George Mason has been the surprise team in the A10 this year. In year two under head coach Tony Skinn, the Patriots are 19-5 and 10-1 in the conference, sitting alone in first place, a game ahead of VCU.
This has all come on the back of one of the nation's best defenses, ranking 13th nationally on KenPom.
The Patriots lost three of their first five games of the season, including a buzzer-beater at home to a Central Michigan team that is now 11-12, but Mason has found a new level since then. Sitting at 17-2 in the last 19 games, with the only losses coming against Duke and Rhode Island (by only three points), George Mason has stacked wins in A10 play thanks to a deep roster of talented defensive players.
Jalen Haynes, Zach Anderson, Woody Newton, and Giovanni Emejuru have done a great job in the frontcourt, while Jared Billups, Brayden O'Connor, KD Johnson, and the team's top scorer, Darius Maddox, make life extremely hard for opposing backcourts.
Over the next 11 days though, we're going to learn a lot more about George Mason as a team, and Tony Skinn as a coach.
First up: Schertz vs Skinn
Saint Louis is one of the toughest offenses to prepare for in the A10, with tons of shooting and playmaking threats all over the floor. While SLU has slumped as of late - losing three of five - Chaifetz should have a good crowd on Tuesday night to cheer on the Billikens against the league's top team.
Then, George Mason returns home to face Saint Joseph's, who provides a different type of physical challenge, before taking on VCU - the number 1 offense in the A10 by a wide margin - on the road next week.
Will the Patriots still be in first place when we wake up on Feb. 23? If they are, then they will have the inside track to the one seed, as the final four games on their schedule are not nearly as big of tests.