George Mason Is Back!

The darlings of the 2006 NCAA Tournament are back and up to their old antics once again. The George Mason Patriots put together their first win over a ranked team since their inspiring overtime win over top-ranked Connecticut in the Elite Eight put them on the map forever. Jim Larranaga’s club took out an inexperienced and immature Kansas State team 87-77 in the quarterfinals of the Old Spice Classic, reasserting their place as one of the nation’s best mid-majors. Their 4-0 start is the best in school history and doesn't even begin to tell how impressive this team has looked early in the season.

Larranaga and the Patriots endured a major facelift following their run to the Final Four in ’06, losing several key players from that historic roster, including leading scorer Jai Lewis . George Mason experienced some rough patches last season, but they exceeded their loftiest expectations in making Colonial Athletic Association conference tournament final before losing to Virginia Commonwealth, the team that upset Duke last March. This year, with all five starters back, and a solid set of seniors, George Mason has already proved in the early going how good they can be.

Against a quality opponent on a neutral floor, George Mason showed that they are more prepared for a run to the NCAA Tournament than the trendy Wildcats, who led by a great group of freshman, were a trendy pick to do some major damage this season. The Patriots always seemed to make the right play, whether it be taking a charge, making the extra pass, or boxing out on rebounds. Larranaga said it best by saying, “There’s all different kinds of talent. Experience gives you a talent of understanding. If you’re smart, and you use that experience and recognize things then you counterbalance physical talent. I think that’s what our seniors did tonight.”

Michael Beasley, Kansas State’s most prized youngster, was a beast, as usual, for the Wildcats, scoring 30 points and bringing down 10 rebounds, but he battled foul trouble the entire game. The Patriots were smart enough to realize that the best way to stop the phenomenal freshman was to make him work defensively, and the 6’ 10” forward was baited into several fouls early. He was forced to the bench just after the midway point of the first half, and that’s when the battle tested Patriots made their run to seize control of the game.

Beasley picked up his second foul and was forced to sit the last eight minutes of the half with the score tied at 20. That’s exactly when George Mason took control, going on a swift 8-0 run to take a lead they would never relinquish. Their nine point halftime lead would grow to double digits for most of the second half before Kansas State made a run in garbage time to put the final deficit at 10.

All five starters for the Patriots reached double figures, displaying the tremendous balance on the offensive side of the ball. Will Thomas was a key part of George Mason’s Final Four team and has emerged as the leader of this year’s team, but he is not alone with Folarin Campbell, John Vaughn, and Jordan Carter all providing reliable scoring options in the starting lineup. Meanwhile the Wildcats reliance on Beasley was exposed fatally while their star was on the bench with foul trouble. Outside of his 65% (13-20) shooting performance, his teammates shot 37% from the field, hitting only 17 shots and going a pitiful 1-14 (7%) from downtown.

Next up is Villanova, yet another big-time top 25 team that George Mason can topple. If the Patriots abundance of experience has taught us anything, it’s that anything is possible. The Villanova Wildcats are a youthful, talented bunch, much like the Kansas State Wildcats were, and they could be ripe for an upset as well if they don’t come out on top of their game.