Mount St. Mary’s at George Mason
Where » Patriot Center
When » Tonight, 7
TV/Radio » MASN/570 AM
George Mason head coach Jim Larranaga isn’t worried about Dre Smith, despite the senior 3-point specialist shooting 5-for-26 (19.2 percent) from behind the arc in the Patriots’ (3-1) first four games.
“He always gets off to a somewhat slow start shooting the ball,” said Larranga. “He’s a 39 percent career 3-point shooter, and my guess is at the end of the season, you’ll look at his stats and he’ll be shooting 39 percent.”
The Mount (1-1) is coming off a 19-win season in which it won the Northeast Conference title and earned the school’s third NCAA Tournament bid. Fairfax native Jean Cajou had a team-high 19 points in Mount St. Mary’s most recent game, a five-point loss to Virginia Tech.
American at Stony Brook
Where » Pritchard Gymnasium, Stony Brook, N.Y.
When » Tonight, 7
American forward Jordan Nichols doesn’t start. But the 6-foot-5 senior is fourth in minutes (27.5 per game) and is far and away the best rebounder (6.8 per game) for the Eagles (3-1).
“For all intents and purposes, he really is a starter,” said American head coach Jeff Jones, opting for 6-10 Frane Markusovic on the opening tip, a task the senior is certain to take tonight against the Seawolves (1-2).
Senior swingman Bryce Simon, who tore a knee ligament in last year’s Patriot League Tournament, is still yet to see any action this season and underwent another MRI on Monday.
Illinois-Chicago at Howard
Where » Burr Gymnasium
When » Tonight, 7
The Bison (1-3) reverted to a point-guard-by-committee system after losing freshman Chris McHenry to a finger injury suffered against American last week. McHenry could play tonight, but freshman Calvin Thompson (shoulder), who is also expected to shore up ball-handling responsibilities, isn’t slated to see his first action until next week.
Senior guard Josh Mayo leads the Flames (1-2) and the Horizon League with 21.0 points per game.
