The NCAA Tournament is always exciting, but last season, George Mason brought the degree of unpredictability to a new level.
The Fairfax, Va. school put the madness into March with their unprecedented run to the Final Four. In their victories over Michigan State, North Carolina, Wichita State and Connecticut, the Patriots easily established themselves as the most surprising team to reach the Final Four since the tournament expanded to 65 teams in 1985 - and quite possibly in the history of college basketball. So now that their record run is in the books, what can we expect for an encore?
Not so fast.
Mason's biggest challenge will be rebuilding their lineup, following the graduation of three of last year's starters. They need to fill a big void in the paint with the departure of Jai Lewis, the team's leader in rebounding and blocked shots. Point guard Tony Skinn was the team's undisputed leader on the court and, despite missing Mason's first-round victory over Michigan State, enabled the team to go on its magical run.
Shooting guard Lamar Butler was the team's most consistent long-range threat, and he came up with several clutch shots throughout last season. While Folarin Campbell, Will Thomas and Gabe Norwood lead this year's squad, they will need their teammates to step up and fill the void left by the departed players.
Following their tournament run, the Patriots have been able to schedule more quality non-conference opponents on this year's schedule to prepare them for their conference games. They will face Bucknell, Duke, Creighton and Mississippi State and have a rematch with Wichita State in the first six weeks of the upcoming season. These games will give the revamped Patriots a chance to gauge themselves against some premier teams and boost their RPI with some well-timed wins. The schedule boost is not a big surprise considering their performance and will be helpful in what figures to be another highly competitive season in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA).
The inclusion of the Patriots in last season's tournament was somewhat controversial in the first place. While they were co-champions of the CAA along with UNC-Wilmington, they had lost two of their three meetings with third-place Hofstra, which finished only one game behind them in the standings. However, Mason went to the Dance while Hofstra was relegated to the NIT where they were eliminated by Old Dominion in the quarterfinals.
The Hofstra Pride return the core of last year's squad, led by Loren Stokes and Carlos Rivera, and will likely be the favorites to capture this year's CAA crown. Mason will have to look out for Hofstra in particular, who will be looking for payback after believing they were snubbed by the selection committee last March.
After Mason's success last season, there is no doubt that every opponent will give their best effort when they face the Patriots. It will be up to coach Jim Larranaga to have his team tactically and mentally prepared for the challenges they face this season.
While Mason will be in transition following the departures of Lewis, Butler and Skinn, there are higher expectations in Fairfax after the miraculous run of last season. Whether they can even make a return trip to the NCAA Tournament is questionable considering their loss of talent and the increased strength of their schedule. However, after last season, the Patriots should be playing with house money this season and beyond.
