George Mason's players stood on the press table, waving their jerseys to the crowd. Coach Jim Larranaga walked around with the nylon net around his neck.
It won't be the same old schools from the same old conferences at this year's Final Four -- certainly not top-seeded Connecticut.
Playing some 30km from their campus, 11th-seeded George Mason overcame huge disadvantages in size, athleticism and history Sunday to stun the Huskies 86-84 in overtime, ending a stranglehold that big-time programs have enjoyed for 27 years in college basketball's biggest showcase.
PHOTO: AP
Improbable as it may seem, the powers-that-be are going to have to make room for a suburban commuter school from Fairfax, Virgina, that was a dicey choice to make the NCAA tournament as an at-large team.
"I was kidding with one of my assistants," Larranaga said, "We're not just an at-large team, we're an at-extra-large. And if we win today, we're going to be an at-extra-double-large. I can't tell you how much fun I'm having."
The Patriots overcame their deficiencies with heart and tenacity. They were never rattled, even when they trailed by 12 late in the first half and nine early in the second. They hit six straight 3-pointers in the second half, shot 5-for-6 in overtime and outrebounded UConn 37-34 even though the Huskies have three starters taller than any of the Patriots' frontcourt players.
PHOTO: AP
There was also motivation from Larranaga, who fired up his team during timeouts by telling them that UConn's players didn't even know which conference George Mason is in.
"That's a little bit of disrespect," guard Tony Skinn said. "Coach told us the CAA stands for `Connecticut Assassin Association.'"
Of course, as more people are learning, CAA stands for Colonial Athletic Association, a league that has never had a team get this far before. The Patriots (27-7) are only the second double-digit seed to make the Final Four, matching LSU's run, also as an 11th seed, in 1986. They are the first true outsider to crash the quartet since Penn and Indiana State both got there in 1979.
George Mason next plays No. 3 seed Florida in Saturday's semifinals in Indianapolis. This marks the first time since the field was expanded to 64 teams in 1985 that no top-seeded team advanced to the Final Four, and the second time in tournament history.
The Patriots' at-large selection was roundly criticized by many, including CBS commentator Billy Packer. George Mason's fans chanted Packer's name in the postgame celebration.
"I think it's been working for us, calling us Cinderella," Skinn said. "We were not supposed to get into the tournament, we got into it. We were not supposed to beat Michigan State and we beat them. Weren't supposed to beat North Carolina and we beat them. We definitely weren't supposed to be UConn. I think we'll stick to the script going into whoever we play. We don't mind being the Cinderella."
All five Mason starters finished in double figures. Jai Lewis had 20, and Lamar Butler and Will Thomas each scored 19. Larranaga's team kept the same five players in the game from the 10:37 mark of regulation to the very end of overtime. Butler was chosen as the most outstanding player of the regional, and he and his father were in tears as they hugged at length on the court after the game.
George Mason, having by far the best season in school history, had never won an NCAA tournament game until it beat half of last year's Final Four -- Michigan State and No. 3 seed North Carolina -- back-to-back in the first two rounds. Now it can say it has beaten the last two national champions -- Connecticut and North Carolina.
Rudy Gay scored 20, and Jeff Adrien had a career-high 17 points for Connecticut (30-4), which never could put together a complete game in the tournament.
Florida 75, Villanova 62
With Florida minutes away from the Final Four, Joakim Noah threw his head back, screamed and pounded his chest as if to announce the Gators' arrival.
Noah and his sophomore teammates dispatched the last No. 1 seed standing, and are suddenly heading to Indianapolis -- perhaps as the favorite.
The young, third-seeded Gators beat a steep learning curve with a 75-62 win over top-seeded Villanova in the Minneapolis Regional final Sunday, and are going to the Final Four a lot sooner than anyone could have thought.
Noah had 21 points, a career-high 15 rebounds, five blocks and was selected most outstanding player of the regional. Fellow sophomore Al Horford added 12 points and 15 rebounds.
"When you're young and you don't play in these situations, you just don't know," Noah said. "I think the more we play in these situations, the better we're going to become."
Point guard Taurean Green scored 19 points for Florida (31-6), which will face No. 11 seed George Mason next Saturday in the national semifinals. No. 2 seed UCLA plays No. 4 seed LSU in the other game.
This marks the first time since the field was expanded to 64 teams in 1985 that no top-seeded team advanced to the Final Four -- and the second time in tournament history.
"We're the Gator boys. The Gator boys are hot right now," said Noah, whose father is 1983 French Open champion Yannick Noah.
Villanova star Randy Foye fouled out with 28.9 seconds left and walked slowly to the bench to hug his coaches and teammates, as tears streamed down his face. He carried the Wildcats (28-5) for the second time in three days, without any help from fellow senior Allan Ray.
"Like Randy said, this is going to hurt for a while," said Ray, who had 11 points on 5-for-19 shooting.
Foye had 25 points, but Lee Humphrey helped keep him from getting free behind the 3-point line. Foye missed six of his eight 3-pointers.
"We've won games that way. We've shot poorly and then got on the offensive boards and played defense," Villanova coach Jay Wright said. "They were just too good."
This was Florida's eighth straight trip to the tournament under coach Billy Donovan.
Stephen Jackson scored 23 points and Peja Stojakovic added 18 as the Indiana Pacers beat the Philadelphia 76ers 92-79 in the NBA on Sunday.
Reserve Danny Granger had 17 points and 12 rebounds and Jeff Foster grabbed 14 rebounds to help the Pacers recover from Friday's 75-72 loss to the Detroit Pistons. Philadelphia lost its second straight.
Allen Iverson scored 26 points and Chris Webber added 24 for the 76ers, but no other Philadelphia player scored more than eight. Iverson, the league's second-leading scorer, shot 2-for-12 from the field in the second half.
Iverson said the effort was pathetic for a team that is fighting to get into the playoffs.
The Pacers started Jackson, Stojakovic, point guard Jamaal Tinsley and forward Jermaine O'Neal together for the first time. Tinsley finished with a season-high 14 assists and O'Neal added 11 points and nine rebounds.
Bucks 125, Raptors 116, OT
At Milwaukee, Michael Redd scored 35 points, and Milwaukee overcame rookie Charlie Villanueva's career-high 48 points to beat Toronto.
Toronto played much of the way without injured All-Star Chris Bosh, but stayed in the game behind Villanueva, who shot 20-of-32 and had the highest point total by an NBA rookie this season.
But it was Redd, Charlie Bell and the Bucks who stole the show late. Bell filled in for the injured T.J. Ford and added a career-high 18 points and 11 assists.
Timberwolves 98, Knicks 94
At Minneapolis, Kevin Garnett had 26 points and 15 rebounds, and Minnesota survived a late scare to send New York to its fifth straight loss.
Ricky Davis had 21 points for the Wolves, who have won six of their last seven home games. Rashad McCants added 17, Justin Reed had 13 -- one point shy of his career high -- and Marcus Banks 12.
Jamal Crawford led New York with 20 points. Steve Francis had 15 points, and Eddy Curry and Stephon Marbury each had 12.
Cavaliers 104, Rockets 102, OT
At Houston, LeBron James scored 36 points, including the go-ahead dunk with 3:24 left in overtime, and Cleveland beat Houston.
James got a victory over the only team in the NBA he'd never beaten and helped the Cavaliers move closer to their first playoff berth since 1998. Cleveland has won five straight.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 21 points for Cleveland and was all over Yao Ming, forcing him into 9-of-21 shooting.
Yao led Houston with 27 points and Rafer Alston added 22. The Rockets fell to 3-20 without Tracy McGrady, who could be out for the season with back problems.
Magic 108, Hawks 101
At Orlando, Florida, Hedo Turkoglu scored 23 points, Dwight Howard added 15 points and 13 rebounds, and Orlando beat Atlanta for its third straight victory.
Jameer Nelson scored 15 points as the Magic put six players in double figures while recording their first win over the Hawks in three tries this season.
Al Harrington had 20 points, Joe Johnson added 19 and Josh Childress scored 18 off the bench for Atlanta, which lost its fourth straight game. Zaza Pachulia had 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Hawks.
Nets 79, Pistons 74
At Auburn Hills, Michigan, Vince Carter scored 22 points and Jason Kidd added a season-high 14 rebounds as the New Jersey Nets won their eighth straight game.
Chauncey Billups didn't score in the first 43 minutes of the game, but had seven points in a 60-second stretch to pull Detroit within 74-70 with 3:49 to go.
Clippers 97, Trail Blazers 83
At Portland, Oregon, Elton Brand scored 30 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to help Los Angeles extend Portland's losing streak to eight games.
The Clippers, angling for playoff position in the Western Conference, led by as many as 25 points for their eighth win in 11 games. Travis Outlaw led the Blazers with 19 points in just under 16 minutes. He scored 15 of his points in the fourth quarter.
The Blazers had not lost eight in a row since a 12-game streak in February 1986.
Warriors 90, Kings 83
At Sacramento, California, Adonal Foyle scored a season-high 18 points, Mike Dunleavy added 17 and Golden State hung on to snap Sacramento's 14-game home winning streak.
Jason Richardson added 16 points for the Warriors, who blew a 16-point lead in the second half before winning for the fifth time in seven games. Richardson had 5-for-19 shooting, but hit a 3-pointer with 1:08 to play and added two free throws in the final minute.
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