Previewing James Madison at George Mason

Last time these two teams met in Harrisonburg it was quite an interesting ending. Despite coming away with the victory, the Patriots had some trouble in the front court with the Duke's Denzel Bowles. Lately, we have seen better rebounding from this group and I wouldn't be surprised if we saw more help there from Louis Birdsong; even if Ryan Pearson starts. Pearson is expected to play tomorrow but don't be surprised if hes pulled due to a Mason lead, especially with the brutal schedule ahead.

If the Patriots continue their hot shooting from three-point land I think they can put this one away easy. Cam Long, in the past five games has been shooting 56% from behind the arch and as a team they lead the CAA from there in conference games at around 40%. But if JMU slows the game down early and draws the Mason front court into fouls it could be a closer game down the stretch. When Mason continues to drain outside shots with ease then we will see more alley-oops and dunks to Mike Morrison and it will be a repeat of the past week. Mason has the deeper bench and gets to the free-throw line a lot more than JMU and lately have been slashing to the basket more and more. Keep in mind the Dukes are coming off a win against William & Mary and have been shooting over 40% in their past two games.

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