666
6 wins in a row: After an abysmal start to the season, which many expected, the Patriots are now riding a somewhat unexpected 6 game winning streak. The latest win being the most impressive, as Mason walloped Penn St. 85-66 in Happy Valley. Let me repeat that, Mason, the team that lost to Mount St. Mary’s, Towson and struggled against D3 Lebanon Valley College just capped off a 6th consecutive win versus a Big 10 school on the road. So what clicked? What’s changed since the 1-3 start?
Shortened Bench: Paulsen has now identified his starters (Otis, Moore, Kier, Grayer, Jenkins) and is opting to rotate in Boyd, Newman and Troy with Relvao getting some additional minutes but in a limited role. That adds up to be an 8.5 man rotation which leaves off the likes of Abram (former starter), Dixon, Murrell and Tate. If you look at Mason’s first game versus Towson, Paulsen used 11 players and shot an inefficient 42% from the floor and was outrebounded 39-22. Fast forward to Penn State and excluding both Danny Dixon’s and Kam Murrell’s 1 minute of playing time, only an 8 man rotation was used and Mason shot more efficient (51%) and out-rebounded the Nittany Lions 44-29. Although a 6 game sample size may be small, the numbers don’t lie and there appears to be a correlation between the two.
Shorter Lineup: Mason’s starting lineup is ranked 322nd in the nation in terms of average height. So we’re small, very small. You would make the conclusion that a short team simply cannot compete with bigger teams on the boards. That’s where you’d be wrong. Mason has out-rebounded their opponent 5 of their last 6 games. This is an incredible feat considering we’re starting a four guard lineup and our center only stands at 6’7. Marquise Moore especially is defying conventional wisdom by leading the team in rebounding with 10.3rpg and only standing at 6’2. In fact, Moore is top 25 in the nation in rebounding. The average height of the 24 players ahead of him is 6’7. Additional kudos to freshman Justin Kier for averaging close to 6rpg at only 6’4. When asked about how Mason’s guards are out-rebounding taller lineups, Moore responded after the Mercer win “its 90-95% will, we just want it more.”
By George will be traveling up to Philadelphia for the UPenn game at the historic Palestra. Follow us at our new Twitter @ByGeorgeGMU for pictures and in-game analysis. Go Mason!