It will be a battle between Atlantic 10 opponents when the George Mason Patriots (9-18) welcome the VCU Rams (20-7) to Patriot Center. The game gets underway at 7:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Feb. 24.
The Patriots were beaten by Massachusetts 70-64 on Sunday. Otis Livingston II was the team’s high scorer, finishing with 15 points. The Rams are coming off an 87-74 win over Richmond on Friday. Mo Alie-Cox played well, accumulating 12 points and 12 rebounds to claim his second double-double of the season.
The inefficient offense of George Mason (297th in the nation with an offensive efficiency of 98.4) will square off against the top-notch defense of VCU (28th in the nation with a defensive efficiency of 95.9). The Rams figure to have the advantage on that end of the court.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Rams won the first game 71-47. Melvin Johnson was the game’s leading scorer with 22 points.
Notes
The VCU Rams have a defensive rating of 95.9 (ranked 28th), while the George Mason Patriots have an offensive rating of 98.4 (ranked 297th).
VCU beats George Mason in both possessions per game and points per possession. The Rams average 70.2 possessions and 1.116 points per possession, while the Patriots average 67.1 possessions with .984 points per possession.
The George Mason Patriots average an effective field goal percentage of 45.0% this season. The VCU Rams have a solid 13-6 record in games where opponents have an eFG% of 45.0% or greater.
VCU ranks 75th in assists, recording 15.1 per game. George Mason performs worse at 341st with 10.3 assists per game.
The George Mason Patriots are one of the top rebounding teams in the nation with an average of 41.3 per game (ranked 15th). The VCU Rams are outside the top 100 with 36.9 rebounds per game (ranked 147th).
The VCU Rams rank 59th in offensive rebounds, and the George Mason Patriots rank 19th in the nation in defensive rebounds.
VCU is one of the top teams in forced turnovers, with opponents averaging a TO% of 23.9% (ranked sixth). George Mason has a losing record of 1-3 SU this season when its TO% reaches 23.9% or greater.
