Tale of the Tape: #8 George Mason vs #9 Villanova

Here is a statistical breakdown of how the two teams match-up.  Right now George Mason is looking like a 1.5 point favorite.  Tomorrow we will post a Q & A conversation we had with the guys over at VU Hoops for some inside analysis on Jay Wright and the Villanova Wildcats this season.

Statistically the Patriots have the edge in a lot of categories but as you know this is March Madness and that tends to make some of these categories meaningless in the grand scheme of things. Both head coaches are defensive guys and neither team gives up a lot of points. One stat that could turn out to be the difference in the game is turnovers.  Although Mason has the slight edge here on average they did cough up the ball 14 times in their last game against VCU. Villanova has had double digit turnovers in three of their last six games.   

Sidenote: Villanova's sophomore Maalik Wayns had 24 points in Villanova's 70-69 loss to South Florida in the Big East tournament. He's been averaging 22.8 points per game over his last four contests.

When looking at the Four Factors chart below that we have been posting here after every game, you notice that no team really has a huge advantage in any of the key factors. 'Nova has a slight edge in their offensive rebounding and getting to the free throw line.

College Basketball Stats

Don't forget to join the GMUHoops.com Bracket Challenge:
http://gmuhoops.mayhem.cbssports.com/e (password is mason)