Game Day Links: George Mason vs William & Mary

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Line: George Mason by 3

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Game Notes (Birdsong to start in place of suspended Morrison)

Statistical Breakdown

How much of an impact will Morrison's suspension have on this team?

The Patriots have their work cut out for them tonight against a very strong William & Mary squad. A win tonight would guarantee the Patriots a top 4 seed in the CAA tournament and thus bypassing a Friday game during that weekend. Say what you want about the two game suspension for Mike Morrison but that fact remains he's out and Mason needs guys like Birdsong, Foster, and Williams to step up tonight. They don't need any of those three to light up the scoreboard but they do need stout defense in the middle and rebounding. The Tribe doesn't turn over the ball much and shoot very well from outside. If they start off hot tonight it could be difficult for the Patriots to mount a comeback like they had to against VCU last week.

Mason can make things easier for themselves by slashing to the basket more and getting to the foul line, while not always settling for the unwarranted three-pointer. Putting up points was an issue for this team last weekend at ODU and they can't afford another series of scoring slumps because the Tribe will make them pay for it just like the Monarchs did. They will need to keep David Schneider and Danny Sumner (Fairfax native) from going off early. While doing this it would also be nice if Cam Long or Ryan Pearson could set the tone early for the Patriots.

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