Jamie_B Posted March 11, 2008 Report Share Posted March 11, 2008 (<-- were "dancing" hehe) [url="http://sports.aol.com/ncaabb/story/_a/cinderella-mason-dances-again/20080310212109990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001"]http://sports.aol.com/ncaabb/story/_a/cind...S00010000000001[/url] [quote]RICHMOND, Va. (March 10) - Folarin Campbell and George Mason know all about magical postseason runs. After ending William & Mary's string of dramatic victories Monday night, the Patriots hope to have another one of their own in the making. Campbell scored 20 points and Will Thomas added 18 and 13 rebounds as the Patriots (23-10) beat the Tribe 68-59 to win the Colonial Athletic Association tournament. The victory earned George Mason and coach Jim Larranaga a return to the tournament that made them America's favorite underdogs two years ago. In that NCAA tournament run, the Patriots stunned Michigan State, North Carolina, Wichita State and Connecticut in succession - an improbable advance to the Final Four that ended in a 73-58 loss to eventual champion Florida. The Tribe (17-16) was on the same kind of run in the CAA tournament until meeting up with the Patriots, their smothering defense and designs on their own aspirations. Each of the Tribe's previous three games had been decided in the final seconds, and William & Mary had three heroes to thank for its first appearance in the conference title game in 23 years. But the Patriots never gave them the chance. Campbell hit the first of his three second-half 3-pointers to cap a 9-0 run to start the second half, boosting George Mason's lead to 36-26. Thomas cleaned up inside as George Mason outrebounded William & Mary 35-28 and shot 49 percent. The Patriots' biggest lead was 14, and they went 14-for-16 at the line in the final 3:05. Laimis Kisielius, whose basket with 3 seconds left knocked out top-seeded Virginia Commonwealth on Sunday, scored 22 points for William and Mary and made eight of 16 shots, but the rest of the team was a combined 11-for-34 and missed 14 of 19 3-pointers. David Schneider added 12 points and Danny Sumner 10 for the Tribe, which had won only three CAA tournament games in 22 years before knocking off Georgia State, Old Dominion and VCU on consecutive days. Not only was the Tribe playing for its first CAA title, but also its first trip to the NCAA tournament in 103 years of basketball.[/quote] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go Skins Posted March 11, 2008 Report Share Posted March 11, 2008 [quote name='Jamie_B' post='642475' date='Mar 11 2008, 09:34 AM'] (<-- were "dancing" hehe) [url="http://sports.aol.com/ncaabb/story/_a/cinderella-mason-dances-again/20080310212109990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001"]http://sports.aol.com/ncaabb/story/_a/cind...S00010000000001[/url][/quote] Don't be surprised if Mason makes some noise - again. What happened in Richmond this weekend is what was missing all season, bench play. Fleming stepped up - 4 points Satruday, 6 points Sunday, and 8 points last night - all off the bench. The rumors are a 12 seed (which would put it against a 5 seed) against Univ. of Southern California or Purdue and both games would be in Anheim. However, if K State does something in the Big 12 tourney, that could push the seeding slightly higher. Mason's RPI according to Ken Pom is a 61 right now after last night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JC Posted March 16, 2008 Report Share Posted March 16, 2008 Mason is in the East bracket Looks like they got ND. UT and UNC are in that bracket too. Looks to be a tough one. Indiana in as a #8 seed! Trap for UNC! East is sick. Louisville UNC Butler Oklahoma Indiana Washington State. Man. Isn't going to be easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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