Mason stumbles on the road again

Coming off five straight wins, including an impressive comeback against VCU and a key win in the ESPN BracketBuster contest, the Patriots once again hit a road block playing outside of Fairfax.

 Mike Morrison was the lone bright spot against Northeastern.

They lost an 85-82 overtime decision against Northeastern Wednesday night, a team that is just 13-15 overall. This is nothing new for the Patriots, however, as they have struggled all season playing away from home. The loss at Delaware on Feb. 1 snapped a six-game winning streak and ended Mason's hopes of an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament.

The disappointing Northeastern loss dropped the Patriots to 8-6 in away games, including games played in neutral sites. On the other hand, they are 15-1 in the Patriot Center, coming off a year in which they went undefeated at home, a perfect 14-0. Thus they are 29-1 in their last 30 home games, but for some reason just can't win on the road.

The season got off to a rough start for the Patriots as they suffered really bad losses against Florida International on a neutral site and at Florida Atlantic, setting the tone for the rest of the season in terms of playing on the road.

This problem is not unique to Mason, however, as winning on the road in college basketball is no easy chore. But the teams who earn at-large bids are those who overcome the adversity and take down quality opponents away from home. Nothing impresses the NCAA committee more than beating somebody in their own gym.

Unfortunately for Mason, they have no games left in the Patriot Center. They play at VCU on Saturday in the season finale and then head back to Richmond for the CAA Tournament. Their only hope of reaching the Big Dance is to win three straight games in the tournament, something this team hasn't proven they're capable of doing.