George Mason men’s basketball coach Dave Paulsen is out after six seasons, sources told ESPN.
Paulsen failed to make the NCAA tournament in any of his six seasons at the Fairfax, Virginia school, but finished above .500 in four of his last five seasons. This season, the Patriots finished 13-9 overall and 8-6 in the Atlantic 10. They won four in a row to end the regular season, including a road win at VCU, before losing by 32 to Davidson in the conference tournament.
Their best season under Paulsen came in 2019, when they started 7-1 in league play and ultimately finished 18-15 overall and 11-7 in the Atlantic 10.
Prior to taking over at George Mason, Paulsen was coach at Bucknell for seven seasons, winning four regular-season titles and making two NCAA tournament appearances.
George Mason hasn’t been to the NCAA tournament since 2011 under Jim Larranaga, who made five NCAA appearances during his time in Fairfax, including a Final Four run in 2006.