By Michael Abler, Staff Writer

Mason’s Mens Basketball program released their Atlantic-10 conference schedule for the upcoming basketball season earlier this month. Although the season starts  Oct. 13, Mason does not play at Eagle Bank Arena until Nov. 10  against Lafayette.

The Patriots will have no more than five nationally televised contests, as well as key matchups against powerhouse teams like VCU and Dayton. Mason begins their A-10 Conference matchups  Dec. 30 against the Rhode Island Rams.

The Patriots are hoping to build off of last season, which resulted in them earning 20 wins and 14 losses following a disastrous 11-21 campaign in the 2015-16 season. This feat may be difficult to achieve however, as the Patriots lost star player Marquise Moore during the offseason, so it’ll be up to Junior Otis Livingston II and the few remaining upperclassmen to prepare new players..  

Head Coach Dave Paulsen  returns for his third year as the Patriots’ Head Coach and has compiled a 31-35 win-loss record in his first two seasons.  Despite the seemingly daunting odds, there is not any reason to not be optimistic. Mason struggled during the early course of last season before going on a 9-game winning streak that almost got them into the March Madness tournament.

The Patriots are looking forward to the upcoming season, and the George Mason faithful can’t wait for it to start.

A full Mason Men’s basketball schedule can be found in this week’s sports section of the Fourth Estate.

Graphic by Billy Ferguson