George Mason Patriots (Game 2)
Date: Wednesday February 5th, 2025
Time: 7:00 PM ET
Venue: Charles E. Smith Center (Washington, DC)
TV: ESPN+
Analytic Ranks: 71st (KenPom), 60th (Bart Torvik), 77th (Haslametrics), 65th (EvanMiya)
NET Ranking: 69th (Quad 2 Game)
2024-25 Projected Record: 23-8, 14-4 (T-1st in A10)
Game 1 Result: GMU 80, GW 77 (2OT) (Jones 16 points, Autry 15 points, Buchanan 15 points, Castro 12 points, Drumgoole 10 points)
Team Preview: Link
George Mason Record Since Last Matchup: 3-0 (Wins @ St. Bona, vs. Loyola, @ Davidson)
Offensive Efficiency: 188th (KenPom), 194th (Bart Torvik), 178th (Haslametrics), 150th (EvanMiya)
Defensive Efficiency: 19th (KenPom), 7th (Bart Torvik), 22nd (Haslametrics), 28th (EvanMiya)
Pace: 319th (KenPom), 303rd (Bart Torvik), 324th (Haslametrics), 304th (EvanMiya)
Projected Starting Lineup:
#4 G Brayden O'Connor (Junior; Ottawa, Canada) - 10.1 ppg, 3 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1 spg; 44% FG, 37% 3-PT, 79% FT per 28.8 mpg/22 GP
Game 1 @ Mason: 10 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block; 4-9 FG, 0-2 3-PT, 2-2 FT in 36 minutes.
#13 G Darius Maddox (Senior; Bowie, MD) - 13.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.2 apg; 39% FG, 31% 3-PT, 92% FT per 32.3 mpg/21 GP
Game 1 @ Mason: 17 points, 6 rebounds, 1 block; 6-15 FG, 2-6 3-PT, 3-3 FT in 42 minutes.
#2 G Woody Newton (Senior; District Heights, MD) - 6.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg; 38% FG, 30% 3-PT, 83% FT per 21.5 mpg/22 GP
Game 1 @ Mason: 1 assist, 1 block; 0-1 FG in 11 minutes.
#10 F Zach Anderson (Graduate Student; Apopka, FL) - 6 ppg, 3.3 rpg; 42% FG, 42% 3-PT, 70% FT per 22.5 mpg/22 GP
Game 1 @ Mason: 5 points, 4 rebounds; 1-3 FG, 0-2 3-PT, 3-3 FT in 22 minutes.
#11 F Jalen Haynes (Senior; Fort Lauderdale, FL) - 12.2 ppg, 6.9 rpg; 58% FG, 9% 3-PT, 54% FT per 23.9 mpg/22 GP
Game 1 @ Mason: 17 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist; 7-15 FG, 3-7 FT in 29 minutes.
Projected Bench:
#1 G Jared Billups (Senior; Waldorf, MD) - 5.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.2 spg; 40% FG, 19% 3-PT, 77% FT per 27.2 mpg/20 GP
Game 1 @ Mason: 8 points, 16 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, 1 block; 3-8 FG, 0-2 3-PT, 2-2 FT in 40 minutes.
#0 G KD Johnson (Senior; Atlanta, GA) - 6.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1 spg; 40% FG, 35% 3-PT, 73% FT per 20.3 mpg/21 GP
Game 1 @ Mason: 15 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals; 4-9 FG, 1-5 3-PT, 6-10 FT in 34 minutes.
#5 F Giovanni Emejuru (Junior; Leicester, United Kingdom) - 8.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg; 71% FG, 58% FT per 18.9 mpg/22 GP
Game 1 @ Mason: 7 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 blocks; 2-3 FG, 3-6 FT in 24 minutes.
#23 G Justin Begg (Freshman; Houston, TX) - 3.3 ppg, 1.4 apg; 45% FG, 30% 3-PT, 62% FT per 10.1 mpg/20 GP
Game 1 @ Mason: 1 point, 2 assists, 3 steals; 0-1 FG, 1-3 FT in 12 minutes.
Conference Marks (A10 play only):
Opponent FG Percentage: 38.1% (1st)
Rebound Margin: +7.7 RPG (1st)
Scoring Defense: 62 PPG (1st) (the Patriots concede 2.5 ppg fewer than the second best team in conf play)
Combined Opponent Rebounds: 30 RPG (2nd)
Scoring Margin: +6.1 PPG (2nd)
Combined Team Rebounds: 37.7 RPG (4th)
Team Defensive Rebounds: 27.2 DRPG (4th)
Team FG Percentage: 45.3% (4th)
Opponent 3-Point FG Percentage: 32.7% (6th)
Blocked Shots Per Game: 4.1 BPG (7th)
Opponent FT Percentage: 71.8% (8th)
Team 3-Point FG Percentage: 31.8% (8th)
Team Offensive Rebounds: 10.4 ORPG (9th)
Steals Per Game: 5.9 SPG (10th)
Team FT Percentage: 69.5% (10th)
Opponent Turnovers Per Game: 11.4 TO/G (11th)
Assists Per Game: 12 APG (12th)
Scoring Offense: 68.1 PPG (13th)
Turnovers Per Game: 13.4 TO/G (13th)
3-Point FGs Made: 6 3PM (14th)
Assist Turnover Ratio: 0.89 AST/TO (14th)
Individual Leaders (A10 play only):
Scoring:
Darius Maddox - 13.1 PPG (23rd)
Rebounding:
Jared Billups - 7 RPG (8th)
Jalen Haynes - 6.4 RPG (11th)
Field Goal Percentage:
Jalen Haynes - 53.8% (5th)
3-PT Field Goal Percentage:
Zach Anderson - 36.4% (20th)
Free Throw Percentage:
Darius Maddox - 96% (1st)
Brayden O'Connor - 82% (15th)
Assists:
KD Johnson - 2.9 APG (15th)
Brayden O'Connor - 2.6 APG (19th)
Blocked Shots:
Jalen Haynes - 1.3 BPG (12th)
Giovanni Emejuru - 0.9 BPG (20th)
Woody Newton - 0.8 BPG (22nd)
Steals:
Jared Billups - 1.3 SPG (14th)
KD Johnson - 1.1 SPG (25th)
Minutes:
Darius Maddox - 33.3 MPG (18th)
Trends:
- The Patriots shoot better than average from deep when they are on the road in conference games. In four A10 contests, they are 27/73 (~37%) from distance. Through nine games, they are just under 32% from 3 overall. URI was the only team to hold them under 37.5% from 3 as the home squad.
- George Mason also performs better than average from the FT line when on the road in the A10. GMU is 80% in four away games, compared to just 69.5% overall through nine conference contests. Once again, Rhody was the only squad to "hold" them to under 85% shooting from the line. In their last three road games, they have missed just two FTs in 37 attempts.
- Jalen Haynes made his first three of the season last Saturday at Davidson. It was just his fourth made triple in 32 attempts in his career. He has been a terror at the rim lately, blocking at least two shots in the past three games.
- Zach Anderson is 7/12 (58%) from distance since the two George schools last met. Mason has not lost this season when Anderson makes multiple threes in a game (6-0).
- Brayden O'Connor has made 18 straight FTs, but is just 1/9 from deep in his last four games. He can also be loose with the ball. O'Connor has coughed the rock up at least three times in six of nine conference games thus far.
- Woody Newton is just 1/9 from distance in his last five games (did not take a 3 in game 1 against GW). During this same span, he is not attempted a FT, despite playing a combined 93 minutes.
- Darius Maddox has really struggled from the field since the last GW game. In Mason's three most recent games, he's a brutal 8/33 (24%). That hasn't affected his FT stroke, as Maddox has made 21 straight attempts from the line and currently leads the A10 in FT percentage during conference play.
- Giovanni Emejuru is 13/15 (87%) from the field in the last two weeks of conference action. He's shooting about half as well as that from the FT line (42%) during that same span. It may be beneficial to hack him instead of allowing an easy shot.
- Justin Begg has had some of his best performances in Mason's last two games (7.5 ppg). The freshman from Houston is shooting 7/11 (64%) from the field in the past week. He had previously topped 7 points in a game just once prior to these last two games (vs. Penn).
- Jared Billups is a forward inside a guard's body. Since the start of conference play, he has had at least four rebounds in every game which points to his aggression on the glass. He prefers the midrange over the three point shot, which makes sense given Billups is just 3/16 (19%) from downtown in A10 play.
- KD Johnson converted on four field goals in the last meeting between GW and GMU. That was the first time he had made 4+ shots in a game since the end of November against another presidential school (James Madison). Johnson has actually made fewer shots (3) in the last three games combined than in the first GW game.
Projected Score: GMU 66, GW 63. 42% chance to win (KenPom). Bart Torvik predicts a 38% GW victory. ESPN gives the Revs a 34.4% chance at at a W.
