Previewing George Mason at Northeastern

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The ever important rematch against VCU is set for this Saturday but the Patriots travel to Boston to take on Northeastern first tonight.  Mason is riding a five game winning streak while the Huskies are 1-5 in their last six games with the lone win coming over Towson.  They don't play the best defense in the CAA but are a fairly good shooting team and are capable of knocking down threes in bunches.  In their last game against Stony Brook last weekend they went 10-for-17 from behind the arch.  Mason has only won once out of four recent visits to the Matthews Arena and can't afford to stumble now while trying to stay hot before the CAA tournament.  

Guarding the perimeter is a must, and keeping junior guard Joel Smith from getting hot should be a priority.  The Patriots will have an easy time working the ball inside the paint and getting to the free-throw line.  The Huskies are sending opposing teams to the line more often than not and Mason will take advantage of this.  We don't want to see the Patriots take their foot off the gas pedal and want them to keep the momentum going from their recent strong play.  Ryan Pearson and Sherrod Wright should again lead the way on offense while the team will hopefully have another night where they keep their opponent under 40% shooting.  On the year the Patriots are holding their opponents to 38.8% from the field, which is good for 19th best in the nation.  Defense wins games at this time of the year and that is area we definitely want to see Mason continue to excel on.

College Basketball