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The George Mason men's basketball team will take part in the 3rd Annual O'Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off this November as the Patriots are part of an eight-team field which will play three games over four days to determine a tournament champion. All 12 of the tournament's contests will be televised on the ESPN family of networks.

The Patriots will be joined in the event by Boston University (America East), Dayton (Atlantic 10), Georgia Tech (ACC), Indiana (Big 10), Kansas State (Big 12), Mississippi (SEC) and Villanova (Big East). Both Dayton and Villanova made the NCAA Tournament last season with Villanova going to the Final Four and Dayton advancing to the second round. Kansas State, like Mason, went to the NIT. Mason had the third-best RPI last season of the eight teams in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off.

The event begins on Thursday, November 19 and teams will take the court again on Friday, Nov. 20. The final games will be played on Sunday, Nov. 22. Pairings, game times and television networks will be determined this summer.

The inaugural Puerto Rico Tip-Off was won in 2007 by Miami. In 2008, Xavier took home the title. The tournament annually pits teams from eight different conferences with the Big East as the annual host. In 2007, VCU competed in the event, going 1-2.

Mason is one of six schools with a Final Four appearance in the 2009 field. This is the second time the Patriots are competing in an ESPN Regional Television Event. In 2007-08, the Patriots competed in the Old Spice Classic, finishing third after beating nationally-ranked Kansas State, losing to nationally-ranked Villanova and beating South Carolina.