George Mason Patriots

Team Summary

The George Mason team represents a transition season for the program as they move into the Kim English era. English is coaching in his first season as a division one head coach.

The Patriots started well out of the gate this season with a 4-0 record, including a victory over the Maryland Terrapins in College Park. After the landmark victory, George Mason quickly fell off the map and dropped five consecutive games before seemingly righting the ship again and winning three straight.

Among those three victories was another power five school in Georgia. The Patriots’ most recent game came against the Kansas Jayhawks when Coach English and George Mason put up an admirable fight and trailed by just five in the final ten minutes. The Patriots eventually lost the game, but it was impressive nonetheless.

The Patriots may lack a certain consistency on the court in terms of wins and losses this season, but they have been better than most from a wagering standpoint. George Mason is one of the best teams in the Atlantic 10 against the number at 9-4 ATS.

Their average margin of victory is fifth in the league at +6.1 points per game, while they outperform the spread by an average of +4.5 points per contest which ranks third in the league.

George Mason Patriots Standings

The George Mason Patriots haven’t reached the pinnacle of college basketball, but they’ve certainly had their Cinderella moment. In 2006, a magical run to the Final Four as a mid-major underdog captivated the nation. However, their regular season success has been more consistent. For the past two decades, they’ve carved a niche in the Atlantic 10 conference, typically finishing in the middle of the pack and vying for postseason appearances. This year appears to be following that trend. Currently, the Patriots are jostling for position in a tightly contested conference, aiming to return to the NCAA Tournament.

Patriots History

Compared to other schools in the Atlantic 10, the George Mason program is still in its infancy. The Patriots program started in 1978-79 and is just 44 years old. The program’s overall record has been positive as they are 98 games over .500 with a 701-603 record.

Like other Atlantic 10 schools, George Mason was an independent program before joining the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference South. The Patriots were part of the ECACS for just six years before joining the Colonial Athletic Association.

George Mason remained a part of the CAA from 1985 until joining the Atlantic 10 in 2013. The A-10 has not been great to the program as they have yet to make an NCAA Tournament field since joining the conference. Still, the prestige of belonging to one of the best basketball conferences in the nation has undoubtedly elevated their exposure to the rest of the country.

Championships

As stated above, George Mason has been a pretty successful program in the short time that it’s been around. The Patriots have won four regular-season conference championships, all of which have occurred since 1999 and came as a member of the CAA. The Patriots won the regular season titles in 1999, 2000, 2006, and 2011.

George Mason has also won four conference tournament championships. The Patriots earned the NCAA Tournament automatic bid in 1989, 1999, 2001, 2008.

Former head coach Jim Larranaga led the program in all but one of those seasons as Ernie Nestor led the program to the 1989 championship.

Important George Mason Events

The most significant event in program history is the team’s run to the Final Four during the 2006 NCAA Tournament. The Patriots went 22-6 overall and 15-3 during the regular season. They landed nice victories over Wichita State and UNC-Wilmington that season but were unable to solve the puzzle that was Hofstra.

The Pride defeated the Patriots in their only regular-season meeting and the second round of the conference tournament. Despite not earning the automatic qualifier, the Patriots were awarded an 11-seed in the tournament.

George Mason would go on to defeat four of the top seven seeds in their region, including #1 seed Connecticut. The Huskies were 30-3 heading into the game and boasted five players that would eventually play in the NBA. They were ranked second in the final AP Poll for the 2005-06 season.

George Mason would eventually lose in the Final Four to the eventual champions Florida by a score of 73-58. Their story has become the quintessential Cinderella story of the NCAA Tournament behind only “Danny and the Miracles” and the 1985 Villanova Wildcats.

Top Players in Program History

So much of George Mason’s program success has come from player development. Unlike other mid-major programs that tend to be sanctuaries for power six program departures, George Mason is typically led by veteran homegrown players.

Carlos Yates is the program’s all-time leading scorer by a relatively large margin at 2,420 points over his four-year career. Yates never averaged fewer than 31 minutes per game from the time he stepped onto the court and never fewer than the 15.9 points per game he put up as a freshman.

In 1982-83, Yates averaged an All-time program-best 26.8 points per game, but the team managed just a 15-12 record. He was named the conference player of the year despite the team’s lack of overall success.

Kenny Saunders is the only other player in program history to have scored over 2,000 points over his career. Saunders played for George Mason from 1985-1989 and amassed 2,177 total points and 20.3 points per game average for his career.

While you won’t find Jai Lewis or Lamar Butler’s names throughout the program record book, the pair are some of the biggest names in program history as the leaders of the 2006 Final Four run. Lewis was huge in the team’s victory over UConn, posting 20 points and seven rebounds.

Butler averaged 14.4 points per game throughout the tournament run and shot an outstanding 45.8% from behind the three-point line during the run.

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