George Mason continues to roll at home and are now 9-0 in Fairfax after beating A-10 newcomer Loyola Chicago 86-75. The Patriots got a big lift from their bench with guys like Malik Henry and freshman Justyn Fernandez having some of their best games of the season. Josh Oduro was aggressive up front scoring 17 points and getting 12 rebounds and as a team they shot over 50% from the field. It was a balanced attack we would expect to see more of this season with five players scoring 12 or more points and getting quality minutes from the bench. The team’s strong second half performances at home continued and they are looking like they will be a tough out at Eagle Bank Arena for any conference opponent this year.

Ronald Polite continues to play well and gives Mason a nice scoring option at the point guard position. He and Saquan Singleton still have room for improvement in terms of helping the offense flow more smoothly but it’s enough stability at the position for now. Polite helped spark some forced turnovers and fast break opportunities, something we have hardly witnessed this season from Mason and would definitely hope to see more. On the other end they have been cutting down on their own turnovers and only had eight in this game. Mason has been much better overall in conference play about limiting the turnovers that gave them big problems earlier in the season.

There were still some breakdowns on defense, some of which was probably masked by the fact that they scored 51 points in the second half and shot so well from the field. I’m mostly ok with that but don’t think it will get them by teams like Saint Louis, who they play next, Dayton, or VCU. The offense looking this good without having to hit a bunch of three-pointers is something I hope also continues. Oduro could be starting to fit into this year’s role better, they’ve obviously proved they don’t need him to score 18-20 a night to win.