FAIRFAX George Mason men’s basketball has pushed into uncharted early-season territory, and Tuesday night offers the next measuring stick.
The Patriots are 8-0 for the first time in school history and will try to keep that perfect start intact when Cornell visits EagleBank Arena for a 7 p.m. tip. The game will stream nationally on ESPN+, with radio coverage on the GoMason Digital Network beginning at 6:45 p.m.
Mason is one of 25 remaining unbeaten teams in the country, and the latest win carried both weight and swagger. On Saturday in Fairfax, the Patriots beat rival James Madison 82-66, a result that tied the all-time series at 51-51 and underscored how comfortable this group looks at home.
Junior guard Kory Mincy has been the steady engine behind that surge, and on Monday he added hardware to the résumé, earning Atlantic 10 Player of the Week honors. It’s the first time in his career Mincy has taken the weekly award, and the first for a George Mason player since Darius Maddox in March 2024.
Mincy averaged 23.0 points, 3.7 assists and 1.0 steal in three Patriot wins last week, shooting 53.8 percent from the floor. He was sharp from deep at 12-for-25, flawless at the line at 15-for-15, and took care of the ball with a 5.5 assist-to-turnover ratio. He capped the week with a game-high 25 points against James Madison, his third straight outing above 20.
On the season, Mincy ranks seventh nationally in free throw percentage at .973 and 14th in three point percentage at .521. He leads the A-10 in scoring at 19.6 points per game, sits near the top of the league in threes made per contest and assists, and logs more minutes than anyone in the conference.
The Patriots have not been a one-man show. They lead the Atlantic 10 and rank 15th nationally in three point percentage at .408, and over the last four games they have hit 45.6 percent from outside. Defensively, Coach Tony Skinn’s Patriot Pressure has returned in full, with Mason ranking 22nd nationally in effective field goal defense, 46th in overall defensive efficiency, 14th in scoring defense and 24th in three point defense.
Skinn’s teams have also turned EagleBank Arena into a reliable edge. Mason will play a program record 10 non-conference home games this season, and under Skinn the Patriots are 38-5 inside their building.
Forward Riley Allenspach added another lift Saturday, posting a season-best 17 points and a team-high nine rebounds against the Dukes. Over the past three games he is averaging 13.0 points and 8.7 rebounds. Mason has also steadied its turnover issue, cutting mistakes to 7.7 per game over the last three contests after averaging 14.4 through the first five games.
Cornell arrives in Fairfax with a reputation built on offense. Picked third in the Ivy League preseason poll, the Big Red lead the nation in three pointers made per game and assists per game, and rank among the top 10 nationally in both scoring offense and three point percentage. Ivy League scoring leader Cooper Noard headlines the group at 21.7 points per game, with Adam Hinton adding 13.4 per night and Jacob Beccles distributing at 3.1 assists per game.
Tuesday marks the third meeting between Mason and Cornell, with the series split. Cornell won in Fairfax in 2014, while the Patriots took the most recent matchup 90-83 on Nov. 15, 2023. Mason is 11-3 all time against Ivy League opponents, including last season’s 85-53 win over Penn in Fairfax.
After Tuesday, the Patriots head to Blacksburg for a Saturday matchup with Virginia Tech. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.