GEORGE MASON MEN S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES

Transcription

1 GEORGE MASON MEN S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES George Mason Schedule and Results November 10 vs. UC-Irvine # W, (Coaches vs Wake Forest) 11 vs. No. 18 Wake Forest # L, (OT) 22 CREIGHTON L, at Manhattan W, December 2 at Georgia State * W, vs. American W, (BB& T MCI Center) 7 at Old Dominion * L, RADFORD W, HAMPTON W, HOLY CROSS W, at Mississippi State L, January 2 at Northeastern * W, VA. COMMONWEALTH * 7 p.m. 7 DELAWARE * 7 p.m. 12 at William & Mary * 7 p.m. 14 at James Madison * 7 p.m. 19 NORTHEASTERN * 7 p.m. 21 at UNC-Wilmington * 7 p.m. 26 WILLIAM & MARY * 7 p.m. 28 OLD DOMINION * 2 p.m. February 2 at Delaware * 7:30 p.m. 4 UNC-WILMINGTON * 7 p.m. 9 at Va. Commonwealth * 7:30 p.m. 11 TOWSON * 4:30 p.m. 15 DREXEL * 7 p.m. 18 at BRACKET BUSTER TBA 23 at Hofstra * 7 p.m. 25 JAMES MADISON * Noon March 3-6 CAA Championship TBA at Richmond Coliseum (Richmond, Va.) TRENDS: The Patriots have won seven of their past nine games and they have taken two of their first three conference games. Mason has yet to play a conference game at the Patriot Center but they will play two straight, with Virginia Commonwealth tonight and Delaware on Saturday. Mason got double figures from four players in its win over Northeastern as Jai Lewis had 19 and Tony Skinn had 17 to lead the way. Those two, along with Lamar Butler, are within five points of each other on the season. Butler leads the team with 172 points (14.3 points per game), Lewis has scored 168 points (14.0 points per game) and Skinn has scored 167 points (13.9 points per game). All three of those players were named All- CAA in and the other two starters, Folarin Campbell and Will Thomas, were each named to the All-Rookie team. Mason will need strong performances fromall those players if it wants to take out Virginia Commonwealth. The Rams had won 22 of 34 games against Mason, including the past three contests and six of the past seven. Nick George hurt Mason last year when VCU won both meetings. He averaged 24.5 points in those games. Mason s best weapon against Virginia Commonwealth has been Lewis. In the past five meetings, the senior has averaged 18.4 points per game and he s scored at least 16 points in all five of those contests. George Mason s Probable Starters George Mason (8-4, 2-1) vs. Va. Commonwealth (8-3, 2-1) Date/Time: Jan. 5, 7 p.m. Site: Fairfax, Va.. Radio: WDCT 1310 AM, WGMUradio.com Bill Rohland (play-by-play) Jen Surlas (color) COACHING MILESTONE: A couple of big coaching milestones loom on the horizon for Mason head coach Jim Larranaga. The Colonial Athletic Association s record for CAA coaching wins is in sight for Coach L. The CAA counts both regular-season and conference tournament games toward CAA coaching records. As a result, Larranaga currently has 98 CAA wins, tied for second place with former James Madison coach Lefty Driesell. Two more coaching victories will make Coach L only the second CAA coach to 100 win. The current record is held by Dick Tarrant, who recorded 106 CAA wins while coaching at Richmond. Since the Patriots have won 10 or more conference games each of the past seven seasons, all they have to do is extend that streak and No. Name Pos Yr. Ht. PPG RPG Notes 1 Tony Skinn G Sr Second on team assists, steals 22 Lamar Butler G Sr Leading the team in scoring 34 Will Thomas F So Second on team in rebounding 42 Folarin Campbell G So Leads team in assists 55 Jai Lewis F Sr Third in CAA in rebounding, FG% Key Reserves No. Name Pos Yr. Ht. PPG RPG Notes 2 Jordan Carter G So Averaging 5.1 minutes per game 3 Makan Konate G/F Jr Has played 15 minutes 5 Gabe Norwood G Jr Leading scorer off the bench 12 Tim Burns G Jr Has scored in all but one app. 13 Jesus Urbina F Jr Has not played due to injury 24 Charles Makings G Jr Averaging a rebound every 3 minutes 40 Chris Fleming F/C Fr Averaging 2.8 reb. in past 3 app. 50 Sammy Hernandez F Fr Shooting.625 from the field

2 Larranaga will at least tie Tarrant this season. Larranaga is also approaching two other coaching milestones. Three more wins and he will have 150 victories as Mason s head coach. He is already the school s all-time leader in coaching victories. He also needs just five more wins to reach 350 wins in his career. ACTING DEFENSIVE: The Patriots set a school record last week when Mason held Holy Cross to just 38 points in a win. The 38 points is the fewest Mason has ever allowed at home in the history of the program. In fact, Mason has kept an opponent to fewer than 40 points twice in school history. The first time it happened was on a neutral court in the 2001 CAA Tournament as Mason down James Madison, The second time it happened was the following game, a win over UNC Wilmington to win the CAA title. The third time it happened was December 5, 2005, when Mason downed American, The win over the Holy Cross was the fourth time. Thanks, in part, to those two performances this year, Mason is allowing just 59.4 points per game, which puts the Patriots on pace to set the school record for fewest points per game allowed. FIVE AND DIME: The Patriots had terrific ball distribution against Hampton as the Patriots had assists on 18 of 26 baskets and all five starters scored in double figures. Will Thomas had 10, Tony Skinn scored 12, Folarin Campbell went for 15 and Lamar Butler and Jai Lewis each scored 18. Having all five players in double figures is not a particularly common occurance for the Patriots. In fact, it had been nearly three years since Mason last accomplished that task. Until the Hampton contest, the last time STAT COMPARISON MASON VS. VA. COMMONWEALTH MASON VCU 8-4 Overall Record Scoring Scoring Defense Point Margin Rebound Avg Opponent Rebound Avg Rebounding Margin FG% Opponent FG% Point FG% Opponent 3-Point FG% FT% Opponent FT% Block Avg Steal Avg Assist Avg Turnover Avg Turnover Margin +4.8 Mason had a game in which its starting five all finished with double figures was February 1, On that night, the Patriots defeated Towson, at the Patriot Center. Raoul Heinen had 10 points, Richard Tynes scored 11, Jesse Young added 13, Jon Larranaga went for 14 and Mark Davis poured in 21. HISTORY OF SUCCESS: The Patriots are currently on a streak of seven straight seasons with 10 or more wins in conference play. Such a streak is rather rare among NCAA Division I teams. The Patriots are one of 14 teams that currently have a streak of seven or more consecutive seasons with 10 or more conference wins. There were 330 schools that participated in Division I play in , meaning less than 5 percent of all teams have managed to put together such a streak. The other schools with streaks as long or longer are: Arizona (21 years), Kentucky (16), Valparaiso (12), Kansas (11), Creighton (9), Duke (9), Connecticut (8), Gonzaga (8), Michigan State (8), Niagara (8), Oklahoma State (8), Kent State (7) and Southern Illinois (7). The Patriots faced Michigan State last season, took on Niagara in and , and played Creighton earlier this season. The last time Mason failed to win 10 games in the CAA was also the last time Mason failed to win 15 games in a season, the season which was Jim Larranaga s first as head coach of the Patriots. HELPING HAND: The Patriots have been a very unselfish group this season, with Mason third in the CAA in assists per game (16.45) and first in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.25:1). On 62 percent of Mason s baskets, the Patriots have recorded assists, second-best total in the CAA. Only Towson, which has assists on 69 percent of its baskets, is doing better. It should come as no surprise that Mason has been so pass-happy, considering four players have more than 100 career assists (see History in the Making note). LEGACY: It s been quite a month for Lamar Butler. First, he became just the 20th player in George Mason history with 200 career assists after handing out five against Radford. Then, the fifth-year senior graduated from Mason, earning a degree in communication. Then, against Holy Cross, Butler set a school record by recording the 252nd 3-pointer of his career, breaking Donald Ross career record. With two steals against Mississippi State, Butler became just the sixth player in Mason history to record 1,200 points, 200 assists and 100 steals. SLIMMEST OF MARGINS: George Mason s loss to Old Dominion was heartbreaking as the winning basket for the Monarchs came on a 3-pointer with less than one second to play. By nearly every measure, Mason outplayed MASON LEADERS Scoring Points Avg. Lamar Butler Jai Lewis Tony Skinn Folarin Campbell Rebounding Rebounds Avg. Jai Lewis Will Thomas Assists Assists Avg, Folarin Campbell Tony Skinn Lamar Butler Steals Steals Avg. Jai Lewis Tony Skinn Gabe Norwood Blocks Blocks Avg. Gabe Norwood Folarin Campbell FG Pct. (min. 3/game) FGM-FGA Pct. Jai Lewis Will Thomas Pt FG Pct. (mn. 1/ g) 3PM-3PA Pct. Lamar Butler Tony Skinn FT Pct. (min. 2/game) FTM-FTA Pct. Tony Skinn Folarin Campbell Old Dominion, with better shooting from the field, better ball distribution and fewer turnovers. But Old Dominion did a better job when it came to offensive rebounding and free throw shooting and that was enough to make the difference. The loss to Old Dominion was Mason s first one-point loss since falling to Virginia Commonwealth on March 8, That loss came in the CAA Championship Game with an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament on the line. That was also the last time Mason held a team to fewer than 60 points and did not come away with a win. HISTORY IN THE MAKING: If Tony Skinn matches his scoring output this year from the season, something historic will happen at Mason that has only taken place once in the school s 30-plus year history - there will be three players on the court at the same time with more than 1,000 career points. Lamar Butler currently has 1,245 points scored after playing in 100 games. Jai Lewis has scored 1,189 career points in 101 games. Skinn, who has appeared in 70 games, has 800 points. Skinn entered the season needing 350 points to join the 1,000 point club and he has tallied nearly half of that total in the first 11 games. Last year, Skinn scored 388 points. Mason has had 25 players reach 1,000 points in their career, and many played on the same team, but only once before did three play on the same team after having reached 1,000 points. Late in the season, Carlos Yates, Rob Rose and Ricky Wilson all appeared on the court for Mason with 1,000 career points under

3 TALE OF THE COACHING TAPE Capel Larranaga Record at School Wins Per Year Winning Percentage Overall Record Wins Per Year Winning Percentage their belt. Yates played his final season that year, finishing with 2,420 points. Rose and Wilson each had a year remaining, and they finished with 1,565 and 1,505 points, respectively. While a trio of 1,000 point scorers has happened before at Mason, what has never happened before is a quartet of 100 assist passers. Currently, four Mason players have 100 career assists, with Butler having recorded 211, Lewis with 143, Skinn with 130 and Gabe Norwood with 124. That makes this Mason team the first to have four players with 100 career assists on the roster. FRESHMEN TEN: For the typical firstyear college student, the freshmen ten is something to be feared - the weight that can be gained due to a varied menu in the cafeteria and the late hours a co-ed usually has to endure. For Sammy Hernandez, the freshman ten has a complete different meaning, one that is completely welcome. For Hernandez, it means the number of minutes per game he is playing. After playing 14 minutes in his first collegiate start against Manhattan and 21 minutes against Georgia State, Hernandez has found a steady level, averaging 12.0 minutes per game. The freshman is making the most of his time on the court. He has grabbed rebounds and been selective with his shots, contributing with his defense as well as his offense. Hernandez is 15 of 24 from the field, 2 of 4 from 3-point range. He reached double-digits in rebounds for the first time against Manhattan. He is coming off a seven-rebound performance against Northeastern. Thus far this season, Hernandez is averaging 2.8 points and 3.8 rebounds. CAMPBELL NOT A GAMBLE: Folarin Campbell has made a big splash for the Patriots this season, stepping into the starting lineup and taking over as the point guard for a team that has plenty of backcourt options. Mason has plenty of scoring options, and Campbell does an excellent job of distributing the ball. He also has done an excellent job of being involved in every facet of the game, crashing the boards, scoring when necessary and playing defense. So far this season, Campbell has been the only Patriot to finish a game as the leading scorer, rebounder, passer and defender. Against Wake Forest, Creighton, Manhattan and American, Campbell has been Mason s leader in assists. Against Creighton, he tied for the team lead in points, with 14. Against American, he tied for the team lead in rebounds with seven. Also against the Eagles, he led the Patriots in blocks, with three, the most by a Patriot in a game this year. It s only a matter of time until he finishes a game as the team leader in steals. CARTER ANSWERS CALL: With such a comfortable lead against American, there was a chance for several Mason players to play many more minutes than usual. One of those beneficiaries was Jordan Carter. The sophomore point guard played a season-high 16 minutes and his performance reflected what can happen with extended playing time. Carter set new career highs in rebounds and steals, tied a career high in blocks and came within one assist of matching his career high in that category as well. The native of Indianapolis, Ind. grabbed five boards, swiped three steals, blocked one shot and handed out four assists. He also scored his second basket of the season and he is currently 2 for 2 from the field. Carter is the only player on Mason s roster that has more career assists, 38, than career points, 32. NEW ADDITIONS: Three George Mason players will see their eligibility exhausted after the season and the men s basketball program has three players signed to take their spots on the roster. Louis Birdsong of Mount St. Joseph High School (Baltimore, Md.), Richard Flemming of Notre Dame Academy (Middleburg, Va.) and Darryl Monroe of Central Florida Community College (Ocala, Fla.) will join the Patriots beginning with the season. Birdsong was recruited by a number of CAA schools, including Old Dominion, Virginia Commonwealth, UNC Wilmington. The 6-foot- 5, 230 power forward averaged 14.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks as a junior. Flemming ia a 6-foot-7, 200-poind win player who is quick off the dribble. Originally from Harrisburg, Pa., he averaged 16.7 points, 10.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.0 blocks as a junior. Monroe is also a 6-foot-7, 230-pound power forward who will have two years of eligibility. As a freshman at CFCC, he averaged 17.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists. NEXT UP: After opening up with three straight conference road games, Mason will play its second straight CAA home game on Saturday, as the Patriots host Delaware at 7 p.m. Mason is 9-5 all-time against Delaware but the teams have split in the regular season the past two years. Mason has won five of the past eight meetings MASON RECORD WHEN... Mason leads at the half 8-2 Mason trails at the half 0-2 Mason is tied at the half 0-0 Mason leads with 5:00 to play 7-0 Mason trails with 5:00 to play 1-3 Tied with 5:00 to play 0-1 Overtime 0-1 Mason wins opening tip 5-4 Opposition wins opening tip 3-0 Mason outrebounds opposition 6-1 Opposition outrebounds Mason 1-2 Teams are equal in rebounding 1-1 Mason shoots 45 percent or better 8-1 Mason shoots less than 45 percent 0-3 Mason has better shooting pct. 8-1 Opposition has better shooting pct. 0-2 Mason shoots better than 70% FT 1-1 Mason shoots less than 70% FT 7-3 Mason shoots better from FT line 2-0 Opposition shoots better from FT line 5-3 Teams shoot same from FT line 1-1 Mason scores 70 points or more 8-1 Mason scores less than 70 points 0-3 Opposition score 70 points or more 0-2 Opposition scores less than 70 points 8-2 Game decided by 1-2 points 0-2 Game decided by 3-5 points 1-1 Game decided by 6-9 points 1-0 Game decided by points 2-0 Game decided by 15 or more points 4-1 Lewis leads team in scoring 5-1 Butler leads team in scoring 4-0 Skinn leads team in scoring 0-2 Others lead team in scoring 0-2 Lewis leads team in rebounding 1-3 Thomas leads team in rebounding 3-1 Others lead team in rebounding 5-0 Campbell leads team in assists 4-2 Skinn leads team in assists 4-1 Others lead team in assists 4-3 Opponent is better than Opponent is less than Opponent has.500 record 1-0 Four or more score in double figures 3-1 Three or fewer score in double figures 5-3 Day (game begins before 6 p.m.) 1-0 Night (game begins 6 p.m. or later) 7-4 November 2-2 December 5-2 January 1-0 February 0-0 March 0-0 Monday 2-0 Tuesday 1-1 Wednesday 1-1 Thursday 1-0 Friday 1-2 Saturday 2-0 Sunday 0-0 Televised game 2-0 Mason wears green 4-3 Mason wears white 4-1

4 CREAM OF THE CAA CROP: There have been several hallmarks to the Jim Larranaga era at George Mason. First and foremost among those is success in conference play. Over the past seven-plus seasons, the Patriots have been the CAA s top teams in terms of conference wins, overall wins, CAA winning percentage and overall winning percentage, while ranking second in postseason appearances. The chart below shows the top three teams in the CAA over the past seven-plus seasons and how they stack up in the aforementioned categories. Mason UNCW VCU CAA Wins CAA Win % Overall Wins Overall Win % Postseason App ONE GAME AT A TIME: The George Mason men s basketball team has suffered 101 losses under head coach Jim Larranaga in his eight-plus seasons as head coach of the Patriots. One hallmark of a well-coached team is a group s ability to put a loss behind it and focus on the next challenge. Very few teams finish the season with a win - the NCAA and NIT champions are traditionally the only ones that manage that feat. Over the past eight seasons, Mason has suffered 91 losses in which the team retook the court that season. In those games, Mason has rattled off a record, good for a.593 winning percentage. That winning percentage is higher than Mason s overall winning percentage under Larranaga (.587). Not only are the Patriots more focused and harder to beat after they ve suffered a loss, they re also particularly hard to beat after suffering a road loss. The Patriots are after road losses, which translated into a.606 winning percentage. Here s a look at Mason s performance after a loss under Larranaga: Year Rec. after loss Rec. after road loss Totals Beginning with Larranaga s second season, Mason is after a loss (.658) and (.639) after a road loss. DIFFERENT YEAR, DIFFERENT APPROACH: Mason s first two games in had completely different storylines, and both showed a distinct departure from the pattern laid out by the squad. In the season opener, Mason jumped out to a 26-point lead over UC Irvine and maintained a 20-point edge until the final buzzer sounded. In the second game, Mason fell behind by 19 early in the second half before rallying to tie Wake Forest and force overtime against the No. 18 team in the nation. Head coach Jim Larranaga was quick to point out what a departure those two efforts were from what last year s team would have produced. In , when Mason had a lead, it often struggled to maintain focus. When those Patriots fell behind, they lacked the ability to rally. Larranaga was quite please to see his troops not only play well with a lead and expand it, but to see his players continue to battle despite an enormous deficit. The third and fourth games of the season both saw Mason fall behind early. Against Creighton, Mason repeatedly narrowed the gap forcing the Bluejays to make a play. Against Manhattan, Mason turned an early 17-8 deficit into a lead. Against Georgia State, American and Holy Cross, Mason showed the same cutthroat nature it exhibited against UC Irvine. Mason opened the second half against Georgia State with a 13-0 run and kept adding on the lead until it was greater than 30. Against American, Mason scored the first 16 points of the game and built a 29-3 first-half lead. Mason didn t let up, eventually downing American by 40 points. Against Holy Cross, Mason opened the second half with a 22-2 run. One thing has become clear about this year s squad after 10 games - the Patriots have a killer instinct and no opposition lead will be safe CAA FINAL STANDINGS AND LEADERS FINAL STANDINGS CAA Overall W L W L Old Dominion * UNC Wilmington VCU! Hofstra! Drexel! George Mason Delaware William & Mary James Madison Towson * - CAA Champions, NCAA Automatic Bid! - NIT Participant FINAL STAT LEADERS Scoring G Pts. PPG Harding Nana, DEL Loren Stokes, HOF Nick George, VCU Lamar Butler, MASON Rebounding G Reb. RPG Harding Nana, DEL Alex Loughton, ODU Lawrence Hamm, TOW Jai Lewis, MASON CAA STANDINGS CAA Overall W L W L UNC Wilmington Drexel Va. Commonwealth George Mason Northeastern Hofstra Old Dominion Towson Georgia State William & Mary Delaware James Madison RECENT GAMES December 31 Loyola (Md.) 99, Delaware 86 Richmond 52, William & Mary 50 East Carolina 82, UNC Wilmington 69 Drexel 53, Monmouth 49 January 2 George Mason 71, Northeastern 68 Towson 86, College of Charleston 75 Virinia Tech 77, James Madison 58 Louisiana-Lafayette 76, Georgia State 70 UAB 68, VCU 62 January 3 UNC Wilmington at Old Dominion UPCOMING GAMES January 5 VCU at George Mason James Madison at Hofstra Georgia State at Northeastern Drexel at William & Mary UNC Wilmington at Delaware Old Dominion at Towson January 7 Delaware at George Mason Georgia State at Hofstra William & Mary at UNC Wilmington Towson at James Madison Drexel at VCU Northeastern at Old Dominion PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Antoine Aguidio, So., G, Hofstra - 1/2 Harding Nana, Sr., F, Delaware - 12/26 Isaiah Hunter, Sr., G, Old Dominion - 12/19 Dominick Mejia, Jr., G, Drexel - 12/12 Antoine Agudio, So., G, Hofstra - 12/5 Arnaud Dahi, Jr, F, Old Dominion - 11/28 Jose Juan Barea, Sr., G, Northeastern - 11/21 John Goldsberry, Sr., G, UNCW - 11/21 ROOKIES OF THE WEEK Zaire Taylor, G, Delaware - 1/2 Calvin Baker, G, William & Mary - 12/26 Zygis Sestokas, G/F, Hofstra - 12/19 Rashad Chase, F, Georgia State - 12/12 Tim Crossin, G, Towson - 12/5 Juwann James, James Madison - 12/5 Calvin Baker, G, William & Mary - 11/28 Calvin Baker, G, William & Mary - 11/21

5 SEVENTY = SUCCESS: There are several hallmarks to George Mason basketball under head coach Jim Larranaga. First and foremost is that the Patriots traditionally fare well in a high-scoring affair. In fact, the Patriots have only lost once in the past eight-plus seasons on an occasion when they scored 90 points or more. On November 21, 1998, Mason fell on the road at Fairfield, in the AT&T Shootout. Since then, Mason has gone 11-0 when scoring 90-plus points. Here is a breakdown of Mason s record under Larranaga in terms of points scored: W L Win Pct. 100-plus Less than Mason is (.802) when scoring 70 or more points, 7-48 (.127) when scoring 59 or fewer. On the flip side of the team s record when scoring 70 or more is how the team fares when holding the opposition to less than 70. Mason enjoys nearly equal success when the defense limits the opposition to fewer than 70. Here is a breakdown of Mason s record under Larranaga in terms of points allowed: W L Win Pct. 100-plus Less than Mason is (.748) when allowing fewer than 70 points, 6-28 (.176) when allowing 80 or more points. PRESEASON ALL-CAA SELECTIONS In late October, CAA head coaches, SIDs and media members were polled on how they thought teams would fare and who they thought would be the league s best players. Here are the results of the preseason polls: Team First Team 1. Old Dominion % Jose Juan Barea, Northeastern $ Sr. 2. Virginia Commonwealth Nick George, Virginia Commonwealth * Sr. 3. George Mason Alex Loughton, Old Dominion * Sr. 4. Hofstra Harding Nana, Delaware * Sr. 5. UNC Wilmington Loren Stokes, Hofstra * Jr. 6. Northeastern 7. Drexel Second Team 8. Delaware Antoine Agudio, Hofstra ^ So. 9. James Madison Lamar Butler, Mason # Sr. 10. Georgia State John Goldsberry, UNC Wilmington # Sr. 11. Towson Isaiah Hunter, Old Dominion # Sr. 12. William & Mary Jai Lewis, Mason # Sr. Player of the Year: Alex Loughton, Old Dominion % CAA Champion * - First-Team All-CAA in $ - First-Team All-America East in # - Second-Team All-CAA in ^ - Third-Team All-CAA in A TRUE WINNER When Lamar Butler walks off the court for the final time as a George Mason student-athlete, he very well might walk off as the winningest Patriot in school history. Butler s teams have put together a record of for a.641 winning percentage. If Mason wins 19 games this year, he will become the first Patriot to win 77 games in a career. Deon Cooper, Raoul Heinen and Mark Davis all won 76 games. Butler s current winning percentage puts him on the cusp of one of the best winning percentages in school history as well, right behind Rob Rose and Ricky Wilson s.638 mark ( ). Here are the win-loss records and winning percentage of the George Mason seniors entering this year: Overall Win Pct. CAA Win Pct. Lamar Butler Jai Lewis Tony Skinn MASON FINDS HOME IN INTERNET POLL The web site CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 is released every Monday during the basketball season and the Patriots have spent most of this season in the top 25. The poll is comprised of teams from 19 different conferences from across the nation. Mason is currently on the cusp of the poll, receiving 91 points, with Tennesse Tech sitting at 25th with 101 points. Impressively, Mason has already played four games against teams hat were on the preseason list and finds itself geared up to play 11 games against teams that have received votes in the poll at some point this season. Mason has faced Creighton, Manhattan, American, Old Dominion, Northeastern and Holy Cross this year, all of which received votes this year. Of Mason s remaining games, the Patriots have a home game against Old Dominion (#7), a road game against Hofstra (#17), two games against VCU (#24), a home game against Northeastern (votes), two games against UNC Wilmington (#16) and a home game against Drexel (#14). Seven CAA teams are among the top 29 in the poll. HOME IS WHERE THE WINS ARE Over the past seven seasons, the Patriots have been very difficult to beat at the Patriot Center. In fact, Mason has a streak of seven straight seasons with 10 or more home wins. Over that same stretch, Mason has just one season with a winning record on the road. The following is Mason s home and road records, both overall and in Colonial Athletic Association action, over the past seven seasons. Year Home Road Neutral CAA Home CAA Road

6 PLAYING THE PERCENTAGES: Six times this season Mason has converted on more than half of its shots and all six times, the Patriots have recorded wins. In fact, when Mason shots better than 50 percent from the field, it s usually by a wide margain, as all five times Mason has shot.544 or better. The Patriots opened the season shooting.544 against UC Irvine. After back-to-back losses, and sub-.500 shooting performances, Mason returned to its hot shooting, going.561 from the field in downing Manhattan. Against Georgia State, the Patriots shot.596 from the field. Most recently, Mason shot.556 against Radford,.578 against Hampton and.551 against Holy Cross The only time Mason has won without shooting 50 percent or better was against American, when Mason shot.435 but held American to just.226 shooting, a team record under Jim Larranaga. PATRIOTIC LANDMARKS: Mason s win over American University had a number of impressive performances, both on the team and individual level. For starters, the 40-point win was Mason s largest margin of victory in nearly five years. The last time Mason won a game by 40 or more points was January 22, 2001 when Mason defeated East Carolina, That win came at home. Since rising to the Division I ranks in the season, Mason has never defeated an opponent by as many as 40 points in a game played off campus. The previous largest margin of victory for Mason in a neutral site game was 38 points, when Mason downed Johns Hopkins at the United Virginia Bank Cavalier Invitational on November 27, Combining the Patriots wins over Georia State and American, Mason outscored the opposition by 70 total points in back-to-back games. That ties a second-place school mark for largest margin of victory in back-to-back games as a Division I school. The aforementioned win over East Carolina was followed by a 28-point win over American, giving Mason a 70-point combined win over those two schools. The only time Mason has won back-to-back Division I games by a larger margin was when Mason opened the season with a 66-point win over Delaware State and a 15-point win over Troy State, for a total margin of victory of 81 points. While the Patriots were setting some team marks, senior guards Tony Skinn and Lamar Butler accomplished some intriguing individual marks. Skinn finished the first half with 15 points and five 3- pointers. After 20 minutes, he had single-handedly outscored American, which went into the break with 12 points. The Eagles made just five total field goals in the half. Skinn tied his own career high for 3- pointers in the game in just the first half. Butler, meanwhile, went to the bench for the final eight minutes, watching from the sidelines as the Mason reserves increased the lead on American. There was no doubt Butler did his part in the win. When the senior from Fort Washington, Md. went to the bench, he had outscored American. Butler finished with 23 points and when he left the game American had scored just 22. BB&T RECORDS: Mason s big win over American brought with it several tournament records. The 11th Annual BB&T saw the Patriots set tournament records for largest margin of victory, 40, and fewest points allowed, 35. Mason last beat a team by as many as 40 points in the season. That was also the last time Mason held a team to less than 40 points in a game. On March 5, 2001, Mason won the CAA Tournament over UNC Wilmington, winning a defensive battle, In that contest, both teams shot less than 30 percent from the field. Earlier this month, American shot just.226 from the field. In terms of opponent field-goal percentage, it was the best performance by any Mason team under Jim Larranaga, setting a new record low. HANG TEN: Ten Mason players hung points on American earlier this season, with every available player scoring with the exceptions of Makan Konate and Gabe Norwood. The numerous stat lines usually come in big wins, and for Mason, that was certainly the case against American, and it was also the case the last time 10 or more players scored for Mason. On February 5, 2005, the third-largest crowd in Patriot Center history got to witness Mason beat James Madison by 22 points. In that contest, every Patriot on the roster, with the exception of Konate, managed to tickle the strings. Tony Skinn scored 15 points in that game while Lamar Butler and John Vaughan adde 13. Jai Lewis, Norwood, Jordan Carter, Tim Burns, Jesus Urbina, Charles Makings, Will Thomas and Folarin Campbell all found their way into the scoring column that night. Lewis, Carter, Burns, Makings, Thomas, Campbell, Skinn and Butler scored against American, along with freshmen Chris Fleming and Sammy Hernandez. 3-POINT HIGHS AND LOWS: The Patriots three-game winning streak earlier this year was unique in that each victory has had a completely different look to it. The stretch began with Mason downing Manhattan, on Nov. 26. In that game, the Patriots attempted 30 free throws, twice as many as the Jaspers. At the same time, Mason was a paltry 2 of 7 from behind the arc. Not only did Mason make an astonishingly few 3-pointers, the seven attempts from behind the arc was the team s lowest total in nearly four years. The last time Mason took fewer than seven 3-pointers in a game was February 6, On that night, Mason played on the road at Delaware, just the second time the team s had faced as members of the CAA. Mason was 2 of 6 from 3- point range that night. Just like the game against Manhattan, Mason escaped with a win, downing the Blue Hens, The only current Patriot to participate in that game was Lamar Butler. Then a freshman guard, Butler started that contest, scoring seven points. Butler is currently second all-time at Mason in career 3-pointers, but even he was held without an attempt from long range. He finished the game shooting 2 of 4 from the field and 3 of 4 from the free throw line. Jesse Young paced the Patriots with 19 points and 8 rebounds while Jon Larranaga had 13 points. Fast forward to Mason s BB&T game at the MCI Center against American. The Patriots were an astounding 14 of 33 from 3-point range in that game, making as many 3-pointers as Ameican had total field goals. The performance was two shy of team the team record of 16 3-pointers in a game, set on December 10, 1994 vs. Troy State. The 3-point attempts weren t the only disparity between the Manhattan game and the American game. While Mason attempted nearly five times as many 3-pointers against American as it did against Manhattan, the Patriots also attempted 10 times fewer the amount of free throws. Mason had just three attempts from the charity stripe against American versus the 30 it had against Manhattan. INVASION: It s been more than 50 years since a state has been added to our country, the longest such stretch without a change in our nation s history. Perhaps the next border-changing event that will take place will happen in Fairfax, and it will start with the basketball team. Currently, seven Mason players, half the team, hail from the state of Maryland. While they may not have plans to force Fairfax to secede or to help Maryland annex the county, they certainly are doing plenty to draw attention to their mini invasion. Five of the seven players are currently starters for the Patriots, with Lamar Butler, Tony Skinn, Jai Lewis, Folarin Campbell and Will Thomas all calling Maryland home. John Vaughan, a starter much of last year, is also a native of Maryland, as is junior Charles Makings. What makes any plans for a coup even stronger is the fact that they face no real competition on the team. No other state in the union or nation on the planet is represented by more than one individual. Chris Fleming hails from Virginia, Sammy Hernandez from Florida, Jordan Carter from Indiana, Tim Burns from Massachusetts, Gabe Norwood from Pennsylvania, Jesus Urbina from Venezuela and Makan Konate from Mali. When the players from The Old Line State decide to rebel, who will be there to stop them? BENCH: One area this season that Mason has not been as productive as it would like is in contributions off the bench. The Patriots have received more than 15 points from the bench just twice this season. For the year, Mason has scored 853 points. Of that production, 88 percent has come from the starting quintent of Skinn, Butler, Lewis, Thomas and Campbell. The remainder of the team has scored just 106 points.

7 MASON STARTING LINEUPS Date Opponent Guard Guard Guard Forward Forward Nov. 10 vs. UC Irvine Butler Campbell Skinn Thomas Lewis Nov. 11 at Wake Forest Butler Campbell Skinn Thomas Lewis Nov. 22 CREIGHTON Butler Campbell Skinn Thomas Lewis Nov. 26 at Manhattan Butler Carter Norwood Thomas Hernandez Dec. 2 at Georgia State * Butler Campbell Skinn Thomas Lewis Dec. 5 vs. American Butler Campbell Skinn Thomas Lewis Dec. 7 at Old Dominion * Butler Campbell Skinn Thomas Lewis Dec. 10 RADFORD Butler Campbell Skinn Thomas Lewis Dec. 21 HAMPTON Butler Campbell Skinn Thomas Lewis Dec. 27 HOLY CROSS Butler Campbell Skinn Thomas Lewis Dec. 30 at Mississippi State Butler Campbell Skinn Thomas Lewis Jan. 2 at Northeastern * Butler Campbell Skinn Thomas Lewis Jan. 5 VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH * Jan. 7 DELAWARE * Jan. 12 at William & Mary * Jan. 14 at James Madison * Jan. 19 NORTHEASTERN * Jan. 21 at UNC Wilmington * Jan. 26 WILLIAM & MARY * Jan. 28 OLD DOMINION * Feb. 2 at Delaware * Feb. 4 UNC WILMINGTON * Feb. 9 at Virginia Commonwealth * Feb. 11 TOWSON * Feb. 15 DREXEL * Feb. 18 TBA at Bracket Buster Feb. 23 at Hofstra * Feb. 25 JAMES MADISON * Mar. 2-6 CAA Championships (Richmond, Va.) MASON INDIVIDUAL GAME LEADERS Date Opponent Result Points Rebounds Assists Nov. 10 vs. UC Irvine W, Lewis 12 - Thomas 5 - Skinn Nov. 11 at Wake Forest L, (OT) 23 - Skinn 12 - Lewis 7 - Campbell Nov. 22 CREIGHTON L, Campbell, Skinn 17 - Lewis 3 - Butler, Campbell, Skinn Nov. 26 at Manhattan W, Lewis 7 - Thomas 4 - Campbell Dec. 2 at Georgia State * W, Butler 10 - Hernandez 7 - Skinn Dec. 5 vs. American W, Butler 7 - Campbell, Thomas 4 - Carter, Campbell, Norwood Dec. 7 at Old Dominion * L, Lewis 12 - Lewis 4 - Norwood Dec. 10 RADFORD W, Lewis 9 - Lewis 5 - Butler, Campbell, Skinn Dec. 21 HAMPTON W, Butler, Lewis 9 - Campbell 4 - Campbell, Lewis, Norwood Dec. 27 HOLY CROSS W, Butler 6 - Skinn 6 - Lewis Dec. 30 at Mississippi State L, Campbell 9 - Thomas 5 - Butler Jan. 2 at Northeastern * W, Lewis 8 - Campbell 5 - Skinn Jan. 5 VCU * Jan. 7 DELAWARE * Jan. 12 at William & Mary * Jan. 14 at James Madison * Jan. 19 NORTHEASTERN * Jan. 21 at UNC Wilmington * Jan. 26 WILLIAM & MARY * Jan. 28 OLD DOMINION * Feb. 2 at Delaware * Feb. 4 UNC WILMINGTON * Feb. 9 at Virginia Commonwealth * Feb. 11 TOWSON * Feb. 15 DREXEL * Feb. 18 TBA at Bracket Buster Feb. 23 at Hofstra * Feb. 25 JAMES MADISON * Mar. 2-6 CAA Championships (Richmond, Va.)

8 GAME ONE GEORGE MASON 79, UC IRVINE 56 Joel Coliseum, Winston-Salem, N.C., 11/10/05 UC IRVINE (0-1) Kelly Fells Armstrong Fitzgerald Schraeder Campbell Green Sanders Price Templeton Metelski Totals MASON (1-0) Thomas Lewis Skinn Butler Campbell Carter Konate Norwood Burns Makings Fleming Hernandez Totals Half: Mason 35, UC Irvine 23 Attendance-14,665 GAME TWO WAKE FOREST 83, GEORGE MASON 78 (OT) Joel Coliseum, Winston-Salem, N.C., 11/11/05 MASON (1-1) Thomas Lewis Skinn Butler Campbell Carter Norwood Burns Makings Fleming Hernandez Totals WAKE FOREST (2-0) Williams Strickland Visser Gray Drum Ellis Dukes Hale Totals Half: Wake Forest 44, Mason 29 Attendance-14,665 GAME THREE CREIGHTON 72, GEORGE MASON 52 Patriot Center, Fairfax, Va., 11/22/05 CREIGHTON (2-0) Watts Tolliver Funk Mathies Hibma Day Porter Bishop Sitzman Dotzler Nengsu Motz Smith Totals MASON (1-2) Thomas Lewis Skinn Butler Campbell Carter Konate Norwood Burns Makings Fleming Hernandez Totals Half: Creighton 36, Mason 26 Attendance-3,119 GAME FOUR GEORGE MASON 72, MANHATTAN 66 Draddy Gym, Riverdale, N.Y., 11/26/05 MASON (2-2) Norwood Thomas Hernandez Carter Butler Skinn Campbell Lewis Totals MANHATTAN (0-2) Anderson Konovelchick Dubois Xavier Wingate Minor Ngarndi Austin Traore Totals Half: Mason 30, Manhattan 28 Attendance-1,979 GAME FIVE GEORGE MASON 81, GEORGIA STATE 51 GSU Sports Arena, Atlanta, Ga., 12/2/05 MASON (3-2, 1-0) Thomas Lewis Skinn Butler Campbell Carter Konate Norwood Burns Fleming Hernandez Totals GEORGIA STATE (2-2, 1-1) Chase Billingslea Manier Copeland McGrew Perique Mendez Cartwright Dickerson Favors Robinson Totals Half: Mason 40, Georgia State 27 Attendance-1,332 GAME SIX GEORGE MASON 75, AMERICAN 35 MCI Center, Washington D.C., 12/5/05 MASON (4-2) Thomas Lewis Skinn Butler Campbell Carter Konate Norwood Burns Makings Fleming Hernandez Totals AMERICAN (0-6) Billbe Nichols Mercer Ingram Eitutavicius Lewis Carr Weinstein Gilmore Garris Penny Lay Lekavicius Totals Half: Mason 37, American 12 Attendance-11,712

9 GAME SEVEN OLD DOMINION 54, GEORGE MASON 53 Constant Convocation Center, Norfolk, Va., 12/7/05 MASON (4-3, 1-1) Thomas Lewis Skinn Butler Campbell Norwood Hernandez Totals OLD DOMINION (6-1, 1-0) Dahi Loughton Hunter Williamson Henderson Morris Johnson Harris Vasylius Totals Half: Mason 30, Old Dominion 27 Attendance-6,475 GAME EIGHT GEORGE MASON 81, RADFORD 69 Patriot Center, Fairfax, Va., 12/10/05 RADFORD (6-4) Oliver McIntyre Ricks Ross Holcomb-Faye McDuffy Brown Thomas Trent Totals MASON (5-3) Thomas Lewis Skinn Butler Campbell Norwood Hernandez Totals Half: Mason 41, Radford 33 Attendance-3,328 GAME NINE GEORGE MASON 79, HAMPTON 66 Patriot Center, Fairfax, Va., 12/21/05 HAMPTON (1-6) Woodard Cowan Brown Coleman WIlliams West Granger Mattox Pehoua, L Spencer Pehoua, J Totals MASON (6-3) Thomas Lewis Skinn Butler Campbell Carter Norwood Fleming Hernandez Totals Half: Mason 27, Hampton 25 Attendance-2,771 GAME TEN GEORGE MASON 71, HOLY CROSS 38 Patriot Center, Fairfax, Va., 12/28/05 HOLY CROSS (5-7) Simmons Vander Baan Hyland Thomas Hamilton Clifford Dixon Cruze Cunningham Totals MASON (7-3) Thomas Lewis Skinn Butler Campbell Carter Konate Norwood Burns Makings Fleming Hernandez Totals Half: Mason 32, Holy Cross 23 Attendance-3,501 GAME ELEVEN MISSISSIPPI STATE 63, GEORGE MASON 61 Humphrey Coliseum, Starkville, Miss., 12/30/05 MASON (7-4) Thomas Lewis Skinn Butler Campbell Norwood Fleming Hernandez Totals MISSISSIPPI STATE (10-3) Rhodes Gordon Morgan Delk, Rich Delk, Reg Boler Rimmer Stelmach Sharpe Totals Half: Mason 32, Miss. State 25 Attendance-9,094 GAME TWELVE GEORGE MASON 71, NORTHEASTERN 68 Mathews Arena, Fairfax, Va., 1/2/06 MASON (8-4, 2-1) Thomas Lewis Skinn Butler Campbell Norwood Hernandez Totals NORTHEASTERN (6-5, 2-1) Barea A. Davis B. Davis James Kelly Cypian Martinez Cole Totals Half: Mason 37, Northeastern 31 Attendance-1,206

10 Numerical Roster No. Player Pos. Cl. Ht. Wt Hometown/High School (Previous School) 1 Tony Skinn G Sr Takoma Park, Md./Takoma Acad. (Hagerstown CC) 2 Jordan Carter G So Indianapolis, Ind./Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory 3 Makan Konate G/F Jr Bamako, Mali/Worcester (Mass.) Academy 5 Gabe Norwood G/F Jr State College, Pa./State College 12 Tim Burns G Jr Greenfield, Mass./Worcester Academy 13 Jesus Urbina F Jr Barquisimeto, Venezuela/Amelia (Va.) Academy 22 Lamar Butler G Sr Fort Washington, Md./Oxon Hill 23 John Vaughan * G So Lanham, Md./Laurel 24 Charles Makings G Jr Silver Spring, Md./St. John s College 34 Will Thomas F So Baltimore, Md./Mount St. Joseph 40 Chris Fleming F Fr Manassas, Va./Osbourn Park 42 Folarin Campbell G/F So Silver Spring, Md./Springbrook 50 Sammy Hernandez F Fr Jacksonville, Fla./Arlington Country Day 55 Jai Lewis F Sr Aberdeen, Md./Aberdeen/Maine Central Institute Alphabetical Roster Name No. Pos. Cl. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School/Previous School Tim Burns 12 G Jr Greenfield, Mass./Worcester Academy Lamar Butler 22 G Sr Fort Washington, Md./Oxon Hill Folarin Campbell 42 G/F So Silver Spring, Md./Springbrook Jordan Carter 2 G So Indianapolis, Ind./Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory Chris Fleming 40 F Fr Manassas, Va./Osbourn Park Sammy Hernandez 50 F Fr Jacksonville, Fla./Arlington Country Day Makan Konate 3 G/F Jr Bamako, Mali/Worcester (Mass.) Academy Jai Lewis 55 F Sr Aberdeen, Md./Aberdeen/Maine Central Institute Charles Makings 24 G Jr Silver Spring, Md./St. John s College Gabe Norwood 5 G/F Jr State College, Pa./State College Tony Skinn 1 G Sr Takoma Park, Md./Takoma Acad. (Hagerstown CC) Will Thomas 34 F So Baltimore, Md./Mount St. Joseph Jesus Urbina 13 F Jr Barquisimeto, Venezuela/Amelia (Va.) Acad. John Vaughan * 23 G So Lanham, Md./Laurel * - Medical redshirt in GEORGE MASON ROSTER Head Coach: Jim Larranaga (Providence 71) 8th year at Mason/21st overall Assistant Coaches: Chris Caputo (Westfield 02), Scott Cherry (North Carolina 93), James Johnson (Ferrum 93) Manager, Basketball Operations: Larry Fain Athletic Trainer: Debi Corbatto PRONUNCIATION KEY Folarin Campbell Makan Konate Jesus Urbina Fall-lar-in Mah-kahn Koh-nah-tay Er-bee-nah

11 JIM LARRANAGA Head Coach, Ninth Season For George Mason men s basketball head coach Jim Larranaga, his first challenge with the Patriots was to rebuild a program that had fallen into disarray. He has quickly done that in his eight seasons in Fairfax, having made four postseason appearances in the past seven years, and with a long-term contract at George Mason, he prepares for the next challenge of maintaining the level of success he has established at Mason. Larranaga, who owns a record in eight-plus years at George Mason, including a mark over the past sevenplus, became the Patriots all-time leader in men s basketball victories with his 131st win on January 22, 2005 when the Patriots won at arch-rival James Madison. Larranaga, 56, accomplished many of the same things in his 11 years at Bowling Green State University from and in two years at American International College from In 20-plus years as a head coach, he has a career record of , earning his 300th coaching victory in Mason s third game of the campaign a victory at Iona on Nov. 29. The remarkable turnaround at George Mason began just two years into Larranaga s tenure. A 9-18 record in his first year with the Patriots in drew plaudits from knowledgeable basketball people who realized the program was headed in the right direction. George Mason was overall and a school-best 13-3 in the CAA in , making a 10-game improvement over the previous season. The Patriots won their firstever conference regular season championship and their second CAA Tournament title to advance to the NCAA Tournament. The performance by the Patriots earned numerous honors for Larranaga as he was named Coach of the Year by the CAA and in the NABC District 4, and he was selected state Coach of the Year by the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) and the Richmond Times-Dispatch. George Mason followed up with another overall mark in , tying James Madison for first place in the CAA at 12-4 and earning the top seed in the conference tournament. In , the Patriots finished overall and 11-5 in the CAA, good for a tie for second place, and they won the CAA Tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years. The Patriots produced another solid campaign with a overall record (13-5 in the CAA) and a NIT berth in Mason s roster was hampered by injuries, but managed to pull together a record (11-7 in the CAA), and a fourth-place CAA finish. The George Mason season was one for the record books. Larranaga led the Patriots to a 7-2 non-conference record and to a school-record 23-win season, as Mason finished on the year, its first 20-or-more win campaign in 14 years. Gaining an NIT berth (the Patriots fourth postseason appearance in six years), Larranaga led Mason to two consecutive postseason victories for the first time in school history, and in the process, earned his first postseason. Last season, a young Mason squad with three junior starters and nine sophomores and freshmen battled to a overall record and 10-8 mark in league play. Finishing above.500 and with 16 wins, the Patriots won 15 or more games overall and 10 or more games in league play for the seventh consecutive year - a streak unmatched by any other CAA team. Mason is one of just 14 schools in the nation to win 10 or more conference games in each of the past seven seasons. At his previous stop on the coaching circuit, Larranaga recorded a mark in 11 years at Bowling Green. He was the 1997 Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year after leading Bowling Green to a record, a conference regular season cochampionship and a berth in the National Invitation Tournament. The 22 victories were the most by a Bowling Green team in 47 years. Larranaga received his first head coaching position in 1977 when he was named to the post at American International, a Division II program in Springfield, Mass. Taking over a team that had suffered through five consecutive losing seasons prior to his arrival, Larranaga turned AIC into a winning program in his first year and compiled a mark in two seasons. A native of Bronx, N.Y., Larranaga is a 1971 graduate of Providence College with a degree in economics. A four-year letterman for the Friars, he was the captain as a senior, leading Providence to a 20-8 record and an NIT appearance. He graduated as the school s fifth all-time leading scorer with 1,258 points and was selected in the sixth round of the draft by the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association. He was the team s top scorer as a sophomore and junior and was named New England s Division I Sophomore of the Year in He was rewarded for his career when he was inducted into the Providence College Hall of Fame in His first coaching opportunity came at Davidson College, where he served as an assistant coach to Terry Holland. Davidson captured three Southern Conference regularseason championships and an NIT berth in his five years there, and he compiled a record doubling as the freshman team coach. In 1976, he left Davidson and spent one season as player-coach for the Geronemo Basketball Club in Belgium. After his two-year stint at American International, Larranaga was reunited with Holland at the University of Virginia in April An assistant coach under Holland for seven seasons from , he helped the Cavaliers reach the NCAA Final Four on two occasions (1981 and 1984), finish in the top five of the AP and UPI polls and average more than 24 victories per season. The Cavaliers were , won three regular season Atlantic Coast Conference championships and made four NCAA Tournament appearances. Virginia also made a pair of NIT appearances, winning the NIT Championship in Larranaga was on the staff during the careers of three-time National Player of the Year Ralph Sampson and NBA first-round draft choice Olden Polynice. Larranaga and his wife, Liz, have two children. Jay, 30, plays professional basketball in Spain, and Jon, 25, was a member of his father s George Mason teams from to Larranaga at George Mason Overall CAA Year W L W L Place t-5 th * st NCAA t-1 st t-2 nd NCAA nd NIT th rd NIT th Totals Career (.561) *CAA, NABC District 4 and Virginia Coach of the Year