The George Mason University men's basketball team will face an early non-conference test when the Patriots play at national championship contender Louisville on November 12.The Patriots and Cardinals will match up in a Sunday showdown at the KFC Yum! Center. The contest will mark the fourth all-time meeting between Mason and Louisville on the hardwood.Louisville returns the majority of its roster from a 2016-17 squad that posted a 25-9 record, including a 12-6 mark in the ACC. The Cardinals reached the NCAA Round of 32, falling to Michigan 73-69.Louisville also will welcome a star-studded recruiting class ranked No. 6 in the nation by ESPN and No. 8 by Rivals.com.One of the most storied programs in the nation, Louisville has made 11 of the past 12 NCAA Tournaments and has earned four Sweet 16 berths in the last five seasons. The Cardinals reached the national final in 2012 and won the national championship in 2013.Entering the 2017-18 campaign, Louisville is projected among the top-10 teams in the nation by a number of college basketball pundits. The Cardinals are ranked No. 4 by Jon Rothstein, No. 5 by CBSSports.com and No. 8 by NBCSports.com.Mason will play a trio of Power 5 opponents in 2017-18. In addition to Louisville, the Patriots also will host Big Ten foe Penn State and travel to SEC opponent Auburn.The full George Mason 2017-18 non-conference schedule will be announced on Wednesday, July 26.George Mason put together a turnaround campaign in 2016-17 while registering the 13th 20-win season in school history. In head coach Dave Paulsen 's second season leading the program, Mason set a new program record for Atlantic 10 victories (9) and its 20 overall wins were the most by the program since 2012-13. After winning 11 games total and five A-10 contests in 2015-16, Mason ranked as of the nation's 20 most improved teams this past season. The Patriots return three starters and eight letter winners overall heading into the 2017-18 campaign.