George Mason comes up short in South Florida

The Patriots fell short against South Florida in their final non-conference game. A scary collision that resulted in a South Florida player having to be carried out in a stretcher delayed the game for awhile in the second half. Mason struggled to make shots in the first half and couldn't dig themselves out that hole in the second. Sherrod Wright had his fourth straight 20-point game but no one else scored more than seven points. The team has been struggling to find a second scorer to complement Wright all year long and it killed them in this one. When this team doesn't hit a lot of three-pointers their offense usually looks flat. Even when they were trying to mount a late comeback, they sent the Bulls to the free-throw line and it was all she wrote. The same problems are there and not much has been improved upon. 

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George Mason heads to South Florida for last non-conference game

The Patriots have their non-conference finale tomorrow at South Florida (TV: MASN), the last of a good group of opponents this year. While they have may have missed their opportunities to capitalize on this tough schedule, this last game is another one that will help them more establish themselves as the leader of the pack in the CAA. It will be important to see if Mason can finally start to show some consistency and follow up that thrilling win against Richmond without another strong performance against a Big East school. 

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George Mason to play in the 2013 Diamond Head Classic

George Mason was rumored to be in the 2013 Diamond Head Classic field about a month ago and now it is official. The field also will include Hawai'i, Iowa State, Saint Mary's, Oregon State, and South Carolina. Two other schools will be added to the field at a later date I'm assuming, to bring it to eight. The event will be going on around this time next year in Honolulu, Hawai'i. 

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Sherrod Wright buzzer beater lifts George Mason over Richmond

George Mason didn't lead in this game until about two minutes remaining. It was another ugly performance but also another strong outing from Sherrod Wright. His buzzer-beater had to remind fans of last February when he hit a very similar shot to give Mason a home win over VCU. Credit Corey Edwards for getting the ball to Wright on that last shot, something Bryon Allen hasn't done well at the end of games this season. The Patriots put together a strong second half after a poor start in the first. Richmond was left open way too much on the perimeter and went 8-12 from behind the arch in the first half. On top of that Mason kept fouling and giving the Spiders plenty of opportunity to tack on to their lead. They came out with a different game plan in the second half and it worked.

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George Mason heads to Richmond for Governor's Holiday Hoops Classic

George Mason is back in action Saturday afternoon after a two week break for final exams. The first ever Governor's Holiday Hoops Classic has the Patriots matched up against Richmond. The game is at the Richmond Coliseum, where the Patriots haven't had the best track record and were flat out embarrassed there by VCU in the CAA tournament last year. This Classic however is another good test for Mason as Richmond has beaten CAA members William & Mary, ODU, and James Madison already this season. The Spiders have only lost to Minnesota, Ohio, and Kansas thus far. 

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A look at the rest of the CAA, it's not pretty

It's no secret that CAA basketball has been atrocious this year. As of today, the league has one top 150 RPI team, George Mason (81), and is collectively 3-44 versus the top 100. The CAA's current RPI rank is 24th, in the past it would hover somewhere around 12-15. The real sad part of this season was that the multiple bid talk was pretty much over in mid-November.

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George Mason at the break

George Mason is currently on their break for final exams and with about one third of the season over we take a closer look at what's been happening this season.

MVP so far. Well that's easy, Sherrod Wright. He's been Mason's leading scorer all season and been the most consistent overall player. He's learning to take charge more, being more aggressive on offense, and also second on the team in rebounding. Over the last two games he's averaged 21.5 PPG, shot 68% from the field, 71% on three-pointers, and went 8-10 from the free-throw line. It's an understatement to say he needs to get the ball more.

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The Big East is dead. So now what might happen to George Mason in all this?

UPDATE: Xavier and Butler are leaving the A10 to join the new league being formed by the seven departing Big East Catholic schools. Still more teams to join.

Well the Big East's "Catholic 7" are definitely breaking away from the conference, now they just need to decide when and how to do it, USA Today reports. Despite how some fans of the Big East feel about what's happening, there is going to be one hell of a new basketball conference formed. There are winners and losers in all this involving some big programs and other conferences, but how might this all affect George Mason? It's too soon to tell but Mason's name has been throw around in the talk of other teams that could be plucked if the Catholic 7 did in fact form a new league. 

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CAA Tournament is moving to Baltimore in 2014

Finally, the CAA basketball tournament is moving out of the Richmond Coliseum. Last night news broke about a press conference happening today regarding an announcement about the men's tournament:

CAA and "The City of Baltimore" are having a press conference tomorrow. Making a major announcement about men's tournament. #caahoops
— CAAHoopsStaff (@CAAHoopsStaff) December 11, 2012

CBS followed up with a few more details:
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Big East non-football schools are discussing a possible breakaway. What the possibility could mean for George Mason.

The conference realignment news breaks are far from over. Last night, national sportswriter Mark Blaudschun, was first to break the news about the Big East Catholic schools (non-football members) meeting to discuss the possibility of breaking away on their own. The schools we are specifically talking about here are Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John's, Seton Hall, Villanova, and DePaul. The schools met in New York recently to discuss their options and the future of the Big East. CBS followed up and talked about how this could affect schools like George Mason:

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Home loss to UNI underlines George Mason's flaws

George Mason had their 14-game home winning streak snapped on Saturday in an overtime loss to Northern Iowa. The Panthers were able to expose some of the Patriots more glaring weaknesses; point guard play and perimeter defense. UNI's Marc Sonnen had way too many catch and shoot opportunities from the behind the arch. The Patriots never made him put the ball on the floor or try and force him into uncomfortable situations. On top of that, late fouls really set Mason back, Erik Copes fouled out very early and it hurt them on the boards. The last couple of sequences before the overtime period was especially frustrating and puzzling to watch. I feel like I've said that a lot already this season. Late in games recently, I can't remember watching a Mason team come out of timeouts so poorly on offense in a close match.

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Northern Iowa comes to town

The Patriots have the toughest stretch of their non-conference schedule over the next three games. Northern Iowa is up first and visits the Patriot Center Saturday. Much like George Mason they have only losses to respectable teams and missed opportunities for big wins in their early season tournament. This is the final game before the break for exams starts so it will be important for the Patriots to get a win heading into the long break. Last time these two teams met was during the 2010-2011 season in the Bracketbusters event. For some long time readers you may remember the drinking game post I had for that one, good times. 

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Biggest question marks for George Mason going forward

We have seen the Patriots look great at times this season but we've also seen them lose focus and look pretty bad. Some blame the point guard play, the gameplan, and others are saying the team lacks a killer instinct. I don't think the issues are stemming from any one thing so far this season and their are a couple of big question marks surrounding this team. 

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1989 George Mason CAA Championship Ring on Sale on eBay

For the small sum of $1,500 you can purchase a part of George Mason basketball history on eBay. A couple of our readers noticed the CAA championship ring from George Mason had just recently appeared up for auction on the site. At least this time it's not a Final Four ring from 2006 up for auction. This is a nice piece of memorabilia that commemorates the Patriots' first ever CAA championship and trip to the NCAA tournament back in 1989. It's listed as "salesman sample" in the description but after contacting the seller I found out the name on the side is "Nestor". Ernie Nestor was the program's head coach during 1988-1993. This would make one hell of a Christmas gift to some George Mason fan.

[eBay]

George Mason outlasts UMBC

Photo by John Powell

George Mason started out strong last night but let an early 19 point lead dwindle away as UMBC clawed their way back. The Retrievers got as close as six in the second half but the Patriots took control over the last 10 minutes to come away with the win. Paul Hewitt visibly frustrated on the sidelines as he saw his team's strong start turn into another sluggish grind. Sherrod Wright had 23 points and nearly reached his career-high, while the rest of Patriots continue to be inconsistent on offense. It was a little unsettling to watch Mason allow a rebuilding program like UMBC to go on a 12-0 run and score 43 points in the second half. The Retrievers were turning over the ball hand and foot last night but the Patriots allowed a bit too many open looks. Mason won in fairly convincing fashion but still has a lot of questions to answer.

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George Mason back in action tonight against UMBC

George Mason has a quick turn around from their loss at the Verizon Center on Sunday and hosts UMBC tonight at the Patriot Center. Statistically this is the worst team Mason will face in their non-conference schedule and it would be nice to finally see a decisive blow out. It's difficult to predict an easy win for the Patriots at this point because they have played down to a lot of competition this season. The Retrievers are allowing an average of 75 points a game from their opponents and actually get to the free-throw line at a less frequent rate than George Mason, so it won't be a slow game. It's going to be another one of those, 'which George Mason team shows up tonight', but it's more likely we see the Patriots get back on track in this one.

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Bring on the Patrick Holloway/Stephen Curry comparisons

Mason lost to Maryland yesterday in the BB&T Classic but a bright spot for the Patriots was another strong outing from freshman Patrick Holloway. Holloway has already surpassed many preseason expectations, including my own. What is most impressive is not just his three-point shooting but his poise on the court. He is an undersized shooting guard but isn't afraid to shoot with a defender in his face or drive the lane for a quick floater. The kid just hasn't look much like a freshman and has been a breath of fresh air for a team that didn't exactly light it up from behind the arch last season. Holloway's been so impressive that fourth year junior Vertrail Vaughns, who started every game last season, picked up his first DNP yesterday. Paul Hewitt chose to go with Vaughn Gray and Patrick Holloway in the rotation and no one's going to argue with that when it comes to this team's offensive struggles. 

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George Mason comes up short against Maryland

The Patriots held their own against Maryland on Sunday afternoon but couldn't seem to take advantage of the Terps numerous mistakes. There were a couple of different times when you would have thought Mason was going to go on a run and build a lead. An unbalanced attack on offense and a big day from Dez Wells spoiled the upset party for George Mason. While a lot of other Terps players had a so-so day from the field Wells set a career high for points and went 11-for-17 from the field. Maryland finished the day with 19 turnovers, 16 missed free-throws, and went 2-11 from behind the three-point line. 

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