Final Four darling on verge of missing tourney


What a difference a year makes.

In March of 2006, George Mason entered the Colonial Athletic Association tournament with a record of 22-6, an RPI in the 20s and a 9-1 tally in its last 10 games. A quarterfinal win over Georgia State and a semifinal loss to Hofstra later, Jim Larranaga's club found itself firmly on the NCAA tournament bubble.

Since last year's Final Four loss to Florida, Folarin Campbell and the Patriots have gone 15-14. (Streeter Lecka / Getty Images)

Said forward Will Thomas after the loss to Hofstra, "We probably won't get an at-large bid because our league isn't considered one of the top leagues in the country."

On Selection Sunday, however, the committee looked favorably upon the Patriots, awarding George Mason the CAA's first at-large bid since 1986. Much of the credit went to a mid-February win at Wichita State.

"Without the bracket-buster last year, the odds are we don't even make it as an at-large team," said Larranaga before this year's return game against the Shockers. "We needed to have a quality win against a quality opponent on the road at the end of the season to prove our worthiness."

The rest, as they say, is history. The Patriots won four consecutive tournament games, upsetting Michigan State, North Carolina, Wichita State and Connecticut on the road to the Final Four. George Mason broke the glass ceiling for so-called "mid-majors" with a tournament run more improbable than any other in the past quarter-century. In so doing, the Patriots redefined the NCAA tournament as an event truly worthy of its "March Madness" moniker, where anything can and does happen.

But the faster they rise, the harder they fall.

The Patriots arrive at the 2007 CAA tournament as a shell of their former selves. Gone is Jai Lewis, the likable forward who led the Patriots in scoring and rebounding. Gone also are guards Tony Skinn and Lamar Butler, double-digit contributors whose fearless tournament play enabled George Mason's historic success.

"Jai being in the program for four years and Tony for three, they understood our system," said Thomas, one of two returning starters. "That helped us a lot."

Taking their place are a collection of less experienced players, led by junior college transfers Dre Smith and Darryl Monroe and sophomore John Vaughan, who missed all of last season with a knee injury. Smith in particular, Larranaga said, was attracted to George Mason by the Patriots' tournament success.

Thomas and the other returning starter, guard Folarin Campbell, have embraced their new leadership roles. "Somebody has to step up and lead the team in scoring and in rebounding," said Thomas. Campbell and Thomas now lead the Patriots in scoring and rebounding, respectively, at 14.7 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.

Smith and his less experienced teammates, however, have been unable to recreate the magic that attracted them to Mason in the first place. The Patriots enter this year's league tournament with a record of 15-14, an RPI in the 130s, and a 3-7 tally in their last 10 games. George Mason plays spirited defense and allows few points per possession, but loses frequently because it struggles to score.

Last season, an experienced Patriots club gained confidence from single-digit non-conference losses to Wake Forest and Mississippi State. This season, on the other hand, the young club lost confidence from single-digit losses to Wichita State, Creighton and Bucknell. The younger players, in particular, have felt undue pressure to replicate last year's success.

As a result, and barring a miracle, the Patriots will become just the third Final Four team since 1985 to miss the NCAA tournament the following year.

Larranaga remains an eternal optimist. "The regular season is over and we're 0-0 in the tournament," he said.

"Coach L," as he is known on campus, has every reason to like his team's chances — and not only because last year's run demonstrated that anything is possible.

In the opening round, the Patriots play James Madison, a team they have beaten twice this year by a combined 39 points. After being sidelined by a hamstring injury last week, Campbell should be at 100 percent following several days of rest.

According to Larranaga, his seniors are peaking at the right time: "One of the key elements in the tournament is having good senior leadership — guys who have been through it before. For the first time all year we have our seniors playing well."

And Larranaga believes the tournament format, which would require the Patriots to play four games in four days, would allow his club to gain confidence and momentum with each successive victory.

The Patriots know they're longshots for a return to the NCAA tournament. But a year ago, who would have thought George Mason would play its way into the Final Four? Rekindling last year's magic is improbable, but not impossible.

"We had a five-game winning streak during the season. We played very well during that stretch," said Larranaga. "I think we could win four in a row in the tournament. Now wouldn't that be a story?"

Yoni Cohen is a frequent contributor to FOXSports.com. He can be reached at yocohoops@gmail.com.

Badgers out as Big 10 suffers
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Yoni Cohen / Special to FOXSports.com
Posted: 19 minutes ago



In the first round, Wisconsin played with fire. In the second, the Badgers got burned.

For a second consecutive game, the Badgers fell behind early and shot worse than 42 percent from the field. The result, a 74-68 UNLV win, left only one Big Ten team in the Sweet 16 — one better than the number that made the NCAA tournament's second weekend last year.
Elsewhere, Florida and Kansas advanced, as did Memphis. Oregon bounced Cinderella from the dance. Southern Illinois and Tennessee eliminated the Virginia schools and USC likely ended Kevin Durant's college career.

NCAA Tournament

MIDWEST
Florida 74, Purdue 67
Oregon 75, Winthrop 61
UNLV 74, Wisconsin 68
Butler 62, Maryland 59

WEST
Kansas 88, Kentucky 76
Southern Illinois 63, Virginia Tech 48
Pitt 84, VCU 79 (OT)
UCLA 54, Indiana 49

EAST
USC 87, Texas 68
North Carolina 81, Michigan State 67
Vanderbilt 78, Wash. State 74 (2 OT)
Georgetown 62, Boston College 55

SOUTH
Memphis 78, Nevada 62
Tennessee 77, Virginia 74
Ohio State 78, Xavier 71 (OT)
Texas A&M 72, Louisville 69


Game of the day: Florida-Purdue

Carl Landry (18 points, 10 rebounds) and the Boilermakers ceded no ground to the Gators. Purdue jumped out early, led by five with five minutes remaining in the first half, and held a two-point advantage with seven minutes left in the second. Down the stretch, however, Al Horford made three consecutive field goals and the Gators didn't miss from the charity stripe in a 74-67 win.

Runner-up: Tennessee-Virginia

Two evenly matched clubs, both better on offense than defense and better in the backcourt than the frontcourt, played a competitive game in which the outcome was in doubt until Sean Singletary missed a 3-pointer with three seconds remaining. The Cavaliers led by 11 in the first half, the Volunteers by 10 in the second. Junior sharpshooter Chris Lofton made six free throws in the final 10 seconds for a 77-74 Tennessee victory.

Biggest stunner: UNLV-Wisconsin

Wendell White scored 22 points on 8-for-12 shooting and Kevin Kruger added four 3-pointers to pace the Runnin' Rebels past the Badgers. Wisconsin trailed by 13 with 5:56 remaining in the first half, but came back to tie the game midway through the second. After the Badgers took a five-point lead on Greg Stiemsma's 3-point play, Kruger made three consecutive shots from long range and White nailed four free throws for a UNLV victory.

Runner-up: USC-Texas

Five Trojans scored in double figures in the most significant win of the Tim Floyd era. Nick Young led USC with 22 points on 8-for-13 shooting, followed by Daniel Hackett with 20 points on 7-for-10 shooting. Kevin Durant scored 30 points and A.J. Abrams added 20, but the rest of the Texas Longhorns shot only 6-for-26 from the floor.

Studs: Julian Wright, Kansas. On 8-for-12 shooting, the Jayhawks forward scored a team-high 21 points. He also led Kansas with eight rebounds in an 88-76 defeat of Kentucky.

Aaron Brooks, Oregon. The senior point guard made five of nine 3-point attempts and scored 22 points in the Ducks' 75-61 victory over Winthrop. He turned the ball over only once.

Al Horford, Florida. Horford grabbed nine rebounds, four offensive, in the Gators' win. He made seven of nine field-goal attempts and all three free-throw tries for 17 points.

Duds: Ramon Sessions, Nevada. After making seven of 13 shots for 16 points in the Wolf Pack's win over Creighton, the junior guard made only one of eight attempts for two points in a 78-62 loss to Memphis.

Alando Tucker, Wisconsin. In the decisive second half of the loss to UNLV, the National Player of the Year candidate missed four free throws. With 11 minutes remaining, the Badgers were down two. Tucker then missed his next six shots and Wisconsin lost by six.

Michael Jenkins, Winthrop. The Eagles' leading scorer went 1-for-5 from behind the arc and 3-for-10 overall, managing only seven points, and turned the ball over twice in the loss to Oregon.

Coaching genius: Chris Lowery, Southern Illinois

There must be something in the water in Carbondale. After taking the Salukis to two NCAA tournaments, Bruce Weber left for Illinois in 2003. Matt Painter then guided SIU to the big dance, only to depart for Purdue in 2004. Now in three seasons, Lowery has directed the Salukis to a first-round loss (2006), a second-round exit (2005) and at least a Sweet 16 appearance (2007). Already in the mix for positions at Minnesota and Michigan, Lowery should be considered for every major conference opening in America after a 63-48 victory over Virginia Tech.

Start getting your resume ready: Tubby Smith, Kentucky

Smith has guided the Wildcats to a national championship (1998) and three Elite Eights (1999, 2003 and 2005). He hasn't, however, taken Kentucky to the Final Four since his first season in Lexington. Much of the public has turned against him, as have many of the school's boosters. Smith should return to coach Randolph Morris, Joe Crawford and Ramel Bradley in their senior seasons. But even though Tubby has never lost a first-round game, the sharks are circling.

Looking like a Final Four team: Florida

The Gators took Purdue's best shot and lived to tell about it. The Boilermakers slowed down the tempo, grabbed 15 offensive rebounds to the Gators' 11, and attempted 17 more shots than Florida. But the defending champs made 27 of 31 free-throw attempts — Corey Brewer's eight freebies included — to advance.

Not long for the tourney: Tennessee

Congrats on making it to the Sweet 16, Bruce Pearl. Now get ready to hang up the orange blazer for another off-season. The Volunteers don't have anybody who is as big or as strong as Ohio State's Greg Oden. Tennessee's strength is forcing turnovers, but the Buckeyes take good control of the ball. Pearl's team scores more than 40 percent of its points from behind the arc, where Thad Matta's crew plays excellent defense. Xavier awakened a sleeping giant, much to Tennessee's dismay.

Best Sweet 16 matchup: Oregon-UNLV

Only after winning the Pac-10 tournament championship did the Ducks get any respect. Even after winning 28 games, the Mountain West tournament title included, the Runnin' Rebels still didn't receive national attention. UNLV had a stronger resume that USC or Vanderbilt, but got a lower seed than both. Oregon and UNLV each start four guards and have played well of late. The Aaron Brooks-Kevin Kruger matchup should be a doozy.

Yoni Cohen is a frequent contributor to FOXSports.com. He writes about college basketball on his blog, http://www.yocohoops.com, and can be reached at yocohoops@gmail.com.