Sell out crowd awaits Dukes

The GMU-JMU "rivalry" is one that I could never really understand while I was a student at Mason. Why are we rivals? Because we are both located in Virginia and named after dead guys? Most would consider ODU or VCU to be better suited as our official rivals because let's face it, the games are more fun to watch. But the GMU-JMU rivalry brings us back to the days when both schools were playing at the Division II level searching for identity and funding to one day be a Division I participant. This rivalry apparently means a lot to the alumni for both schools as this Saturday's afternoon delight is already sold out. Northern VA is home to many alumni for both universities so it comes to no surprise that this game never lacks good attendance....

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Patriots take down Rams

The Patriots season has been one full of spurts, some really impressive victories and some very questionable losses. Last night in front of a packed house at the Patriot Center, and quite possibly one of the loudest crowds I've ever experienced there, they were able to take down their CAA nemesis VCU. The victory brings them one game behind the Rams for first place in the standings but more importantly they were able to avenge last year's loss in the CAA finals. Fanhouse says we have "built a better bubble". Larranaga used an interesting four guard lineup midway through the second half after Birdsong picked up his fourth foul and it ended up sparking a 20-4 run. Our friend Michael Litos has a great breakdown of this on his blog. Who...

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Judgement Day

The day has finally arrived, a battle of two CAA powers on a national stage. One team trying to further distance themselves from the pack and the other just trying to stay in the race to be in the top of the standings. As usual, the Patriots have questions to be answered. Which Folarin Campbell will show up tonight? Is Jordan Carter going to play? Will Mason be able to get Will Thomas going on early? The Washington Post today points out that Dre Smith has gone 2 for 13 from behind the arch since his record breaking night against JMU. Tonight would really be an awesome time for him to bounce back, maybe the ESPN cameras could help out there. Both teams have experience playing in important televised games with Mason having a little bit of...

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Showdown in Fairfax

The VCU Rams come to town tomorrow night in what could possibly be the biggest game of the season for the Patriots. The game could end deciding who ends up first in the standings, as the Patriots are two games behind the Rams for first place. Mason's inconsistency this season has been an issue but the lone constant has been winning in Fairfax. The Patriots face their toughest opponents to come to the Patriot Center this season since the Dayton Flyers. The Rams are a roll lately and slowly separating themselves from the pack in the CAA. A key stat to that could doom the Patriots is that the Rams are leading the nation in three-point FG percentage defense. Considering there has been way too many times this season that Mason has lived off...

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ESPN Chat with Will Thomas

Join Will Thomas today at noon as he will answer your questions during this "Spirit Week" chat edition on ESPN.com. Hmmm, I wonder how many questions will be about the '06 Final Four and not about the current season. Nevertheless, good to see ESPN giving tomorrow's game some hy...

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Trouble at Trask

The Patriots suffered another disappointing but not surprising road loss to UNCW Saturday night. Mason was living off the three-point shot in the first half then it disappeared in the second. I don't understand the strategy they were going for on offense, especially when it alienates your biggest offensive weapon, Will Thomas. The barrage of three-pointers was nice at first when the Patriots made three in a row to start things off but it made Thomas a non-factor early. It would have been nice to at least get UNCW's Kuljana in foul trouble considering Thomas is ten times more athletic then him. Even though Mason out rebounded the Seahawks, Kuljana killed them on the boards in the 2nd half. This wasn't to stay Mason didn't play a good game because they shot the ball well again and kept...

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Terrible Trask

The Raiford G. Trask Coliseum is the home of the UNCW Seahawks and is a place where Coach Larranaga has not won in four years. The UNCW faithful pack this small gym and you will see nothing but a sea of students in teal colored shirts. Not the prettiest thing to look at, so I can understand why it's hard to play there. The last time Larranaga won in Wilmington, sophomore Jai Lewis scored 21 points and the Patriots pulled it out in overtime. During Coach L's tenure the Patriots have scored an average of 56.6 points per game at the Trask, that is scary bad. But with the way this team has been playing defense and shooting the ball lately it might be time for some old habits to die hard. Depth will be important in the game as it is in any road...

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Bracket Buster Update

ESPN's Bracket Buster has become important date in February for mid-major teams across the country. Mason used it in the 2005-2006 season as a stepping stone into the NCAA tournament with a road win at Wichita State. Since then mid-major have gotten more market coverage but this showcase of games has really turned into larger and more meaningful event. After our losses to ECU and Georgia State I was starting to think that this event would be meaningless to our schedule but now things are starting to look up. With Mason's current RPI around the 40's and 50's depending on which formula you use, a road game with an opponent of a similar standing could be another quality win for the resume. Mason still has work to be done in the conference but this game could still be a factor. The match-ups...

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Home Sweet Home

The Patriots are looking better then ever and even with more confidence then we saw at the Old Spice Classic in November. They are undefeated at home this season and I don't even have to look up the average margin of victory to know it's down right impressive. Last night's massacre of the ODU Monarchs was a game in which Mason again shot the ball extremely well, and apparently handed ODU their worst loss in 12 years. The Patriots made their first 14 out of 25 shots and this time it wasn't the Dre Smith show, it was Folarin Campbell's night. Campbell was able to pour on 25 points, including 5 three-pointers. Vaughan added 17 and Thomas had 14 in a game that saw a lot of the freshman get minutes as well. Big Vlad even had 4 blocks, I couldn't...

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Unsung Hero

Andy Katz, probably one of the only ESPN "writers" I don't hate, has a great write-up in his blog about Thuc Phan, George Mason's student manager for the men's basketball team. Apparently he went way beyond the call of duty at the Hofstra game last week and set the new standard for all student managers across the country. The funny thing is I am pretty sure this is a job that I once applied for and was denied during my freshman year. Looks like they made the right decision on who to hire. Here's an excerpt from Katz's blog entry today:"The Patriots get two tapes of every game. One is a television version of the game. The other is dubbed down by Phan, who hooks his computer up with the television crew, to get a direct feed while the game...

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Dre Dre Dre

Wow, what a weekend for Mason and Dre Smith. Not only did Dre set an NCAA record, but he helped the Patriots blow out a CAA team, on the road no less. I mean 10 for 10 from three-point land, are you kidding me? I had hinted in some of recent posts of how Dre's potential was yet to be tapped but I never could have imagined him having a night like he did Saturday. It was also an usual night for the Patriots if you consider they scored 96 points and only 4 players were in double digits, not exactly Larranaga-ball. But how often to you get to see a Mason player on ESPN's top plays? Mid-majority has a great write-up on Dre's magnificent statistical night. What is lost in the Dre Smith show is the fact that Folarin Campbell (16 points) and Louis...

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JV and Thomas Save the Day

Last the Patriots and Pride put on a show in Hempstead, with John Vaughan hitting a buzzer beating three-pointer to force overtime and eventually help secure a double OT road victory. Check out the video highlights here. Hofstra came to play and it wasn't just Agudio who was scoring, how has this team only won 3 games? Well any Mason fan can you tell you we seem to bring out the best in teams. The Patriots did a great job of containing Agudio, who only had 4 points in the first half. Which should not have come as a surprise considering he averages more points in the 2nd half than anyone else in the CAA does in a whole 40 minutes. Agudio really showed what an incredible player he is last night, the guy knew that Mason wasn't going to let him drop 30 so he distributed the ball all night....

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Gunston back in the News

Mason's furry green embarrassment of a mascot is in the papers again, this time the Washington Post has printed a story from a writer who is as biased towards Gunston as I am, if that was possible."The school is considering whether to spruce up Gunston, a friendly monsterish thing named after founding father George Mason's ancestral home, or get something . . . else. For an institution without many traditions -- it has changed dramatically in its 36 years, from an often-overlooked commuter school to an increasingly residential, diverse and competitive research university -- the choice of a mascot is another way to try to establish Mason's identity."I've heard these rumors of change for awhile now and frankly I'll believe it when I see it. ...

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On the road again

Mason is back on the road again tonight, traveling to New York to take on Antoine Agudio and 4 other guys. Whether it's in Disney or Atlanta, the Patriots have proved that almost anything can happen to their game while on the road, and basically big leads are meaningless until the other team starts to add full-court pressure. They have yet to win a CAA road game and tonight represents a good chance for them to notch one. Hofstra boasts one of the nations top guards in Antoine Agudio, pictured above, but more accurately represented here with fellow Long Islanders. He is fourth in the nation in scoring (25.1 ppg), first in average minutes (39.2) and has more career points at Hofstra than the rest of the team combined. Meanwhile for the Patriots...

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Long named co-rookie of the week

Say what you want to about how the season has gone so far but I think despite what happens this season Mason fans are confident in the future of this team. Coach L's freshmen have been getting some valuable minutes so far this season, especially Cam Long, who was named CAA co-rookie of the week. Long played 22 minutes on the road in Delaware and 36 at home against Northeastern, were he scored 12 points on 5 of 6 shooting. And speaking of his shooting numbers, Long is second on the team in FG% behind only Will Thomas, who by the way is ranked 18th in the country in this category. From three point range Long is shooting over 46%, leading the team. Granted he has taken a lot less shots than guys like JV and Dre but these numbers are still...

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Walk with Glory

On Saturday afternoon during a win over Northeastern Folarin Campbell became the first Patriot with 1,200 points, 400 rebounds, 300 assists, 100 3-pointers, 100 steals, and 50 blocks. You got all that? Campbell and I have had a love-hate relationship over the years, more recently it's been hate, but he is one of the most versatile players in team history. I've ripped Campbell on this site many times mostly because I feel that he tries to force things and doesn't slow things down and let the game come to him. Frankly I will never understand why he stopped driving to the basketball, watching him play in that UConn and watching games from last season is like watching two different players completely. Everyone expected huge things from after...

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Patriots Rout Huskies

It was a game for Mason that bought back some memories from their dominate play earlier in this season. The Patriots routed their second CAA opponent at home this year, scored 80 points, shot over 58%, won by 28, got it done from the free throw line and more importantly got a big lead and kept it through second half. What was interesting in this game but shouldn't be surprising is that leading scorer Will Thomas only had 6 points in this explosion of offense. John Vaughan continued being a leader on offense for the Patriots scoring 16 and Dre Smith had another impressive night from behind the arc. Smith's defense was also a huge factor in this game, in the first half he caused a frustration offensive foul on Huskie guard Chaisson Allen...

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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 offi...

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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...

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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. ...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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