJ Wilson? He’s been absent from the last couple games and would definitely be a resource for this game with the amount of height Richmond has. He’s attempted only two shots since the St. Joe’s game.
The Patriots need to be better at the free throw line. In the last two games, the Patriots have shot 16-36. Just Trash. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.
While Mason still has the number one ranked 3-point defense in the A10, they struggled against VCU allowing 11 shots to drop. If they don’t want to be upset by Richmond, they better get back to that old defense.
Jordan Miller had a great night at VCU recording his first double-double with 14 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.
Jarred Reuter also put up 15 points in one of the best games of his Mason career, shooting 6-6 (1.000), with some great drives to the basket.
My Prediction: The Patriots need to come out of Richmond with a win, so I say a “W”.
