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George Mason blown out at Richmond, 82-70: Bad time for a swoon for the Patriots

Chris Graham
george mason
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George Mason’s NCAA Tournament hopes now hinge on winning the A-10 Tournament, after an 82-70 Quad 3 loss at Richmond on Tuesday, in a game that was never close.

Richmond (14-11, 4-8 A-10, NET: 141) led by as many as 25 in the first half; it was 49-29 at the break, and Mason (21-4, 9-3 A-10, NET: 86) made the final look better by closing out garbage time with a 21-7 extended run.

“That’s not George Mason Basketball,” head coach Tony Skinn said. “My message to the team was that Richmond was going to give us everything they had. [The record] doesn’t matter. I just thought the first two minutes, their toughness and their effort level, taking us out of offense, moving and cutting at a high level – that set the tone.”

Fatt Hill led the Patriots with a season-best 23 points (8-of-11 FG) and grabbed eight rebounds in 35 minutes.

Riley Allenspach added 16 points, four rebounds and three steals, while Nick Ellington chipped in 11 points and eight rebounds in 25 minutes of action.

NCAA Tournament resume


Quad 1: 0-1
Quad 2: 
1-1
Quad3/4: 
19-2
Non-D1: 
1-0

Key

Quad 1: Home (1-30), Neutral (1-50), Away (1-75)
Quad 2: Home (31-75), Neutral (51-100), Away (76-135)

Metrics


Topline

  • RPI: 39
  • ELO: 52
  • NET: 86

Result-based

  • KPI: 45
  • SOR: 57
  • WAB: 62

Predictive

  • BPI: 79
  • KenPom: 85
  • BartTorvik: 119

Average: 70.4
NCAA Tournament seed projection: nowhere near

Key remaining games


  • Quad 2: @George Washington (14-11, 45-7 A-10, NET: 92), Feb. 13
  • Quad 1: @VCU (18-6, 9-2 A-10, NET: 50), March 3
  • Quad 1Saint Louis (23-1, 11-0 A-10, NET: 19), March 7

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Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, TikTok, BlueSky, or subscribe to Substack or his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].