Taking a look at George Mason at the winter break, pretty impressive numbers

The team and rest of the George Mason student body are currently taking their fall semester finals and getting ready for winter break.  Coach Larranaga and his squad are currently riding a six game winning streak and during all eight of their total wins they have not allowed their opponents to score more than 56 points.  That's pretty impressive defense even when you factor in the level of teams they have beaten so far.  You can downplay their soft out of conference schedule all you want but the Patriots are still 1st in the CAA in FG percentage (both their own and their opponents'), 3rd in points scored (72.5), 1st in scoring defense (57.9), and 2nd in assists (15.5). Nationally their FG percentage is ranked in the top 20 out of all Division I teams. 

The stats really paint a picture of how the team has improved from last season. The balanced scoring attack continues on as the Patriots have three players averaging 12 or more points a game, Luke Hancock, Cam Long, and Ryan Pearson.  Long seems to be much more comfortable this season and I think you can attribute that to him having consistent scoring efforts from his teammates.  Their free-throw shooting and rebounding have only slightly improved but they are still middle of the pack in the CAA in those areas.  And let's face it, with some of the shooting efforts we have seen there hasn't been many chances for rebounds for the Patriots.  

Their scoring numbers will drop as they start to face some tougher competition but I think if you look at how they are scoring and winning you still be very confident in this team's ability.  They have been doing a much better job sharing the ball and finding the open man for easy shots.  You haven't seen many one-on-one battles since the NC State game, it's been a lot of unselfish play-making.  Mason has also been getting points by getting to the line, something they were awful at doing last season.  Even if they aren't always shooting well from there it's still another dimension to their game and disrupts the other team's flow.  And let's not forget three-point shooting.  Last year's numbers were also impressive but it's a bit more consistent this year and more players are hitting from there.  Andre Cornelius inflated last year's numbers by hitting almost half his attempts.  This year you have Cam Long, Luke Hancock, Vertail Vaughns, and Isaiah Tate shooting well from behind the arch.  

And lastly, their defensive numbers are probably the most impressive statistics that has improved when compared to this time last year.  As I said earlier they are clamping down on their opponents and giving them no easy shots.  A big improvement you can notice is how they are forcing other teams at the Patriot Center to play their style of basketball.  They are getting about 8 steals a game and have a turnover margin of +3.20 good for 2nd in the CAA so far.  They are generating a lot of points off these turnovers and disrupting their opponents flow. Because of this I believe that even if the Patriots weren't shooting the ball as well they would still be where they are now.