Vaughan surrounded by Duke Nerds

Here is a great picture that can be found on a piece at rivals.com talking about "homecourt advantages" around the country. I really don't understand why more schools don't build their student sections like they do at Cameron. Mason already has a great record at home season after season, now imagine if we could surround the bottom tier of the Patriot Center with our finest drunken frat boys and local skanks in body paint. And yes, this is the kind stuff I think about while not doing work at the office.

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Moving on...

It is early January and the Patriots are 2-2 in CAA play, which can already be perceived as disappointing to most fans but at least they are not having the kind of trouble St. Louis experienced last night. Mason returns to the Patriot Center Saturday afternoon and face-off against the Matt Jannings, I mean Northeastern. Last year's CAA Rookie of the Year Matt Janning leds the Huskies who ripped Drexel on Wednesday night, is everyone gettin' a piece of the Dragons this year? Northeastern has lost some close games to good teams and Mason sure knows how to keep a game close no matter who they are playing. Coach L historically has a good track record following a CAA loss and I would expect to see some changes this Saturday. Not much can be changed in the lineup due to injury but I wouldn't be surprised if Cam Long get ssome more mintues until Folarin is out of the doghouse. Speaking of the guards, I expect Dre Smith to be back in full force and hoping not hesitating on his shot selection. I was not happy with Birdsong's play at the end of the game against Delaware, I mean for God's sake box and grab a rebound! I don't think Larranaga really has much of a choice anymore but to play Big Vlad. He might not play defense as well as Birdsong but I feel like its time to take off the training wheels and weather the growing pains now. Vlad's versatility and shooting touch can cause huge match-up problems for opposing CAA teams but it won't happen over night. Luckily the Patriots are at home where they have lately been playing slightly less worse than on the road. Mason always has done well against the CAA at home, minus last season against William and Mary, but this year it is becoming even more important that they take care of business in the Patriot Center. The road has been brutal to Mason, which to me really comes off as shocking when you think of the experience on this squad. What is working with Mason is the fact that pretty much every other team in the conference has pretty much been as inconsistent as they have to a degree, leaving the conference up for grabs. Although teams like Delaware and JMU are atop the standings do they have the experience to stay there? The next couple of weeks should be some great basketball and the log jam in the standings is not going to go away anytime soon.

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The Hen is mightier then the Patriot

Well they really almost had me this time. A 19 point lead made me think the Mason boys had their swagger back for at least one game. Then something happened: the second half. This is really starting to become an issue and I feel like I am writing the same post game comments every week. Who have thought Mason would blow a game to a team that actually shoots free throws worse then them. The Patriots play a great first half, shooting over 50% then follow it up with dumb fundamental errors that cause them to turnover the ball constantly. Why is it that Mason looked like they had never seen a full court press before? I've never seen a team get back into the game so easily. Many of Delaware's points during their run in the second half were basically gift wrapped by Mason ball handlers. Will Thomas seemed to have has way in the first half and then as usual was a none factor for a large portion of the second half, sound familiar? Delaware was not even double teaming Thomas much until late in the game. Adding more insult to injury was Dre Smith sparingly playing due to an ankle injury in practice, which forced guys like Campbell (8 turnovers) and Birdsong into more playing time despite playing poorly. Smith's hot hands from behind the arch really could have made a difference in the second half. Cam Long started in his place and made a little too many of those "freshman mistakes". At what point is Larranaga to blame for this? That's a question I don't want to answer, but 15 turnovers in the second half, where is the discipline?!? I will tell you one thing though Delaware has got a player in Marc Egerson, the guy was clutch and on all night. Watch the highlights here, if you dare. Get in the line kids because the roller coaster season of the CAA has only just begun.

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Previewing Delaware

Mason is back on the road Wednesday as they face-off against Delaware for a possible share of first place in the CAA standings at stake. It would be nice to see some consistency and a full 40 minutes from the Patriots but I really don't know what to expect from these guys lately. Delaware on the other hand has been hot of late and which is largely due to their incoming transfers from a year ago becoming eligible on December 14th. The Blue Hen's have gone 4-2 since Marc Egerson (Georgetown) and Jim Ledsome (Nebraska) began suiting up. Egerson has been averaging nearly 13 points a game and helping take some of the scoring load off of All-CAA candidate Herb Courtney. Meanwhile Ledsome have given the Hens some flexibility and a shot blocking presence (he had 7 against Maryland).

This could be a tough match-up for the Patriots on the road and it doesn't help that Delaware is currently swelling with confidence. What makes the Blue Hen's a dangerous team this year is that they have already surpassed their win total from last season and everything after that is just gravy to them. Then you have a team like Mason where the expectations have been sky high since the summer, making every game a gritty battle lately. What really needs to start happening for the Patriots is continuing solid play from their bench, which we have not seen in oh I'd say about a month and a half. Will Thomas and Vaughan have been consistent enough with the scoring load to take pressure off guys like Campbell and Smith but occasionally it would be nice to see either one of these guys take over a game in the 2nd half as they have done in the past. I know Mason plays better when more guys are involved and scoring in double digits but every now and then I feel we are missing out on a 25 point night from Campbell or a 6 for 8 three-point shooting night from Dre. They have the potential, we have gotten a taste of it before but will it come out when they need it?

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Patriots Bounce Back

After a perplexing loss to Georgia State, the Patriots were able to stay undefeated at home and grind out a win against Towson. A win is a win, right? Jordan Carter returned and only played 19 minutes, but it was good to see him running the point again. Will Thomas led the way with 20 points and 14 rebounds and JV added 19. The flow of the game was similar to that against GSU, where we saw Mason take control early and then allow the opponent to get back into the game during the second half. In fact, Mason held the Tigers without a field goal for over 8 minutes in the first half while on a 21-6 run. Without the aggressive offensive rebounding late in the game by Thomas and Vaughan, the Patriots could have easily dropped this one. Which begs the question, why does JV average more rebounds a game than Birdsong? Another scary fact is that Towson entered the game last in the CAA in three-point shooting and were able to go 12 for 26 to keep the game close in the 2nd half. Mason did respond late in the game with decent free throw shooting to close things out, but I still feel that the game should not have been this close in the first place. I was really hoping that at this point in the season would be seeing some meaningful minutes from Cam Long and Big Vlad, especially with the loss of Monroe for the season and the injury to Carter. Cam played one minute and Vlad and Tate didn't touch the court, how long can Coach L play multiple guys 35+ minutes with so many games left in the season? At times I feel as if the team is moving backwards progression wise then where they were in November. Despite the team's play they are still 2-1 in the conference and face Delaware on Wednesday in a battle for first place believe it or not.

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Wow. Volume 2

The Mason boys suffered another devastating loss on Wednesday afternoon, losing to Georgia State after blowing a 13 point halftime lead. For the second straight game Mason started off strong but allowed a less talented team to creep back into the game in the second half. This first ever loss to the Panthers could have not come at a worse time for the Patriots who are struggling to compete with full intensity for a whole 40 minutes. Not what you want to see from your squad in beginning your slate of conference games. I don't even want to talk about how this could all but squash our potential at-large bid hopes for March because it's still way too early and the craziness of college basketball hasn't even begun yet. The real problem Mason fans should be worrying about is the fact that the team's depth, which was an area of strength in the beginning of the season, is now a glaring weakness. The absence of Jordan Carter due to his ankle injury has forced Folarin Campbell to move to the roll of floor general, which he isn't. As much as Coach L loves to put the ball in his control, it has become really obvious how different of a team they are without an experienced pass-first point guard. Campbell, Vaughan, and Smith all have great qualities but none of them are as unselfish as Carter. Smith and Campbell combined for 7 of the teams 11 turnovers, most of which came in the second half. Speaking of Dre Smith, where did him and Vaughan go in the second half? Together they scored 27 in the first half and were none factors in the second half scoring only 4 points. Amazingly this team found a way to lose while shooting over 50% from the field and the three-point line. They were terrible from the foul line, (shocking, I know) and at the end of the game it all but sealed their loss. Mason wasn't the only CAA upset last night as VCU lost to JMU, the roller coaster ride of the CAA conference is not over yet. Saturday February 2nd keeps looking like a more important match up each week.

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Into the Fire

After more than a week between games the Patriots looked sluggish at times on Sunday night but in the end pulled off a victory against he Liberty Flames. Mason used a balance attack having all starters finish in double figures with Dre Smith knocking down 5 three-pointers. Folarin Campbell had another strong game at the point in the Jordan Carter's absence, dishing out 8 assists. All Mason's starters played at least 34 minutes, which begs the question of how long can this go on if Carter's injury prolongs. Keep in mind that the Patriots dressed only 9 players for this game, 3 of which were freshmen. Depth seemed like a huge asset but lately it has been an issue. Mason almost blew a large second half lead and allowed Liberty some easy shots as it was not the best defensive performance we have seen thus far. This game showed us again how important John Vaughan is the Patriots success as his shooting in the second half helped Mason pull away. Besides the obvious team MVP in Will Thomas, Vaughan is proving to be just as valuable with his consistent shooting. We have seen an up and down season from Campbell and Smith at the guard position but we have rarely seen Vaughan struggle for an entire 40 minutes in any game.

Mason is now 6-0 at home and today they face their first conference road game against Georgia State. For some reason this game starts at 3 p.m. but you can listen to it live here.

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