The Saint Louis Billikens and George Mason Patriots will face off in the 1st round of the A-10 Men’s Championship this Wednesday night at the Barclays Center.
The Saint Louis Billikens come into the A-10 Tournament on a four game losing streak and earned the 13-seed after finishing the season with a 10-20 overall record and 5-13 conference record. The Billikens struggled on the offensive side the ball throughout the season as they ranked 320th in the country in scoring offensive and 285th in FG%. On the season, the Billikens have been led by Ash Yacoubou who averaged 11.0 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.8 apg. Also contributing for Saint Louis was Mike Crawford (10.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.0 apg), Reggie Agbeko (6.2 ppg, 6.1 rpg), and Milik Yarbrough (7.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.3 apg). Offensively, Saint Louis is averaging 65.3 ppg on 41.6% shooting from the field and 31.3% shooting from beyond the arc. The Billikens average 5.9 three-pointers per game and have an assist/turnover ratio of 0.97. Defensively, Saint Louis is allowing their opponents to average 71.8 ppg on 43.6% shooting. The Billikens have a rebound margin of -4.2 and have a turnover margin of -0.7.
George Mason had an interesting season as although the Patriots ended the season with a 11-20 record and earned the 12-seed with a 5-13 conference record, the Patriots did get some quality wins over Ole Miss, Oklahoma St, and Wright State during the regular season. Similar to Saint Louis, the Patriots biggest weakness has been their offensive and turnovers. On the season, George Mason was led by Otis Livingston II who averaged 11.9 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 3.6 apg. Also chipping in for the Patriots has been Shevon Thompson (9.9 ppg, 10.5 rpg), Marquise Moore (11.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 3.0 apg), and Jaire Grayer (9.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg). Offensively, George Mason is averaging 66.5 ppg on 40.7% shooting from the field and 29.1% shooting from beyond the arc. The Patriots average 5.3 three-pointers per game and have an assist/turnover ratio of 0.81. Defensively, George Mason is allowing their opponents to average 71.9 ppg on 42.2% shooting. The Patriots have a rebound margin of 7.4 and a turnover margin of -5.7.
The Billikens are 15-31 ATS in their last 46 vs. A-10 opponents and 1-8-1 ATS in their last 10 neutral site games. The Patriots are 16-39-1 ATS in their last 56 games following a ATS win and 15-37 ATS in their last 52 games following a straight up win.
Saint Louis and George Mason split their regular season series as the Billikens won a 79-77 OT battle in mid-February while the Patriots won a by a 92-79 margin on the road. Both of these offensives can struggle scoring the ball but I feel that the Patriots are the more talented team, and as long as the Patriots can limit their turnovers, I think they shouldn’t have any problem taking care of St. Louis. I’m taking George Mason to cover.