LSU outlasted a tough Texas team. UCLA won with its stingy defense. Florida's balance brought it to victory. But you know good and well who's on Cloud 9,999,999 after this final score.
No. 11 George Mason 86, No. 1 Connecticut 84.
On Selection Sunday, when the George Mason Patriots were selected as the 11th seed in the Washington region, many questioned their inclusion in the Big Dance. George Mason was one of the last five teams to make the tournament, but they saw their chance to prove themselves to the nation, and did they ever come through.
The Patriots knocked off three of the last six national champions and cemented the greatest run to the Final Four in NCAA Tournament history. They beat Michigan State in the first round without starting point guard and second-leading scorer Tony Skinn, who had been suspended for punching Hofstra guard Loren Stokes in the CAA semifinals.
Their next casualty was the North Carolina Tar Heels, the defending national champion. After falling behind by 14 early, the Patriots narrowed the lead to seven at the half and took the game over after intermission to advance to the Sweet 16. Up next was a rematch with Wichita State in the Verizon Center, located only 20 miles from George Mason's Fairfax, Virginia campus.
The rematch with the Shockers was not nearly as close as the first meeting between the two teams, when the Patriots prevailed 70-67 on Feb. 18. This time around, Mason was up by 16 at half and held Wichita State to 31 percent from the floor, including an atrocious 3-for-24 from outside the arc. The Patriots had already exceeded all expectations, but nobody could have expected what was to come on Sunday afternoon.
Connecticut was fresh off a thrilling 98-92 overtime win over Washington in what was arguably the worst game the Huskies had played all year. They committed 26 turnovers and allowed the "other" Huskies to dominate them for several stretches of the contest before finally prevailing in the extra period. So when UConn took a 43-34 lead over Mason into the half, they seemed to be in good shape.
The second half was a whole different ballgame. All of Mason's starters found the basket and the Patriots took a 52-51 lead at the 11:09 mark on a three-pointer by Lamar Butler. The crowd, mostly clad in yellow and green, went wild and kept the noise at a deafening level for the remainder of the game.
The teams continued to trade baskets until Skinn's three extended the Mason lead to four points. However, up 71-67 with under a minute left, Mason handed a three-point play to Marcus Williams, and after shooting 2-for-5 on foul shots, the Patriots watched Denham Brown sink an incredible reverse layup as time expired to send the game to overtime.
The Patriots led the entire overtime, but their poor foul shooting nearly cost them again. Three misses by center Jai Lewis gave the Huskies one last chance to tie or win. Brown pulled up for a three-pointer that went long, and the Patriots pulled off perhaps the greatest tournament upset of all time.
And now they're headed to Indianapolis.
This was not a fluke. UConn did not struggle as it did against Washington. The Huskies had only 11 turnovers and shot 47 percent from the field. George Mason simply outplayed them.
All five Patriot starters were in double figures, led by Lewis's 20 points. The Patriots out-rebounded the Huskies' vaunted frontcourt despite lacking several inches in size. They were also able to repeatedly score down low against the nation's leading shot-blockers. Mason played a very simple inside-outside game and didn't allow the Huskies to run the floor as much as they would have liked.
So now what? The Patriots are the second double-digit seed ever to make the Final Four, joining the 1986 LSU squad, and they are the first mid-major to do so since Indiana State and Penn in 1979. They've silenced all their doubters and put their school permanently on the map, and coach Jim Larranaga has established himself as a great tactical coach and motivator.
The team matches up fairly well with Florida, the winners of the Minneapolis region. The lowest seed to win the tournament was eighth-seeded Villanova in 1985. Do the Patriots have one or two more wins left in their miracle run?
